Great presenters are credible. They are in the moment. They connect with their audience. There's no spouting of a "canned" presentation . . . their message is clear, crisp, well rehearsed and on-message. But it seems like a conversation. The verbal message of an effective executive is fully reinforced by all his facial and body expressions . . . and the energy conveyed. You know that such a person KNOWS his subject matter because a great presenter exudes understated self-confidence.

Michael D. Jeans
President
New Directions, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts

"Knowledge is power, which is why people who had it in the past often tried to make a secret of it. In post-capitalism, power comes from transmitting information to make it productive, not from having it." Peter Drucker (writer of 39 books, management consultant and university professor).

The key is to accurately gauge what and how much information your audience needs to know. Then you can speak in short sentences, not connect your sentences with information your audience really cannot process or take action on. Someone who is used to talking without pausing sometimes says "and" only to realize there really is not another point to make about the subject. The person struggles to think of something to say, ending up with a string of "and, um's."

Second, a good presenter will leave out extra filler phrases. For example, when using slides, the presenter will not say as every new slide comes up, "as you can see here" or "we put this information on the slide to..." Once in a while these phrases may be used for impact, but not for every slide. 

Lastly, less is more. A concise presenter says less in a relaxed manner rather than more very quickly, with tension in voice and posture. A concise, well-organized presentation errs on the short side. Remember, it all goes back to the executive summary that you have prepared - or should have prepared! Your executive summary allows you to be concise and look and sound like you have done your homework. Always ask yourself: How will this level of information make my audience more productive in terms of taking action or making better decisions?

"WITH REGARDS TO..."

After: Now we see a real presenter and two small images behind her. The subtitle encourages the audience to think in a certain direction.

Before: It is not necessary to show all the visuals presenters can use. The presenter will just show the slide and that's it. This slide is really not necessary.  

After 2: This is the slide I would use if I were presenting this information. The After 1 slide is for participants in my seminars.

June 24 and 25, 2008 Boston, MA

This seminar is open to those who both create and deliver presentations. You leave with...

• Redone presentation: A presentation you redid during the class. Get ideas for backgrounds, slide design ideas and slide content organization.

• Personalized action plan: Claudyne writes this plan specifically for you. You also have a video of the six or more presentations you gave during the seminar.

• Executive presence hints: Learn what you need to do to increase your executive presence in front of a group.

• Hours of time saved: Learn how to save hours of time when using PowerPoint.

• Confidence, confidence, and more confidence: Learn how using specific openings, focused closings, and story-telling transitions energize your talk.

I have solved the following problems for my clients.

"It takes us forever to put together our once-a-year events. Even with all that work, I'm still not happy with them."

Worked with the company to help develop the story line and key messages for the event.
Worked individually with each executive to help him or her focus content for the audience and logically organize the presentation.
Consulted with the PowerPoint designer on how to develop graphics that illustrate the messages.
Coached executives on presentation behavior.

"The other executives cringe when I talk to the President. They say I talk too long and focus on information the President doesn't need to hear."

Coached a Senior VP on how to discuss issues with the president.
Helped him redo his slides to focus on potential problems, not on telling the president what he had already done.

"Our sales people aren't selling, they are telling. I hear them talk a customer in, then out of a sale in 15 minutes."

Trained 90 sales people on how to present in person or on the phone.
Coached the graphic designer on how to make PowerPoint slides that are easy for the presenter to use and the audience to understand.
Coached executives on how to organize content in a logical flow.