Assuring Consistency


Until now, we've looked at the micro view of the presentation message. The effort has been to examine all the intricacies and nuances of purpose and people to arrive at a finely tuned message.

Now we have readjust again and take a macro view of the message and examine it according to a much bigger picture. The ultimate objective and the basic philosophy of an organization play a role in the development of the message used for the presentation. We must move beyond words and begin to apply the notion of a visual presenter to the entire organization and its global expression.

The growth of the World Wide Web is enabling any organization, regardless of size, to have a presence. As technology advances, the visibility and reach of an organization becomes more global. We won't be typing to one another to converse ; instead, we'll be seeing one another though the eyes of a display device. Electronic communication will be more visual allowing the diversity of our organizations to become the portal to our profits. The heavens will open up as we transgress the universe ”sorry I got carried away!

To assure consistency, you must create presentations that can be delivered by a number of people in your organization to diverse audiences in a variety of settings.

This portability across presenters is easier when you design presentations that are high on conceptual ideas and low on technical information. When designed, the message will need to be scripted for the presenter, either conceptually or literally.

Maintaining the Corporate Image

Companies create and protect their corporate identities by spending millions of dollars on logos, signage, packaging, stationery, and public relations. Likewise, each employee's ability to consistently tell the company story helps establish a verbal corporate image.

Anyone who publicly delivers a message represents his or her company. In fact, the higher you are in the company, the more "you are the company." If you see the president of General Motors presenting poorly, you might instantly have a negative impression about the cars GM produces. These are not related , but in your mind they are. There is no logic to this, but it happens. The leaders are the company. In fact, the higher your level of responsibility, the tougher my coaching sessions. My logic is that if you make the big bucks, then you should present like you deserve the big bucks.

Concepts, visuals, and presenters are each part of the corporate identity. One of the goals of the presentation must be to match the consistency of your company image as demonstrated in other marketing venues . Start taking advantage of those TV ads!

For example, let's take a car company like Volvo. For years the marketing messages for Volvo have consistently stressed safety. Their TV commercials, advertisements, and brochures have always put safety first, as a way to differentiate their product. This doesn't mean Volvo's competitor's cars are not safe; rather, it simply means Volvo has made safety a primary issue. They are spending big advertising dollars to make this point.

Okay, so let's say you are developing the concepts for a new sales presentation for Volvo. One way to assure consistency in theme across other public image venues is to build references to safety into the script. Safety is related to security, protection, and even confidence. If you find stories, analogies , and other grabbers that relate to security or confidence, you will match the existing image portrayed in other marketing endeavors. In other words, you will be supporting the investment the company is already making through its advertising.

The presentation message represents the verbal corporate image, and it should try to support an image that the company is already vested in through other marketing efforts.

One of the ways a company displays its image is through a mission statement. You know, that highly sophisicated document you read through, pause, look up, and say, "We do this? Really? When?" A mission statement is not for the audience. They expect your company to do everything in that statement anyway. They don't count on anything less. The mission statement is really for the employees of the company. If your own presenters don't believe in it, how can you expect the public to buy into it?

TIP

Examine the company mission statement or the corporate vision. These expressions are designed to set a baseline or tone for all messages. This doesn't mean that every presentation must mention the mission statement. But when the core principles of your company relate to both your objective and your call to action, the impact of your message will be greater.


Using Portable Concepts

Just as the corporate image is expressed in different venues such as advertising and public relations, the same image is also expressed through multiple presenters. When your message is thought all the way through the corporate philosophy, those in the company who've embraced that philosophy will have an easier time delivering the message.

This "through-line of action" takes the traits of the presenter and matches them as closely as possible to the elements within the script as well as to the components of the corporate philosophy. When all three areas ”personality, message, and philosophy ”are in a direct line, the audience receives the highest communication.

If your personality trait is an appreciation for truthful analysis and the message contains elements about accurate reporting and your company philosophy is built around showing specific details, then a through-line of action exists. It is at these points in the presentation that your energy level and your commitment to the argument will be at its peak.

