Do we need presentations?

Both in work and out of work, we are often asked to deliver presentations. We often spend many hours carefully crafting slides without a thought about what the other party wants out of the presentation. All we think about is the message we want to get across

Do you actually need a presentation?
Seth Godin gave his thoughts on when to use a presentation in a recent blog post:

1. “The best presentation is no presentation at all. If you can get by with a memo, send a memo. I can read it faster than you can present it and we'll both enjoy it more.

2. The second best presentation is one on one. No slides, no microphone. You look me in the eye and change my mind.

3. Third best? Live and fully interactive.

4. Powerpoint or Keynote, but with no bullets, just emotional pictures and stories.

5. And last best... well, if you really think you can change my mind by using tons of bullets and a droning presentation, I'm skeptical.”

If we absolutely must use a presentation, then the use of the WOMBAT technique will help ensure that the presentation is well planned, well executed and gets the right results.



W - Who is the audience, what do they want, what motivates them?
O - Objective why are you speaking? How do you make an impact?
M - Material think about who and what material is most likely to get the message across
B - Brainstorm ideas and then rank the ideas as Essential, Desirable and Filler. Only include the
essential in the presentation.
A - Arrange into 5 logical parts 1) Opening 2) Introduction 3) Mainbody 4) Conclusion 5) Close
T - Test Test it out!!

The subject of the main body will be a separate blog post.

Recommended reading, How To Make an Impact.

Or the following blog post by Guy Kawasaki How to make great Powerpoint Presentations the 10/20/30 rule.