1. Putting Your Best Foot
Forward with a Presentation
That Rocks
Presented by
Sally Ramsay
Sr. Vice President
Pierpont Communications, Inc.

2. Why Are We Here?
“A presentation is
no more than a
thoughtfully
prepared
conversation.”

3. Objectives of Presentation Training
This workshop will help you, as a spokesperson, to
• Protect your company’s brand
• Convey key messages
• Effectively communicate with your audience
• Better understand your audience’s expectations
• Be perceived as an expert

4. Keys to Public Speaking
You have what they want: Information
Remember: You’re talking to the public, not just
your audience
• Stakeholders
• Regulators
• Employees
• Customers
• Competitors
Three Principles
of Success
1. Comfort
2. Plan
3. Credibility

5. Five Steps to
Presentation Success

6. Step 1: Building a Relationship
• Make a good impression
• Assume you’ll see each
other again
• Give them something
they can use
• State your intentions

7. Step 2: Speaker Essentials
• Credentials
• Credibility
• Content
• Examples
• Stories
• Anecdotes
• Analogies
Be The Expert!

8. Step 3: Preparation
Think…
• Who are you talking to?
• What is your objective?
• What do you want the audience to know, think, feel or remember?
• What does the audience want to know? (Why are you there?)
Rehearse…
• Create your presentation
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• Turn it into bullet points
• Practice with your visuals
• Practice, Practice, Practice!

9. Step 4: Talking Without Words
38%
7%
55%
Visual Presence 55%
Voice Quality 38%
Content 7%
When an audience
senses inconsistency
in a speaker’s
message, what do they
rely on for the truth?

10. Step 5: Dress For Success
• What you wear is pure nonverbal
communication
• Complement your audiences’ manner of dress
• Use color psychology to create the desired
impression
• Don’t try to project a personality that isn’t you
— be comfortable

11. Body Language
• Eye Contact
• Facial Expression
• Posture
• Movement
• Gestures
• Appearance
• Fidgeting

12. Body Language: Stage Fright
• Sweating Palms
• Dry Mouth
• Wavering Voice
• Fidgeting
• Playing with Hair
• Feeling Faint
• Upset Stomach
What are your symptoms?

13. Q&A Best Practices
Use bridging to turn a negative into a positive
• Bridging is a three-step process:
1. Acknowledge the topic raised
2. Use phrases to bridge from the question to your key messages
3. Provide critical supporting data points or stories
• Bridging phrases that help:
• The most important thing is…
• Before we change topics…
• Let me add…
• What that means is…
• That’s a good point, but...
• What concerns me even more is…

14. Message Delivery Tips
Tried-and-true Triad
1. Tell them what you’re going to tell them (intro)
2. Tell them (body)
3. Tell them what you told them (conclusion)
Flagging
• Emphasize an important point with tone of voice, hand
gestures or facial expression
• Examples:
• There are three new programs we’ve started this
year (holding up three fingers)
• Did you know…(leaning forward)

15. Message Delivery Tips, Cont.
• Self-deprecation doesn’t work
• Avoid touchy subjects: Politics, religion,
off-color jokes
• Test your humor on colleagues to be
sure it comes across correctly

16. Sample Presentation Outline
• Open (2–3 minutes)
• Transition
• Body (15–20 minutes)
• Point 1 (include stories/examples)
• Point 2 (include stories/examples)
• Point 3 (include stories/examples)
• Transition
• Close (1–2 minutes)

17. You Know What they Say About
First Impressions…
• Share a personal experience or story
• Ask a question
• Mention something in the headlines
• Describe something
new or dramatic
• Make a controversial
or counter-intuitive
statement

18. But Last Impressions Count Too!
• Call to Action
• Predict the Future
• Challenge the Audience
• Use a Powerful Quote