EFFECTIVE
PRESENTATIONS
Ms. Candice Quinones
Adapted from:
Presentation Skills: Captivate and Educate Your
Audience
By Steve Mandel

Strategy
• Analyze your objectives
• Develop an understanding of the Audience
• Clarify the core message
• Plan the main and supporting ideas
• Develop ways to help the audience remember the
message
• Build a strong finish

Analyze Objectives
• What do I want to achieve by making this presentation?
• What do I want my audience to do and think after this
presentation?
• What specific things do I want my audience to do after my
presentation?
• How do I want my audience to feel about my subject
matter after the presentation?
• How do I want my audience to perceive me and my
organization?

Understand Audience
• Needs
• Attitudes
• Knowledge level
• Environment
• Demographic information

Clarify Your Core Message
Use SCIPAB:
• Situation
• Complication
• Implication
• Position
• Action
• Benefit

SCIPAB
• Situation
• Describe the present situation
• Add your insight and understanding of it
• Non-controversial (something all will agree with)

SCIPAB
• Complication
• Describe challenge or drawback of situation
• Mention obstacles and/or risks
• Potentially controversial new information

SCIPAB
• Implication
• Addresses consequences of failure to act on issues
raised
• Answers “so what?”
• Provides sense of urgency about core message

SCIPAB
• Position
• Tells the audience what you personally think of the topic
• Your stance/opinion/thesis/belief about issue
• Must be clear and succinct
• Should be mentioned from the beginning of presentation

SCIPAB
• Action
• A statement of what you want your audience to do, believe, or
understand
• You can make these statements at the beginning, in the middle and
at the end.
• i.e. opening/closing action

SCIPAB
• Benefit
• Tells the audience what is in it for them if they do what
you ask
• Can be for organization, individual, or both.

SCIPAB
• Works best if delivered at the beginning of your
presentation
• Use it even before you do your overview.
• Several short statements.

Plan Main and Supporting Ideas
• The Rule of Three
• Logical Flow

Help The Audience Remember
• Develop “Color Spots”
• Engage your listeners
• Use slides and other visuals or demonstrations
• Plan for moments of interaction
• Tell stories
• Use analogies
• Use humor
• Refer to current events
• Use quotes and statistics

Build a Strong Finish
• Review the Main Ideas
• Restate the Core Message

Using Handouts
• Uses:
• Provide audience with record and data
• Reinforce important information
• Summarize action items
• Supply additional supporting data

Using Handouts
• Decide when to hand them out
• Before
• During
• After

Using Slides
Remember: KISS
• Keep
• It
• Short and
• Simple

Using Slides
• Avoid:
• Putting all your information on the slides
• Death by PowerPoint
• Using too many slides for the allotted time

Using Slides
• Each slide should serve as a headline, not just a label
• Headlines should capture the key point
• Limit titles to two lines
• Use a consistent capitalization style

Using Slides
• Keep some white space between bullets
• Keep bullet points to a maximum of 2 lines
• Avoid sub-bullets where you can
• Never read the slides to the audience

Reminders for Slides
• Choose and use a consistent background
• Use colors that provide high contrast
• Try not to use smaller than 24pt font
• Sans serif fonts are easier to read on a screen
• Avoid distracting images, animations, and text variations

Use Your Slides—Don’t Let Them Use
You
• Pause when you are looking at the screen
• Don’t speak unless you are looking at audience
• Keep the room as fully lit as possible
• Talk about, discuss, and amplify the points on your slides
• Interact with your audience frequently and appropriately

Summary: Use of Slides
• Remember: you, not your slides, are the messenger.
• Slides don’t automatically have a positive impact
• Your results depend on how well you create and use your
slides
• BACK UP ALL PRESENTATIONS!

Personal Appearance: Women
• Clothes should fit well but not too tightly
• Find 2 or 3 colors that work well with your complexion and
hair
• Avoid jewelry that sparkles, dangles, or makes noise.
• Make up should be simple and flattering
• Your hairstyle should be professional and controlled

Personal Appearance: Men
• Casual wear and suits should be well tailored
• Men’s suit coats are designed to be buttoned
• Shirts should fit well and the color should not be too bright
• Ties can be used to complement the color of your eyes
and face
• Shoes should be appropriate, comfortable and well-
shined
• Hair frames the face (be well-groomed)
• If you’re not sure how to dress—Ask someone who might
know.

Final Rule for Effective Presentations
• Practice
• Practice
• Practice!