Handling Tough Situations: The Art of Buying Time

We have discussed the advantages of attacking tough situations not all at once but in four phases: (1) minimal immediate response, aimed at buying time; (2) realistic preparation based on a complete scenario; (3) problem-solving discussion focused on reaching an agreement; and (4) follow-through to ensure that agreements are carried out. The main argument for this approach is simple: to be persuasive, you need good arguments; when you are surprised and upset, you can't think of your best arguments; therefore, whenever possible, give yourself time to calm down, think, and prepare properly.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Careers>Collaboration

Handling Tough Situations: The Short Method

We discussed how to buy time when you are assaulted by an unpleasant surprise. Our argument was that few people respond well to challenging situations unless they have some time to prepare. Therefore, whenever you can, you should divide the task into four distinct phases: (1) minimal immediate response, (2) preparation, (3) problem-solving discussion, and (4) follow-through. Unfortunately, some situations don't let you postpone a full discussion. For such cases, you need the 'short method,' which condenses phases 1-3.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Careers>Collaboration>Project Management

How to Deliver Winning Presentations: Connecting Through Body Talk

The real secret to powerful delivery is a strong, positive, uninterrupted connection with the audience. To build that connection, you first of all need the right attitude. This is a combination of appreciation and respect for your listeners and enthusiasm about getting your message across to them. Now let's look at ways to express that attitude with your body and face.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

How to Deliver Winning Presentations: The Magic of Connection

Do you wish you were a powerful, persuasive presenter? Do you envy people who can address a large audience with casual ease and charm, as though conversing with a few good friends? In this series, I will show you how to turn wish into reality and become one of that select group of exceptional presenters. It's surprisingly simple, as you'll see - and you don't need any special 'natural talent.'

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

How to Deliver Winning Presentations: The Winning Attitude

As we saw last time, the master key that opens the door to powerful delivery is honest connection with your audience. Outstanding speakers know that they must at every moment be connected with the real people in the audience, for a real purpose that matters to those people, and without hiding behind any slick stage personality. This is what generates the trust essential for persuasion. You may object that in most of your presentations, you're only selling technical information, with persuasion rooted entirely in objective criteria. But our experience with many organizations strongly suggests that this is the wrong view. You're always selling a package: people want the facts, but they also want to know that you are trustworthy and committed to helping them or to seeing a project through. And they get this essential information about trustworthiness and commitment not from the numbers and charts you present but from the way you connect with your listeners.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: Effective Visuals

Good visuals can strengthen your presentation tremendously - but unfortunately, they're rare. Here are their four key attributes: few, big, simple, and (occasionally) memorable. How many visuals per minute? People often ask me how many visuals they should use per minute of speech. I think they hope I will say expansively, 'As many as you like!' Instead, I tell them the opposite: 'Use no more than you really need.' The key is this: Use a visual only if it has a clear purpose.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: Making Visuals Memorable

We saw how to create clean visuals that support your points. In essence, this involves 1) keeping text big (at least 18-point) so it can be read easily from the back of the room and 2) minimizing clutter (grids,numbers, legends, and unnecessary details). If you do that, your visuals will work for you rather than compete against you. This time, we will discuss how to make some of your visuals not just effective but memorable.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: The Basic Structure

Last time, I showed you that answering three questions will give you the right main message and key points for a strong presentation: 1. Who are my listeners? 2. What do I want them to do or believe? 3. What are their main needs and interests? Once you have the message and key points, you need to fit them into a structure that will produce the response you want. There is one structure that works uniformly well for all presentations technical or non-technical, informative or persuasive. It consists of three parts, which I will discuss more fully in upcoming columns. Here, I want to show you what the structure is and why it will always work for you.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: The Summary

In this series, I have described a universal presentation structure consisting of introduction, body, and summary. Parts 3 and 4 discussed the introduction and the body in detail. This time, we'll see how to close the presentation with an effective summary.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: Understanding Your Audience

A presentation is a great chance to further your career. The reason is simple: most presentations are ill conceived and poorly delivered. So, if you can become one of the few who do it right, you'll stand out like a shining beacon in a dark wasteland. People will pick you for key projects because they can count on you to sell the work at presentation time. In this series, we look at the principles that enable you to prepare outstanding, career-boosting presentations.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice