The ART of Power Point Presentations

Power Point presentations are something that a lot of people who work around the world do on a frequent basis. And many times, when the audience is international they must do them in English.

The question is: are they doing them right? And what about you?

For today's post, we'll take a look at a video with some key tips on the Art of Power Point presentations from Terri Sjodin, a well-known author, speaker and consultant in the field of business communication.

1. First, WATCH it once and try to understand the main idea. Try to see what Terri has to say about the following:

• How important are colors, fonts and effects in a presentation?

• How do you decide when to keep or scrap a Power Point slide?

• What is a true and authentic visual aid?

• Is the number of slides important? Why?

2. Now READ the transcript in detail. You may play it as you read if you like.

So then a lot of people say, "Terri, you don't understand... that's why I use my Power Point in my laptop because I think that that will make it a lot better".


I'm like... OK, now I don't want you to shoot the messenger here because sometimes visual aids truly can enhance your sales presentation. As long as they are truly and authentically a visual aid.


But most of the time, people use Power Point or their lap top presentations as a crutch to get them through their own material.


Pretend you for example are sitting in front of someone, a sales representative who's coming to pitch you. And they say, "Hey, I'm so excited about our meeting today. Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm just going to crack this laptop. I've got some great charts. I've got some great graphs."


And as soon as they start cracking that laptop, what's the first thing that runs through your mind? "Oh, my God! How long is this going to be?". As soon as we see a sales rep cracking a laptop, we starting thinking... 'cause it looks like they're moving in.


So we move forward. And they're like, "You don't understand. I use different colors. I use different fonts. Some of my slides come off like that. Some of them come off like that. I have this one that comes off like a paper airplane. It goes like that! Shhhzzt! It is so good".


I said, "You're right. I'm riveted."


Power Point is not necessarily the enemy. But the way that people execute from Power Point is typically the enemy. And I want you to remember this: when it comes to visual aids, you are the star and the visual aid is the bit player. If ever your visual aid starts to upstage you, you lose control of the presentation.


And here is the easiest thing to remember. Look at all of your slides before you make any presentation. And if you can look at those slides and you can ask yourself this question: "Is this slide for me or is it for them?". Because if it's for you to get you through your presentation, scrap it. If it's for them, so that they can visually understand your presentation better, then keep it. And that's the variable.


Now, here is this. Most people go... I'm a travel agent. I'm selling tickets to Hawaii. Most people would go: "Bullet point number one: You should go to Hawaii because they have beautiful white sand beaches. Bullet point number two: You should go to Hawaii because they have incredible dancing hula girls. Bullet point number three: You should go to Hawaii because they have incredible sunsets in the evening".


Is that a visual aid?


No. That's text and bullet points to help you get through your presentation.


A true authentic visual aid is visual. 


It should be: A picture of the white sandy beaches. A picture of the beautiful dancing hula girls and then a picture of the beautiful sunsets in the evening.


That's an authentic visual aid. But people have gone absolutely bonkers with power point.


"Oh, no, we need more slides. More slides! More slides!" 


I've seen as many as 220 slides in one sales presentation. I thought I was going to shoot myself. They're like: "What do you think?" I'm like: "I think I just found the cure for insomnia. 




3. Finally, WATCH it a third time without reading the transcript. Then try to tell another person in English what the video is about including the 4 key points.

Glossary:

visual aid: any tool that helps to make something more clear visually
riveted: captivated
scrap: discard something
bonkers: crazy

ENGLISH: The Global Language of Business

Ok, English Users, it's official.

English has now been designated as the global language of business. Now, we know what you're thinking.

Wasn't it that already? People who work in business should know some English. What's new about that?

Well, since you asked, what's new is that more and more multinational companies are making English their common corporate language. This means all international business is conducted in English.

This is already happening in companies like Airbus, Daimler-Chrysler, Fast Retailing, Nokia, Renault, Samsung, SAP, Technicolor, and Microsoft in Beijing, to provide a few examples. Did you notice that not all companies are American or British? 

Because in the 21st century English is no longer just the language of English speaking countries. The bottom line is practicality. And guess what? The country that is at the forefront of this change is... China. One might wonder with the economic power that they have, why they aren't trying to push for more Chinese in business operations.

The answer is simple. Practicality. Just like the language of music is Italian; or Latin the language of biological and medical classification or French the language of cuisine. Today, now, in the 21st century, the language of business, logistics and technology is English. But what does this really mean?

For one, it ought to be a wake up call to all small or regional economies as well as companies from those countries that wish to expand globally. The message is simple. If you want to do business, move things around or be technologically connected with the rest of the world, you and all your staff need to do it in English.

Likewise, if you work in a multinational company, the pressure will be on you to improve your English and in some cases, the company may not pay for it. 

But fortunately, at PLS, we have a number of effective and attractive training methods, including the Dynamic Online Training method from our partners at English Attack! that we spoke about in our last post.

And by the way, don't think that native speakers from English-speaking countries can just sit back and not worry about all this. There's plenty for them to do as well. First, they will have to slow down and be far more considerate when speaking to non-native English speakers. It also means they need to keep the language simple.

The goal is to make communication and performance go hand in hand across different regions of the world and business objectives. And as English Users, you're already a one step ahead of the rest.

So Congratulations!

Now if you'd like to read more about this topic, we highly recommend a recent CNN feature on their business page that goes into it further.

And to close it off, here is an interview with Tsedal Neeley, the Harvard Business School assistant professor who explains why every company needs a language strategy. Every company, including yours.

PLS - ELT (Entertainment Language Training)

Hello English Users. Our post is in Spanish today to tell everyone about a fun and effective service that PLS will be offering. We invite you to have a look...

 

View more PowerPoint from PLS Professional Language Service

PLS ofrece a sus clientes cursos dinámicos a los que llamamos PLS - ELT (Entertainment Language Training). En síntesis, combinamos la plataforma English Attack! - que es un sistema único que combina lo último en materia pedagógica de idiomas con el contenido más entretenido (cine, TV, música, juegos) y a esto le sumamos apoyo de nuestros profesores y sesiones de practica con ellos. El resultado: un recurso de capacitación innovador, ideal para organizaciones de cualquier tamaño y a un costo menor que la competencia. El método es sumamente dinámico, asegura la adquisición de mucho vocabulario y lo mejor de todo: expone al alumno al inglés auténtico a diferencia del lenguaje más estructurado de los libros.