1、Good is good, but better carries it.精益求精，善益求善。IBM咨詢管理工具TherearethreestepstomakinganIBMpresentation:PlanItoffersadviceonorganizingyourmessage,sharpeningyourfocusonwhatyouwanttosay,andarrangingitinamannerthataudiencescanfollow.PrepareItisaresourceforconstructinggraphicsupportmaterialsinFreelanceGraphi

2、cs(PowerPointisalsosupported).Youwillfindinstructionsonhowtoincludeelementssuchastext,chartsandgraphsinastylethatwillbeconsistenttoallouraudiences-anIBMlook,inmuchthesamewaythatouradvertisingandmarketingmaterialshaveadistinctappearance.PresentItofferstipsonhowtodeliverwhatyouvepreparedeffectivelytoa

3、naudience.Presentationsarenotaboutshowingaseriesofslides;theyareaboutyou,communicatingamessage,withvisualelementsinasupportingrole.WheretobeginInherbookSecretsofPowerPresentations,MickiHollidaysuggestsansweringthefollowingquestionsasafirststarttoorganizingyourpresentation:Whatdoestheaudienceneedtokn

4、ow?Whatdoestheaudiencewanttoknow?Whatarethepossiblebenefitsofasuccessfulmeetingforthisaudience?(Whatsinitforme?)Whatquestionsmighttheaudiencehave?Hereswhatyoudofirst:Stop.Takesometime.AsThomasWatsonSr.usedtoadvise,famously:Think.Youareabouttomountanargument.Whatdoyouneed?Dontsuccumbtothetemptationof

5、collectingeveryapparentlyrelevantitemintoajumbleandthentryingtoreshufflethemintoacoherentorder.(Jimhasanicechartonthis,andLisahassomegoodmarketdata,Illgetthose.)Thatstheflawedtechniquebehindmanyofthemoreoverblown,leadenpresentationsyouveeverdozedthrough.Thatsworkingbackwards.Instead,startwithnothing

6、.andworkforward.Askyourselfthis:Whatismypoint?Everypresentationisanattempttocommunicatesomething.Itmaybeacomplextopic,withlotsofsupportingdata,butfundamentallytherewillalwaysbesomethingsimpleyouwanttosay.ItmightbeIBMunderstandsyourbusiness,orThistechnologyisthebestforourrequirementsorWeneedmoretimet

7、odothisjobright.Figureoutwhatyouretryingtocommunicate,initssimplest,clearest,mostconciseform.Writeitdown,inonesentence.Doesitmakesense?Doesitreallycuttotheheartofwhatyouneedtoconvey?Ifnot,rewriteit.Ifyouonlycoulddeliverthisonesentencetoyouraudience,withnochartsoranysupportinginformation,wouldthisbet

8、heoneyoudchoose?Composingthisbasicsentencemighttaketwominutes,oritmighttakeanhour.Itdoesntreallymatterwhich.Justgetitright.Withoutaclearpointofview,youarenavigatingwithoutdirection.Getitwrong,andyoullstruggletherestoftheway.Getitright,andthepieceswillbeginfallingnaturallyintoplacebehindit.Buildyourc

9、aseOK,youreclearaboutthepointyouneedtoconvey.Butitssafetoassumethatyouraudienceisnotpreparedtoacceptyourmessageonfaith.Afterall,ifeveryoneintheroomalreadyknewwhatyouwantedtotellthem,andagreedwithit,therewouldbenopointwhatevertoyourstandingupandtalking.Thepurposeofyourtalkistomoveyouraudiencetoyourpo

10、intofview.Soyouwillhavetobuildyourcase.Youneedtoorganizeyourargument.Makearoughflowchartoftheinformationyouaregoingtopresent.Justsketchitoutonpaper-thisisntgoingtobeachartyoullshow,andyoullprobablyhavetoreviseitafewtimesanyway.Theorganizingprinciplebehindthisisapyramid:eachstatementyoumakewillhaveon

