How Web Sites Are Not Like Presentations

Steve Krug has written an excellent book on designing effective Web sites. If you're interested in getting out on the Web in a bigger way, I strongly suggest you read Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.

How this is not like making a wow presentation?

Because you want your audience to think. And you want them to see things from your point of view, or think like you do on a particular topic.

The trick is, they have to listen to what you have to say, before you can persuade them to think. Most of us would rather not...think too much.

You may be able to convince us to accept you argument without thinking.

But that's not the most delicious way of connecting. Have you helped someone think today?

Why Bother to Wow

In other words, why presenting is so important.

Peggy Noonan says, As more and more businesses become involved in the new media technologies, as we become a nation of fewer widgets and more Web sites, a new premium has been put on the oldest form of communication: the ability to stand out and say what you think in front of others.

Here's what Tom Peter's had to say about it. I've seen several quotes from him about the value and the very critical importance of presentation skills, this one is from his website.

Fact, in "our" more modest worlds: Poor or average or even "okay" presentation skills trip up or hold back an incredible number of very talented people at all levels, including the highest in big orgs—and yet it is rare to see someone launch a martial-arts-training-like, no-bull, I'm-gonna-master-this-or-die-trying offensive on presentation skill improvement.

You've heard people say, and you've probably said it yourself, “It's not what he said, it's how he said it.” Yep, that's the reality. People judge you by your presentations – that's why it's such a feared feat.

Here's an example came from my own life. In March I made a short video clip in which I discussed my research about Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez. Now, I've made hundreds of presentations and have been teaching this stuff for years, but I had never been videotaped doing any sort of formal talk.

Now, how hard can it be? I've just spent years researching this man, so I'm really a world expert on the subject. Still, when the bright lights are in your eyes, you're hooked up to a microphone, you're looking into a camera....well, it feels awkward. And looking at the tape afterward, I spoke well on my topic, yet my sense of humor and fun was totally missing. The video presentation was of me, but it wasn't me. I now knew that for the next one, I had to relax even more and even make an effort to be my witty self.

Guy Kawasaki interviews Nancy Duarte:

Duarte's recent book is called slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations.

In this interview, she shares the secret to great PowerPoint's and tells how to avoid some of the most common presentation pitfalls.

Question: Why do most presentations suck?

Answer: Most presentations suck because:

1.The presenter has not given the audience any idea why they are there or what the content means to them; messages are disorganized and there’s no unifying story line.

2. The presenter uses the slides as a document or TelePrompter and reads their slides with his/her back to the audience. This makes the audience feel like the presenter is slow or not very smart.

3. The presenter is not passionate or inspired and has not connected to the audience in a uniquely human way.

See, it's not just me. Making presentations is important enough to warrant a great deal of thought and practice.

Make Your Message Motivate

I just watched the very funny Onion News Network satire on Information Overload Syndrome. The writers really captured the essence of TMI, and you've still got to give another wow presentation. How do you keep your message from becoming just another TMI scrap?

The answer: Take out unnecessary information and keep your audience's interests in first place.

Assuming you have a clear purpose to your talk (if not see yesterday's post,) now you get to put together the heart of the message. The following questions can help you get it right.

- What is the benefit for your audience?

- Why should they agree with you?

- Which questions of theirs, do you answer?

- Which of their problems do you solve?

The answer to these questions is the meat of your message. The more remarkable you can make your answer(s), the better off you'll be.

Donald Trump really stresses the need for people making presentations to be brief. Former prez Franklin D. Roosevelt did the same with his quip, Be sincere, be brief, be seated.

Trump once limited a man's sales pitch to 3 minutes - and Trump bought the concept and invested with the 3- minute presenter.

Everyone wants more of their time back. Motivate succinctly and then sit down.

The Foundation for Your Wow Message

Before you make your presentation, you want to be ultra laser clear about why you are doing this. Like with a lot of things, if you're sure about the why, the how will more easily fall into place.

If what you need to say can be passed around through a memo or email, save yourself and the other's time and trouble and whip out an effective written message. Your audience thanks you for being considerate.

Now, you may have several reasons to talk to a group, but you need to be clear about what those reasons are, and prioritize them, before you actually craft your message. Speakeasy's Sandy Linver refers to communication as a journey, and through your talk, you want to have a destination in mind about where you want to take your audience.

And do they really want to go there with you?

