Numbers, of course, can be a major element in a presentation. Often, however, they are simply dumped on the audience with no effort to make them either interesting or insightful.

This before and after is a simple solution to help the presenter show the numbers that are critical to the message while making them visually appealing.

Instead of blocks of text in the original, a simple but relevant map of the US is overlaid with the important numbers. Each number is revealed as it is discussed orally by the presenter. The map actually does not add to the content of the slide or to the understanding of the data. It is simply a way to make the slide interesting.

This technique accentuated the data and avoided the dreaded tendency that presenters default to of reading paragraphs of text from their slides.

Additionally, if credibility and verification is an issue, a simple block of text referencing the data source could have been inserted on the slide.

Let me help you discover how amazing your online or in-person slide presentation can become…

If you deliver ideas, presentations or sales pitches online these days then you probably know your old slide deck from your live presentations is, well, old and tired. And boring and ineffective.

I can help you upgrade that presentation so that it holds your audience’s attention, showcases your brilliance and powerfully delivers your message.

To get started all you need to do is schedule an affordable Presentation Review Call with me.

We will spend 60 minutes discussing your presentation and your goals. It will be all about you — no heavy-handed sales. We will see where your strengths and your weaknesses lie. And we will discuss how we can take your pitch or presentation to an amazing level of professionalism and effectiveness.

If we decide to work together that would be terrific. If not, that’s fine too. I promise you this: this call will be the most valuable hour or so you could possibly spend both on your presentation and on your business. The small fee can be applied to any future work.

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Go here to learn more https://www.tomnixondesign.com/how_to_get_started/

To your success,
Tom

These are strange times. If you present your ideas to the world in any format or medium you have probably had to adjust.

You may have even doubted the value of what you are doing, who you are, what your core message is or whether it is worth pursuing.

Maybe, like me, you do this on a regular basis.

These are strange times.

If you know your core message and if you believe in it – solid, unshakable belief — then you might be able to whether the storm.

These are strange times. We are prone to doubt and to evaluate everything.

Developing and possessing that solid core message that you can then deliver to the world is precious. It will help you get through.

A common expression speakers used to describe what they were about to deliver from the stage (back when speakers actually stood on a stage instead of in a Zoom window) was “I am going to give you a firehose of information.”

The idea was that they were going to tell us everything they knew about the topic. No holds barred. We were going to get it all.

It is a natural tendency to want to show off and impress everyone with the wealth of information we can offer.

The problem with that is this: for most audiences it is an overwhelming amount of content. The internet can give us a similar firehose of information. And even if it were all true, we wouldn’t know how to distill in down and apply it to our particular situation. That’s what we need you, the expert, for.

So go ahead and suggest you are going to give them that metaphorical firehose — they will be impressed. But deliver a crystal-clear refreshing glass of brilliant insight that moves your audiences ahead.

They don’t need to be filled to overflowing with your facts and figures. They just need the right amount to solve their specific problems and satisfy their thirst.

Boring repetition is the problem.

I recently watched a few training videos from one of the countless online PowerPoint gurus. She was good. Had some good advice and then got to the one thing that all the “enlightened” PowerPoint designers always say.

“Never use bullets!”

Well, that’s just flat out wrong.

In PowerPoint, bullets are not the problem. Boring repetition is the problem.

Let me tell you about the virtues of that little bullet.

Bullets, or other cute little symbols used in their place, provide a very useful way to signify this piece of information is a new or separate item in a list.

I have noticed a number of otherwise smart presentation creators build a list in a slide and avoid using bullets like they had the virus. The problem is the viewer was confused as to whether a particular line is a new item in the list, is a different item than the line above it or was even part of the main topic.

A simple bullet in front of each item solves that problem nicely. It provides a organized visual cue to the viewer.

The reason everyone says they hate bullets is from two often occurring problems.

Problem number one. People put them in front of full paragraphs. Don’t do that. Bullets are meant to point to a highly condensed nugget of information. No paragraphs. Avoid even full sentences. Just keywords or phrases are best.

Problem number two. A slide with a topic and 3-5 bullet items in a list under that topic is fine. 30 slides that way are boring and deadly.

If you have an endless progression of bulleted slides, then you probably should seriously reorganize your presentation. Especially in the online world. Too much of anything is a presentation killer.

So, don’t fear the bullet. Just use it the right way.