11、e,ormorelikelyseveral,supportingpiecesofinformationunderit.Asyoubuildyourpresentationinthisoutlineform,apyramidwillform,withyourbasicstatementatthetopandeverythingelsearrayedbeneathit.Dontworryyetabouttheorderinwhichyoullactuallypresenteachitem.Justgetthemalldownonpapertolookat.ThePyramidPrinciplebo

12、oklistedinourrecommendedreadinglistisdevotedtothismethodoforganization,anditsausefulresource.Butthebasicideaisreallycommonsense,merelyawayoflayingoutyourinformationsoyoucanarrangeand,lateron,presentitlogically.Letstakealookatahypotheticalpresentationandhowyoumightorganizeitsvariouselements,usingthis

13、technique.FromthetopdownLetsassumeyourbasicpointis:IBMssolutionisyourbestoption,becauseitscombinationofproductsandservicesisintegratedandflexible,andbecauseweunderstandyourbusinesschallenges.Now,putyourselfinyouraudiencesposition.Theywanttoknowwhytheyshouldbelievethis.Theyexpectproof.Youhave,letsass

14、ume,fourreasons.First,IBMproductsworktogether.Second,IBMofferstheflexibilityofopensystems.Third,IBMservicestieeverythingtogether.Fourth,IBMhasexperienceinthecustomersindustry.Thisistheheartandframeworkofyourpitch.Layitoutgraphically.Younowseethatyouregoingtoopenbystatingyourmainpoint,andyouregoingto

15、proceedthroughyourpresentationbyofferingfactsanddatainthesefourareas.Dontworryyetaboutwhichwillcomefirst.Takeeachofyoursupportingargumentsanddothesameagain.Buildanotherpyramidundereachofthefour.Underproductsworktogetheryoumighthaveinformationabouteachoftheelementsinthesolution:servers,middleware,sto

16、rage.Youmightwanttotalkaboutinter-divisionaleffortsinIBMtointegratetechnologiesacrossourproductlines.Itwouldlooksomethinglikethis:FallenPyramidsSomepeoplefindithelpfultouseapyramidonitsside,withthetopicintheleft-mostbox,andbuildingthepyramidouttotheright,insteadofbelowit.Ifyouusethismethod,youllnoti

17、cethatthepyramidmorecloselyresemblesaclassicoutlinestructure.Unlikeanoutline,however,therelativeequalityoftheboxesmakeitmucheasiertorestructureandre-orderyourpresentationandestablishnewrelationshipstoitemwithoutalteringtheentireorganization,asoftenoccurswhencreatinganoutline.Forthisexample,wedontnee

18、dtobothercreatingallthepyramidsthatbuilddownward,butyouwillwanttodothisforyourentirepresentation.Organizealltheinformationthatyoumightwanttoinclude.Youwillthenhaveapyramidthatencompasseseverythingyouneedtoconvey.Now,playwithit.Lookatthebigpicture.Seewhatsmostimportant.Takeoutthingsthat,whileyoumight

19、thinktheyreimportant,justwontresonatewithorbeunderstoodbyyouraudience.Movethingsaround.Addordelete,butkeeptheorganizingstructureintact.Onceyouhaveapyramidthatseemstorepresentyourthemeandthevariouspointsyouneedtogetacross,yourereadytostartcreatingthematerialsyouwillactuallyshowpeople:bulletpoints,cha

20、rts,graphs.Insteadoforganizingon-the-fly,youveorganizedfirst.Congratulations:younowhaveaclearpicture-literally-ofwhatinformationisrelevanttoyourpresentation,whatpointsitsupports,andwhereitshouldgo.Unfortunately,manypeopledontbothertobeginwiththisformal,structuredapproach.Althoughyouhaventevencreated