TIP

See if your presenters understand the company philosophy in the same way. Ask your presenters to list the three most important things the company does or provides. Then look at the mission statement and see how many of those things match. Two out of three is good. Anything less means the presenter doesn't "get it." Now if you find that a lot of presenters in your company don't get it, well maybe the executives need to communicate better to those embracing the wrong message!


Concepts need to be portable in the sense that more than one person in the company is able to express those concepts in a variety of circumstances. Naturally, a growing company is likely to have multiple presenters. However, the complexities of the supporting elements for your message may be more difficult for some presenters than others.

Your letterhead may look the same across office locations, but your presenters are all different, even if they all work in the same building. Even though you expect each to deliver your message in basically the same way, it is the individual style that shapes your message for that particular audience.

For example, if you are creating a presentation for a remote sales force and the supporting elements to your objective include several detailed charts and graphs, some of your presenters may be more confident with such details than others. Those who have a better grasp of the material will handle the delivery of the concepts with little problem. Those less certain of their knowledge of the details will present the message with difficulty. Because each presenter places his or her personal spin on the information being conveyed, individual style will breed inconsistency.

To assure a consistency among multiple presenters, consider developing support items with limited details. When faced with less information, a presenter defers to actual experience, personal philosophy, and general concepts to express the verbal corporate message. In essence, they express themselves throughout the presentation, and the result is a more believable statement of knowledge for the audience.

So now I'll add another little twist to the plot! You need to script information conceptually and develop yourself as a visual thinker in order to provide information suitable for a visual presenter. The more conceptual the message, the easier for individual presenters to personalize the message.

Developing Portable Concepts

To enhance your skill as a visual thinker and learn to develop portable concepts, try this exercise. You will need three blank sheets of paper and a candy bar. Place the candy bar away from the paper, but within reach. Now place the sheets of paper in front of you.

On the first sheet, write a one-sentence description of what your company does or what your specific department is responsible for within the company. Imagine this sentence will be part of a press release or be announced on the local news. Be descriptive, but limit your narration to one complete sentence . This is the way you naturally think about the message.

On the second sheet, create three bullet points which cover the one sentence description you wrote on the first sheet. Imagine you are creating a PowerPoint visual using a bulleted list format. This is the way you currently think about designing the visuals.

On the third sheet, reduce the three bullet points to one word for each bullet and, if possible, make each word begin with the same letter of the alphabet. In addition, make sure the structure is the same. If the first one is a verb, they should all be verbs to maintain a parallel structure. This is the way you visually think about developing portable concepts.

If you did this right, your third sheet of paper has three words on it, possibly each beginning with the same letter of the alphabet. Okay, you can have the candy bar now!

Portable concepts offer less experienced presenters an opportunity to appear knowledgeable without sacrificing the consistencies already made public by more experienced personnel. That's a polite, sophisticated way of saying that even the new people can deliver the message when the message is simple.

The disparity between newcomers and seasoned veterans is less obvious when specific details are left to the speaker and not to the speaker support. Save the details for the handouts and spare the clutter on the visuals. Both your presenters and their audiences will be more appreciative!

Providing "Do" and "Say" Scripts

One of the last stages of the scripting process is the actual process of providing the script. At times you may simply provide an outline or you may wait until the visuals are created and provide the presenter a copy of the presentation in print form. In either case you haven't assured a consistency in delivering the essence of the message you've created. You need to provide a script.

There are basically two kinds of scripts, those that do and those that say. Both are designed for the presenter and they normally show the description of each visual (or the actual visuals) and the related message for each visual. The message can be conceptual (driven by actions) or concrete (driven by words).

A Do script is conceptual and a Say script is concrete. The Do script contains suggested actions to convey each element in the presentation. A Say script contains the actual words to use during the presentation. A Say script is basically a written speech linked to the support material.

For example, you created the message and supporting data for a sales presentation and you expect each of the sales people to deliver the presentation in a local market. You need to provide each person with a script that matches each visual with a related suggestion as to how to deliver the information.

One way to guide the sales force through your message is to provide a Do script which suggests actions for each concept or supporting idea. Figure 24.7 is one visual taken from a sample do script. Table 24.3 highlights a segment of the storyboard including the reference to the visuals. The left column shows the sequence, name , and type of visual while the right column describes the action a presenter might take to deliver the information.

