“Few things seem to get CEOs riled up more than lengthy PowerPoint presentations. It’s not the software they dislike: that’s just a tool.
What irks them is the unfocused thinking that leads to overlong slide presentations.
There is wide agreement it’s a problem: “death by PowerPoint” has become a cliché.”
The above quote is listed under the heading of ‘A simple mindset’ – one of five qualities that Adam Bryant maintains the best CEOs share, in his article Distilling the Wisdom of CEOs.
The other four qualities are: ‘Passionate Curiosity’, ‘Battle-Hardened Confidence’, ‘Team Smarts’ and ‘Fearlessness’ (The article was adapted from Bryant’s book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, Times Books). Here is the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/business/17excerpt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The phrase “unfocused thinking’ resonates with me. Many business people don’t think. They don’t think prior to a business pitch or before a boardroom presentation – about what is the key message(s) they want the audience/person to retain and/or act upon.
Of course, they also have to deliver the message with conviction, in a simple way at the start of the presentation. If they did think – they’d cut down, and in some cases not need PowerPoint slides when they present.
Your ‘CALL to action/ HOW to apply’ for this post: Read Bryant’s article and use it as preparation material before your next presentation, meeting or interaction.
Check out this post on how to use a bedtime story in a presentation
p.s: This month I’ll be presenting at a roadshow around Australia, run by an major bank at their Centre of Excellence day for their personal lenders. My presentation’s title is: OWN the room. Listen when your customer speaks – Speak and present so you customer listens.
Please contact me if you’d like to know how this presentation could be tailored for your team members.
What irks them is the unfocused thinking that leads to overlong slide presentations.
There is wide agreement it’s a problem: “death by PowerPoint” has become a cliché.”
The above quote is listed under the heading of ‘A simple mindset’ – one of five qualities that Adam Bryant maintains the best CEOs share, in his article Distilling the Wisdom of CEOs.
The other four qualities are: ‘Passionate Curiosity’, ‘Battle-Hardened Confidence’, ‘Team Smarts’ and ‘Fearlessness’ (The article was adapted from Bryant’s book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, Times Books). Here is the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/business/17excerpt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The phrase “unfocused thinking’ resonates with me. Many business people don’t think. They don’t think prior to a business pitch or before a boardroom presentation – about what is the key message(s) they want the audience/person to retain and/or act upon.
Of course, they also have to deliver the message with conviction, in a simple way at the start of the presentation. If they did think – they’d cut down, and in some cases not need PowerPoint slides when they present.
Your ‘CALL to action/ HOW to apply’ for this post: Read Bryant’s article and use it as preparation material before your next presentation, meeting or interaction.
Check out this post on how to use a bedtime story in a presentation