21、yourfirstslide,themostcritical(andoftenbotched)workincreatingyourpresentationiscomplete.Ifthisallseemstooplodding,toorestrictiveandstructured,dontworry:itisnt.Bythetimeyouhaveapresentationreadytoshow,theunderlyingorganizationwillfadefromview,leavingbehindmerelyaframeworkthathelpsyouraudiencefocusmor

22、eeasilyonyourmessage,andenhancesyourownmasteryofthematerial,sinceyouunderstandthoroughlyhowitallfitstogether.Now,letstakeyourgraphical,pyramidoutlineandprepareapresentation.WheretobeginVisualelementssuchasgraphs,charts,andtextcanenhanceyourabilitytocommunicate,helpingyouraudiencefollowyourmessageand

23、quicklyunderstandvarioustypesofinformation.Usedthoughtfully,theycanbevaluabletools.Usedindiscriminately,orconstructedpoorly,however,theycanactuallydetractfromyourmessage.Theycanclutteryourpresentationandconfuseyouraudience.Thistemplatewillfacilitatethepreparationofyourpresentationandwillhelptocontin

24、ueestablishingyouasoneofthebestexpressionsoftheIBMbrand.ItreflectsIBMscorporatedesignstyle,whichalsoinfluencesouradvertisingandmarketingmaterials.Itisstraightforward,clean,andsimple.Itsflexibleenoughtoaccommodateavarietyofuses.Somemayuseitwithlittleornographicelements,whileothersmightneedtoconveyfar

25、morecomplicateddata.Itssimpletouse.Althoughcommunicationsspecialistsandgraphicdesignershaveworkedtocreatethistemplate,anyoneinIBMshouldbeabletouseitwithoutanyspecialskillsorsoftwarebeyondwhatisalreadyavailable.Dontautomaticallyassumeyouneedtousepresentationsoftwaretomakeyourpresentation!Someofthemos

26、teffectivesalesjobsaredonejustbyspeakingdirectly,sincerelyandinformativelyaboutthesubject,withouthidingbehindcharts.InSayItWithPresentations,notedpresentationdesignerGeneZelaznygivesthreebasictypesofmediayoushouldconsiderifyouneedvisualstohelpconveyyourmessage:Lapvisuals,socalledbecauseeachmemberoft

27、heaudiencereceiveshisorherowncopyofthematerialsatthestartofthemeeting,ifnotbefore.Bestforsmallgroups,theirusecanopenupdiscussionandhelpeveryoneparticipateasequalpartners.Thedownsideisthattheymayreadaheadandstartaskingquestionsyouwouldprefertodealwithlaterinthediscussion.Andyoucanalsomissopportunitie

28、sforeyecontactifeveryoneislookingdownreading.Easelsorwhiteboards.Greatforincreasinginteractivityamong15orfewerpeople,sinceyourerecordingtheaudiencesideasastheycomeup.Downsides:Avoidspendingallyourtimewithyourbacktotheaudience;perhapsdeputizeamemberofthemeetingtohelpwritedownpointssoyoucanconcentrate

29、ontheircommentsandreactionstoyouandeachother.On-screenpresentations.Whilelesspersonablethantheothertwomethods,thisisbyfarthemostpolishedandsuitableforlargeaudiences.Sincethisisalsothemediumwiththegreatestpitfalls,thisisthetypeofpresentationwellbeworkingoninthissection.TitlescreenByusingastandardtitl

30、echartandfollowingthestyleconsistently,wewilladdaprofessionaltouchnotonlytoourindividualpresentationsbutcollectivelytoallofIBMsface-to-facecommunications.Thetitleslideisastraightforwardelement,andgenerallyrequiresonlythatyouincludeyourname,IBMorganization,andspeakingtopicintheplacesprovided.However,

31、thetemplateallowsforotherelementsthatmightberequired,anditsimportanttofollowtheguidelinesifyouwillbeusingthese.Moretext(ifyoumust)Thetemplatealsoprovidesaformatforlongerblocksoftext.Youshoulduseblocksoftextverysparingly.Yes,onceinawhiletheremightbealongerpassagethatisrelevant,andvaluable.Forinstance