Figure 24.7. A customer survey showing "out of one hundred" satisfaction ratings for a series of products and services. This visual appears as #18 in the storyboard script.

graphics/24fig07.gif

Table 24.3. A Segment of a Do Script

Storyboard Visual & Type

Supporting Script

#18 ”Customer Satisfaction

Tell a story that describes a personal experience in which you (Survey shown as a table) helped solve a customer's problem that resulted in extreme satisfaction and repeat business.

#19 ”Domestic Locations

Describe your relationship with other sales people around the (U.S. map with dots country and give examples of how you share information showing office sites) and collaborate to achieve sales goals.

Do scripts enhance the authenticity of the delivery and help each presenter develop a unique delivery style. This method requires very little memorization, which reduces the chances for error and inconsistency. Simple visuals that don't lead or confine the presenter are the key to effective conceptual presentations.

Another way to guide the same sales force through your message is to provide a Say script that offers the exact wording (speech) for each concept or supporting idea. Figure 24.8 is one visual taken from a sample Say script, basically the same example as the Do script used earlier. Table 24.4 highlights a segment of the storyboard including the reference to the visuals. The left column shows the sequence, name, and type of visual while the right column gives the actual words a presenter should say when delivering the information.

Figure 24.8. A U.S. map showing office locations and demonstrating the concept that the offices are connected by a communications network. This visual appears as #19 in the storyboard script.

graphics/24fig08.gif

Table 24.4. A Segment of a Say Script

Storyboard Visual & Type

Supporting Script

#18 ”Customer Satisfaction

"As a world class provider of widgets, this survey shows our (Survey shown as a table) leadership in building customer satisfation into every product and process we deliver."

#19 ”Domestic Locations

"We have sales and service offices in 40 cities in the U.S. (U.S. map with dots alone. Each office is networked through a sophisticated showing office sites) computer system that allows our sales force to expedite orders and share data."

Say scripts seem to offer more consistency than Do scripts because all the correct words to support the message have been decided. Sometimes exact wording is necessary, either because someone prefers to work that way and is good at memorization (very rare) or because the person is presenting in a situation where precise timing and complete accuracy are crucial. Examples of these are presentations or speeches prepared for the media, such as TV or videotape.

Say scripts tell a presenter exactly what to say and require that the presenter memorize or read the script word-for-word. Since very few people can memorize a scripted speech, Say scripts are usually more effective when using a teleprompter . The prompter gives the appearance that eye contact is being maintained as the presenter conveys the message.

NOTE

Because the average person can't memorize a speech, he or she will usually read it to the audience. When we see someone reading, we have less faith in that person's knowledge of the subject. In fact, we may even doubt the person's sincerity if the message is emotional.

One way to help someone with a written speech is to have them go through the presentation without the words. The more someone understands the basic flow of information and can them express the ideas and main points in his or her own words, the easier it is to later substitute the words of another.

In the theatre, the actors hear the first reading of the play, then play each scene in their own words (improvisation) to get familiar with actions and intentions. Later, when they learn the lines they are able to make the playwright's words more personal since those words are tied to actions and intentions already experienced.


Otherwise, Say scripts become cards or notes delivered from a lectern by a presenter who spends most of the time looking down to catch the next sentence in the script rather than looking up to catch the next response from the audience.

To support the notion of a visual presenter you need to provide the kind of script that offers the best opportunity for the message to be received by the audience. Although Do scripts offer the greatest expression of individual style, Say scripts conform to a higher expression of consistency.

As you construct the argument and qualify the participants , both presenter and audience, you will seek a consistent expression of the intended message. That message, converted into visual support, must be delivered in an effective manner in order to move an audience to action. Such are the qualities of a successful presentation.

I know we covered a lot of information in this chapter and I don't want you to feel overwhelmed. You can't apply everything I mentioned to a presentation you expect to give two hours from now. But, you can start to think more clearly about the message itself.

Maybe you'll be involved in twenty PowerPoint presentations this year at some level. If some of those scripts are in your control at the message stage, then revisit this chapter and find the elements that help you most in designing a clear, concise , and captivating message!



Special Edition Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
Special Edition Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
ISBN: 0789729571
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 261

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net