Good Presentation Skills - Write Down Presentation Notes

This is simple technique to avoid blackouts during presentation delivery and keep the presentation flow smooth.

I was presenting to small groups of few people to large audience up to 1,500 attendees, I was presenting to international audience, I was presenting deep dive technical stuff, I was presenting to C level executives. Every time I was applying this technique the presentation was big success, otherwise it was fiasco.

The techniques is pretty simple. I printout presentation handouts and write exactly what I am exactly to speak for each slide. Then I read it aloud to hear myself pretending I am the audience.

The purpose of this exercise to make sure the main messages flow is smooth along the presentation, spot dead parts, spot where to emphasize important parts.
The purpose is to understand the flow and the rhythm of the presentation.

Once the rhythm and flow understood, the presentation flows smooth while on the stage.

Remembering presentation notes by heart is huge mistake to make and usually leads to more blackouts. For example, if someone asks unexpected questions or something else unexpected happens (it usually does) and I am not prepared for it will lead to total blackout.

While preparing to each unexpected situation is impossible, understanding the flow and the rhythm of the presentation keeps me on track even when something unexpected happens which I usually leverage to stress even more my major talking points

So here is my recipe:

• Write down all I am to say, even opening greeting
• Read aloud and understand presentation flow and its rhythm
• Do not remember by heart the notes
• Leverage unexpected events during the presentation to stress major talking points

Early Morning Inbox Clean Up

Inspired by Two Ways to Use Your New Found Early Morning Hours.
My major communication tool is my Outlook’s Inbox. I manage all my communications through it, consolidating it in one place. Inbox is my critical resource so I need to take care of.
So here is my usage of my really early hours. My doggy gets me up by 6:00 to take him out for a walk to do what he gotta do – you know. I dress up and while asleep grab my mobile phone with Windows Mobile on it. I get all my emails there. So while my doggy utilizes his early morning hours for his needs I go over my Inbox and delete all the junk – it may be a lot of items.

When I am in the office I got my Inbox nice and clean without any distracting Dilbert stuff or Viagra offerings. Focused on my anticipated deliverables described in Big Difference Between Anticipation and Follow Up

Big Difference Between Anticipation and Follow Up

These is simple yet powerful technique to communicate to myself major things to do – call it “to do list”.
What this list should contain? Tasks or final results?
I prefer list of results, here is why.
Imagine, I need to get some document done. It may involve many tasks in order to make it done – but I have one focused important thing – document done. Since, it is pretty small deliverable so I always can imagine at any given moment what should be done to complete it – send two emails, make a conf call, etc. But I am working on one single thing/deliverable/end result – create document. I anticipate it to be done. I know toward what goal I work.

I could have break it into smaller tasks, say – send email to Bob, send email to Alice, make conf call, send fax, etc. I can see how my Outlook gets filled with flags, reminders, notes – all distracting and getting in the way to my main goal – create document. Now I am scanning all these reminders and notes to make it happen – instead of one anticipated thing I have tones of distracting follow-up’s. At some moment I can even forget why I am resending some email…

So here is the bottom line – with anticipated end results I have finite clear goals list vs. endless follow up’s spread all over .

That way it is much easier for me to communicate to myself what to do and why.

Communicating My Messages To My Manager

It is all about communication.
In this blog I will be journaling my communication experiences with different audiences using different channels.
On one hand it is how to carry my message to the target audience and, how to be good listener on other hand.

I will start with my manager.

When I come to meet my manager I try to prepare my own agenda to be very focused, I want to send clear messages what is good, what is bad, what I need him to do in order to help me. All in all, my manager wants me to achieve the goals he set for me, so he usually appreciate me if I focus him on action that can help me doing my work.

So here is my usual agenda for regular meeting:

1. What is good
2. What is bad
3. What to improve “who needs to do what to achieve what by when”
4. Team work status
5. Personal asks

I always write summaries during the meeting so when the meeting ends I send it to us both with responsibilities and due dates – easy to follow up and check during next meeting.

So this is my simple recipe for communicating my messages to my manager in clear way using emails we both can follow up.