Before even writing your thesis statement, think in terms of creating hunger for your topic. In other words, why should they care?

This part of your message is the foundation for everything else. Before you write your thesis statement, before you decide what to wear, and what kind of visual support to use, decide what it is about your message or topic that can motivate them to actually listen.

That motivation may come from the same reason the topic is important to you. That's why I know that relating yourself to your topic usually draws your audience closer to you.

So, before you start with the Powerpoint, get clear about why you're doing this presentation in the first place.

Can You Be Nice AND Authentic?

When your coach asks you to think about becoming more authentic, it's not a warm and fuzzy feeling. You get this uneasy suspicion that you haven't been as honest as you'd like, even though you value complete transparency. It was for me, however, a gentle reminder about how easy it is to play the game of pleasing others, and failing to express yourself with complete transparency.

The downside to this pattern is that you can become fake. Yuck!

I recently read that it takes great courage to always express your preferences while being prepared to let go of some of them if needed. I think one really big key to living authentically is what my dad calls, "disagreeing without being disagreeable."

Or as Isaac Newton put it, "Tact is making a point without making an enemy."

Being kind and authentic is a challenge that truly makes life more interesting. Here are some guidelines that have helped me:

1. Always keep on the lookout for honest positives. You may not like the broccoli casserole, but you can rave about the brussel sprouts (that would certainly impress me!)

2. At times it will be in your best interest to say, go to a dinner when you'd rather stay home and watch a movie. Sometimes the dinner turns out to be much more fun than you thought, and usually it's good to share with people anyway. But, don't try to convince yourself that you don't really want to stay home, admit the truth to yourself, and go to the dinner. There will be times, however, that you must stay home. Only you can make that call.

3. One thing that has really helped me is realizing that I don't have to explain myself. For some reason, I used to always want to explain myself - even telling the Wal-mart cashier why I wanted one brand and not another, or why I wanted to pay with exact change. Who cares?

4. If you need to give some negative feedback, sandwich that comment between two honest positives.

5. Allow others to disagree with you. It's a free country, and no two people are ever going to see every single issue eye-to-eye.

Like so many personal growth issues, awareness is an excellent starting point. It has taken me a long time to see that in trying to please so many people in my life, I let myself get locked into a pattern that caused me to be unreliable, always changing, always seeking that elusive approval.

I'm not as nice as I used to be, but I feel more comfortable with myself. And that has made me a more confident person.

The Help You Dread Asking For

I observed this during a lunch with two awesome friends last week: really and truly, so many of us hate asking for help.

I hate to admit it but I don't ask for help nearly as often as I could. I love thinking I am the ultimate super woman completely independent and self-sufficient. It sometimes takes a near-breakdown experience for me to realize I could use some help.

The irony is that we love it when people ask for our help. I am so pleased when friends and clients ask me for help with any issue really, but especially what Christina and I call communication "tissues."

If you ask for some one's help, you automatically show that person that she is valued.

You also give that person the opportunity to give in a way that is unique.

Even if the person you ask feels inadequate to comply with your request, he is still pleased to be asked.

Yet, we can be so reluctant to "bother" people -- mostly because we fear appearing weak, incompetent, or rejected.

It reminds me of a story my grandmother told me last week. She was giving me some of her vintage couture items, and she mentioned that the sleeves would all be too short for me. Years ago, when she shopped at this fancy boutique (she was a regular customer), the expert alterations lady would adjust the sleeves to be too short for her. Did my grandmother ever mention this, or ask that they be fixed, or remind the lady to not keep making that same mistake?

Unfortunately, she did not. She was afraid of "bothering" either the alterations lady or the boutique owner, and over the years paid thousands of dollars on clothes which would be altered to have the sleeves just a bit too short.

Think of three areas or situations in which you could use some help. And go ask for it.

Today is the First Day of the 2nd Half

Well, someone had to say it -- the year is flying by! Just to help keep everyone on track, here are some questions you might want to think about:

- Are you pretty much living the life you want?

- Are you able to be happy now, most of the time?

- Are you making progress, even if it's small, toward achieving your goals?

- Are you having fun?

- Are you helping others? Making a contribution?

- Are you eating better than you did last year?

- Do your loved ones know that you love them?

- Do you still have dreams?

No one's getting out of here alive anyway, might as well assume a bit more risk and see what happens.