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TherearethreestepstomakinganIBMpresentation:PlanItoffersadviceonorganizingyourmessage,sharpeningyourfocusonwhatyouwanttosay,andarrangingitinamannerthataudiencescanfollow.PrepareItisaresourceforconstructinggraphicsupportmaterialsinFreelanceGraphics(PowerPointisalsosupported).Youwillfindinstructionsonhowtoincludeelementssuchastext,chartsandgraphsinastylethatwillbeconsistenttoallouraudiences-anIBMlook,inmuchthesamewaythatouradvertisingandmarketingmaterialshaveadistinctappearance.PresentItofferstipsonhowtodeliverwhatyou'vepreparedeffectivelytoanaudience.Presentationsarenotaboutshowingaseriesofslides;theyareaboutyou,communicatingamessage,withvisualelementsinasupportingrole.WheretobeginHere'swhatyoudofirst:Stop.Takesometime.AsThomasWatsonSr.usedtoadvise,famously:Think.Youareabouttomountanargument.Whatdoyouneed?Don'tsuccumbtothetemptationofcollectingeveryapparentlyrelevantitemintoajumbleandthentryingtoreshufflethemintoacoherentorder.(Jimhasanicechartonthis,andLisahassomegoodmarketdata,I'llgetthose.)That'stheflawedtechniquebehindmanyofthemoreoverblown,leadenpresentationsyou'veeverdozedthrough.That'sworkingbackwards.Instead,startwithnothing...andworkforward.Askyourselfthis:Whatismypoint?Everypresentationisanattempttocommunicatesomething.Itmaybeacomplextopic,withlotsofsupportingdata,butfundamentallytherewillalwaysbesomethingsimpleyouwanttosay.ItmightbeIBMunderstandsyourbusiness,orThistechnologyisthebestforourrequirementsorWeneedmoretimetodothisjobright.Figureoutwhatyou'retryingtocommunicate,initssimplest,clearest,mostconciseform.Writeitdown,inonesentence.Doesitmakesense?Doesitreallycuttotheheartofwhatyouneedtoconvey?Ifnot,rewriteit.Ifyouonlycoulddeliverthisonesentencetoyouraudience,withnochartsoranysupportinginformation,wouldthisbetheoneyou'dchoose?Composingthisbasicsentencemighttaketwominutes,oritmighttakeanhour.Itdoesn'treallymatterwhich.Justgetitright.Withoutaclearpointofview,youarenavigatingwithoutdirection.Getitwrong,andyou'llstruggletherestoftheway.Getitright,andthepieceswillbeginfallingnaturallyintoplacebehindit.BuildyourcaseInherbookSecretsofPowerPresentations,MickiHollidaysuggestsansweringthefollowingquestionsasafirststarttoorganizingyourpresentation:Whatdoestheaudienceneedtoknow?Whatdoestheaudiencewanttoknow?Whatarethepossiblebenefitsofasuccessfulmeetingforthisaudience?(What'sinitforme?)Whatquestionsmighttheaudiencehave?OK,you'reclearaboutthepointyouneedtoconvey.Butit'ssafetoassumethatyouraudienceisnotpreparedtoacceptyourmessageonfaith.Afterall,ifeveryoneintheroomalreadyknewwhatyouwantedtotellthem,andagreedwithit,therewouldbenopointwhatevertoyourstandingupandtalking.Thepurposeofyourtalkistomoveyouraudiencetoyourpointofview.Soyouwillhavetobuildyourcase.Youneedtoorganizeyourargument.Makearoughflowchartoftheinformationyouaregoingtopresent.Justsketchitoutonpaper-thisisn'tgoingtobeachartyou'llshow,andyou'llprobablyhavetoreviseitafewtimesanyway.Theorganizingprinciplebehindthisisapyramid:eachstatementyoumakewillhaveone,ormorelikelyseveral,supportingpiecesofinformationunderit.Asyoubuildyourpresentationinthisoutlineform,apyramidwillform,withyourbasicstatementatthetopandeverythingelsearrayedbeneathit.Don'tworryyetabouttheorderinwhichyou'llactuallypresenteachitem.Justgetthemalldownonpapertolookat.ThePyramidPrinciplebooklistedinourrecommendedreadinglistisdevotedtothismethodoforganization,andit'sausefulresource.Butthebasicideaisreallycommonsense,merelyawayoflayingoutyourinformationsoyoucanarrangeand,lateron,presentitlogically.Let'stakealookatahypotheticalpresentationandhowyoumightorganizeitsvariouselements,usingthistechnique.FromthetopdownLet'sassumeyourbasicpointis:IBM'ssolutionisyourbestoption,becauseitscombinationofproductsandservicesisintegratedandflexible,andbecauseweunderstandyourbusinesschallenges.Now,putyourselfinyouraudience'sposition.Theywanttoknowwhytheyshouldbelievethis.Theyexpectproof.Youhave,let'sassume,fourreasons.First,IBMproductsworktogether.Second,IBMofferstheflexibilityofopensystems.Third,IBMservicestieeverythingtogether.Fourth,IBMhasexperienceinthecustomer'sindustry.Thisistheheartandframeworkofyourpitch.Layitoutgraphically.Younowseethatyou'regoingtoopenbystatingyourmainpoint,andyou'regoingtoproceedthroughyourpresentationbyofferingfactsanddatainthesefourareas.Don'tworryyetaboutwhichwillcomefirst.Takeeachofyoursupportingargumentsanddothesameagain.Buildanotherpyramidundereachofthefour.Underproductsworktogetheryoumighthaveinformationabouteachoftheelementsinthesolution:servers,middleware,storage.Youmightwanttotalkaboutinter-divisionaleffortsinIBMtointegratetechnologiesacrossourproductlines.Itwouldlooksomethinglikethis:Forthisexample,wedon'tneedtobothercreatingallthepyramidsthatbuilddownward,butyouwillwanttodothisforyourentirepresentation.Organizealltheinformationthatyoumightwanttoinclude.Youwillthenhaveapyramidthatencompasseseverythingyouneedtoconvey.Now,playwithit.Lookatthebigpicture.Seewhat'smostimportant.Takeoutthingsthat,whileyoumightthinkthey'reimportant,justwon'tresonatewithorbeunderstoodbyyoura