32、,youmighthaveaquotefromananalystorcustomerthatisparticularlystriking:Ifyouaregoingtomakeyouraudiencereadsomething,makesureitsworththeirtimeandeffort.Moreimportant,makesureitsworthyourtime,sinceyoudonthavemuchavailableandyouvejustturnedsomeofitintoasmallreadingassignment.DontoverdoitBeforeyoubegin,ke

33、epinmindsomekeypoints:Visualsarenotyourpresentation.Youarethepresentation.YouraudiencehasnotgatheredforthepurposeofreadingyourFreelance(orPowerPoint)pages;theyhavecometohearyoucommunicate.Usevisualstosupportyourmessage.Lessismore.Agraphthatshows(forexample)levelsofcustomerspendingoncertaintechnologi

34、escanrevealataglancetrendsinthemarket,butitremainsyourtasktoexplainthatdatasrelevancetoyouraudience.Asingle,well-constructedgraphic,supportedbyyourthoughtfulexplanation,ismoreeffectivethanaseriesofchartsthattheaudiencemustdecipher.Projectedvisualshaveseverelimits.Theyareconstrainedbytheresolutionofa

35、computerscreen,whichisfarlowerthantheprintedpage.Theyarelimitedfurtherbybeingprojectedontoascreenthatpeoplemustreadfromadistance.Forthisreason,wewanttokeepvisualssimpleandbold.Morecomplexgraphicsarebettersuitedforinclusioninprintedmaterials.LetstakealookatthemainelementsoftheIBMPresentationTemplatet

36、hatyoumightneedtoinclude.Morepossibilitiesandvariationsareavailableinthepresentationtemplatesthemselves.Butunderstandingwhichyouneed,andwhen,isthefirststep.Bullet-pointtextYouraudienceisreadytolistenandtolook,buttheydontwanttoreadlongpassagesoftextonascreen.Andyoudontwantthemtoo,eitherreadingtakesth

37、eirattentionawayfromwhatyouaresaying.Themosteffectivewaytousetextiswithshortphrasesthatcanbereadataglance.Presentedthisway,textcanremindpeopleofyourkeypoints,orhelpthemfollowtheprogressofyourpresentation.Heresanexampleoftextpoorlyused:Thatisntabad-lookingpage,anditisnttoodifficulttoread.Butitcanbeim

38、proved.Thiswouldbeevenbetter:Thefirstexampletriestopresentyourmessage.Thesecondexamplemerelyprovidescuestothemessagesyouarediscussing.Itengagestheaudiencestimeonlyforamoment,anddemandsthattheylistentowhatyouresayingasyouexplainthepoints.Ofcourse,evenwhenyoureduceyourmessagetoabullet-pointphrase,youc

39、anstilldefeatyourselfbycrammingtoomanyontoasinglepage.Thatswhyyoushouldlimitanypageoftexttonomorethanfiveitems(andevenfiveispushingit).Youllseethatthetemplatereflectsthislimit.Thislimitoffiveisnotamatterofhowmuchtextwillfitontoapagewhileremainingbothlegibleandvisuallypleasing,althoughtheseareimporta

40、ntconsiderations.Rather,itsaquestionofhowmuchinformationsomeonecaneasilyretainatonetime,especiallywhilelisteningtoyouspeak.ButwhatifyouhavemorethanthreeorevenfivepointstomakeaboutIBMservers?Perhapsyouwanttotalkaboutthetechnologiesthatgiveourserverstheirprice-performanceedge,andcitesomebenchmarkstudi

41、esasevidence.Youhavemoretosayaboutmanagementcapabilities,too.Itsimplywontfitintofivelines.Noproblem.Ifyouexamineyourinformation,youarelikelytofindthatitwillarrangeitselfintogroupsofdetailsthatsupportmoregeneralpoints.(Ifyoudpreparedyourinformationcarefully,accordingtothepyramidstructuredescribedinth

