Presentation Training

Today I went to "presentation training class". I have been several times before to different versions of this, and include some sales trainging classes that I have been to before. Always worth it. I haven't been to a bad one yet. Other people tell me they have been, but this was good. Even if you don't follow what the people say exactly, you should be able to learn something. So...what did we learn today.

When giving a scientific talk pre-sales (say if you are an application scientist), or if you are in Bus Dev and are pitching a large OEM deal...

• Less is more
• Too much on your slides, and too much information, takes you off message and you don't get where you want to go.
  
• This idea is one near and dear to my heart, but one that most scientists lose track of.
• Engage the audience
• Specifically, don't start you talk with "Hi my name is...." or "Thank you all for coming" or any of the other stock phrases that people use.
  
• Starting with a statistic, or a statement of why you are there or something not normal sets you apart.
• That does NOT mean shocking or surprising, but it does mean no "Hi my name is"

There was more to it, and we went through video-taping of presentations we had prepared, which I always like as it really helps a lot. But, the points above really capture the points I got out of the day.

In an endorsement of their work, I do highly recommend the company that did it ( http://www.twoconnect.net/index.htm ) 2Connect.