Twelve Things You Need To Know When Using Web Meetings to Replace Face-to-face Meetings During this Flu Pandemic Scare

The current flu pandemic scare has companies closing offices, schools being shut and corporations implementing contingency plans. Many face-to-face meetings are being replaced with web meetings. This video gives you twelve ideas if you are setting up or running a web meeting. I believe that web meetings can be effective, if a few simple guidelines are understood and followed.



Update: If your organization does not allow YouTube videos, you can watch this video here in Windows Media Video (WMV) format.

PowerPoint Slide Makeover - Showing Survey Results

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. When someone showed a way to make survey statistics more visual, they made a few key errors. This makeover shows the correct visual for survey results so the audience understands them and trusts them.

This slide was submitted by a subscriber to the newsletter- someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide

If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.



To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.

PowerPoint Tip: Being prepared for computer failure

Last month I had an experience that I wish you never have - my computer operating system got corrupted. Of course, this happened a few days before I flew to Los Angeles to do a post-conference workshop at an association conference. I caused the problem by disconnecting an external hard drive while the computer was hibernated without properly ejecting the drive first. You have probably been told not to do this with USB flash drives, trust me, heed the warnings.

I am pretty much back to full speed with my laptop, so I can now share the lessons I learned from going through this experience. Lesson #1 is to always have a full backup of your system. I have an automatic image backup run every morning while I get ready and have breakfast. An image backup allows me to recover everything, including the operating system, if the hard drive crashes. I also use an online backup system that saves any changed data files every few minutes during the day so that my data is always safe. So I knew I had some place to start from when I realized I had to rebuild my machine from the OS on up.

Lesson #2 is to build relationships with experts you can turn to when you have problems. I am very lucky that my brother is a technical expert and was able to give me valuable advice on what may be wrong and what potential scenarios we were looking at. One of his suggestions is my third lesson. Have easy access to all your program disks or files. I already had all my operating system and program CDs in a filing cabinet, but he suggested that I organize all downloaded programs into sub-folders in a master folder called Source. Now I can use the backup of that one folder to restore any program easily. I prioritized what programs were essential to have for the presentation and trip and focused on getting those running. All other programs could wait until later.

Lesson #4 is to have a plan B. If you have an important presentation coming up, make sure you implement a contingency plan. Copy your presentation file and any other linked files or media content onto a USB flash drive. In another computer, test that the presentation works the way you want it to. Yes, test every slide and hyperlink to make sure. Be prepared to borrow or rent a laptop if needed. I hope you never need to use your contingency plan, but it is far better to have thought it out in advance instead of hoping you make the right decisions in the heat of the moment.

As I said at the start, I hope you never have to go through this sort of experience. But for those who make high stakes presentations, these lessons will help you be prepared for when technology fails you. If you run into a minor issue, such as the projector not displaying your screen, check out the solutions at m.thinkoutsidetheslide.com, a site that is easily viewed on a smartphone (bookmark it so you have easy access when a presentation problem comes up).

Learning from Kenny Chesney

I saw an interview the other day with Kenny Chesney, the country music superstar. He was talking about the preparation for his annual tour. Kenny has been voted as Best Entertainer eight times and his summer tour usually ranks at, or near, the top of the list of highest earning tours every year. He’s obviously doing a lot of things right. Here’s a couple of ideas about preparation I picked up that apply to presenters.

First, he is meticulous in his preparation each year before the tour starts. He personally oversees every aspect of the show, from lighting to sound to which songs get played in what order. He knows that he has to have everything just right in order to put on a great show. As presenters, do we take enough time to prepare? Do we care as much as Kenny does? Too often I see presenters who create their text-only slides on the airplane on their way to the presentation, never rehearse and rush in 2 minutes before their presentation is to begin. It is no wonder that the presentation is less than it should be. Take the time to prepare properly, your audience deserves it.

Second, he explained that even though they have a two and a quarter hour set prepared, if the audience energy is right, they will extend the show to as long as three full hours. Kenny and his band have enough material prepared that they can go where the audience wants them to go. As a presenter, do you have the depth of knowledge and expertise to go where the audience wants to go? True experts prepare what the audience needs, but always have the ability to answer questions that come up or go in different directions if that is what is needed. If you don’t have the expertise you feel you need, create a plan to become an expert – study your area one hour every day, and pretty soon you will start to see the result.

Any time you see a great artist perform, whether it is Kenny Chesney on his tour, a local play or a symphony, remember that the artist has put countless hours into preparing just so you can enjoy the experience. Let’s commit to preparing better so that our audiences have a great experience too.

PowerPoint Slide Makeover - Showing Proportion Using a Diagram

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. When we present a proportion or share statistic, I would usually suggest using a pie chart. This makeover shows how a diagram with universal symbols can sometimes be more powerful than a pie chart in helping the audience understand the message.

This slide was submitted by a subscriber to the newsletter- someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.
To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide

If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.



To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.

PowerPoint Tip: Plan your follow-up

Is your presentation done when you stop speaking and the audience has left the room? It shouldn’t be. Research published in the book “Brain Rules” by John Medina shows that people remember the information better if they are re-exposed to it after your presentation. This means that your presentation should consist of the time you have with the audience plus a planned follow-up to reinforce your message.

So what does a planned follow-up look like? You can plan to send one or more follow-up e-mails to the audience members to remind them of some of the key ideas and direct them to more resources or implementation ideas. You can prepare a special report extending the ideas and mail it to the audience members two weeks after the presentation. You can schedule a conference call or web meeting to answer any questions that have come up. Or you can create a series of videos to reinforce your message and make them available over the web.

Let me share what I have changed in my approach to presentation follow-up. In the past, workshop attendees had the opportunity to add their name to the newsletter list and they received the same e-course that those signing up on the web receive. This year I have changed what workshop participants receive. They start with a reminder to start implementing what we covered in the session and a suggestion of the easiest change they can make to improve their slides. I also address the key objection people have to implementing the ideas and give a strategy to overcome it. Then, they are given access to the past makeover videos to learn even more.

Thirty days after their name is added to the list, they receive another reminder and are directed to more resources, including back issues of the newsletter, over 45 articles, a link to get my book “The Visual Slide Revolution” and a link to short “how-to” videos that can help them when creating slides. The goal is to help the participants in my sessions have the greatest chance of succeeding in using the ideas to transform the overloaded “wall of text” slides into persuasive visuals.

You don’t have to follow my exact approach, but consider how you can increase the impact of your message by planning the follow-up before you deliver your next presentation. If it is time for your organization to schedule one of my workshops, let me know and we’ll get the process started.

Oratory & Obama

Marianne Gobeil of Leading Communicators did a great job in her newsletter last week pointing out that US President Obama is not a great orator, but he is a great communicator. She explains that the difference is that an orator uses big fancy phrases and words, whereas a great communicator understands their audience and directs their message to the concerns of that audience. She observes that this skill gave President Obama a great advantage over his rivals in the election process. I suggest you read her newsletter and check out her unique SpeakCheck® service if you want your leadership communication to improve.

So how do we extend these ideas to the world where we are not the top leader of a nation or a company, but we have a presentation that is important to us and the people in the audience? I suggest you focus on Marianne’s observation about great communicators being audience focused. One of the steps I always cover when talking about the structure of your presentation is doing a full audience analysis. Only after you understand their situation can you decide what you need to say. Secondly, prepare your visuals so they have context for your audience, meaning that the audience will understand them because the visual is familiar.

Remember that the presentation is about the audience, not about the presenter.