42、ePlanItmodule,thisshouldalreadybeclear.)Thesolutionistocreateanotherpagewhichfocusesingreaterdetailononeofyourtopics.Inourcurrentexample,youmightprogresstothis:Hereagain,youaregivingyouraudiencealimited,manageableamountofinformationatanyonetime.Ifyouhavebenchmarkdata(inthisexample)thatsimplydemandsa

43、graphictreatment,dontcramitontothispageunlessitsaverysimplegraphic.Makeanotherpage,devotedtothat.Whenyouvefinishedwithyourinformationaboutprice-performance,returntoyourlistandthesecondpoint.YournextpagemightlistthekeypointsaboutIBMserversadvancedmanagementcapabilities,followedbyonewithmoredetailonLi

44、nuxandopenstandards.Ifthoseothertopicsdonthaveasmuchsupportingdetail,youmightsimplyshowyourfirstpageaboutIBMserversagain,perhapswithyournextpointhighlighted:Youwouldthenproceedtodiscusstheadvancedmanagementfeatures.Youraudiencehasaclearandquickvisualcuethatyouremovingontothesecondpoint,alongwitharem

45、inderthatathirdonewillfollow.Itsperfectlyokaytorepeatpagesinthismanner.Repeatingpagescanhelpyouraudiencefollowthepresentation,withoutrequiringalotoftheirattentiontodoso.Whileitstruethatlessismoreonanysinglepage(andevenforvisualsingeneral)solongasyourpagesarebriefanddirect,repeatingpagesinordertohigh

46、lighttheprogressofyourpresentationisaneffectiveuseofsupportingvisuals.Inthisinstance,morecanbemore.Justdontgetcarriedaway:youdontneedalineonthescreentosummarizeeverysinglethingyouregoingtosay.(Ifyouarepreparingaprintedversionofyourpitchtodistributetoyouraudience,youwillprobablyincludeapageonlyonce,a

47、ndremoveanyhighlightedandrepeatedpages.)Charts&graphsChartwareIfyourpresentationsrequiregreateruseofawidervarietyofcharts,youcanfindamoredetailedexplorationofthetopicinSayitWithCharts,byGeneZelazny,oneofthebooksinourrecommendedreadinglist.Foranevendeeperexaminationofvisualcommunication,EnvisioningIn

48、formationbyEdwardTufteisexcellent,thoughnotasdirectlyrelevanttobusinesspresentations.Chartsandgraphscanbeveryeffectivetools.Theycanalsobeannoyinglyclumsy,obscuringtheveryinformationtheyreintendedtocommunicate.Likeothertools,theymustbeusedwhenthetaskrequiresthem,andwithcare.Ourtemplatecallsforchartss

49、trippedcleanofextraneousclutter,freefromsuchvisualgimmickryasthree-dimensionaleffects,andrestrainedintheiruseofcolor.Ifyourinformationisrelevanttoyouraudience,itshouldntbeobscuredbythissortofdistraction.Ifyourinformationisntrelevant,itshouldntbeonthescreenatall.Thisintroductiontothesimplest,mostcomm

50、onandeffectivetypesofchartsusedinpresentationsshouldhelpyoudevelopthebasicskillsyouneedtodecidewhentouseagraph,howtoselectthetypemostappropriatetoyourdata,andhowtocreateitusingthesoftwareyoualreadyhaveavailable,inastylethatwillblendharmoniouslyintotheIBMtemplate.Beforeyouevenbegincreatingcharts,ther

51、eareafewpointstokeepinmind.Chartsmustberead.Theydontconveyinformation,butratherpresentitinavisualwaythatmakesunderstandingiteasy.Still,youraudienceisgoingtohavetoextractthemessageofachartbylookingatit,byreadingit,possiblywithyourassistanceinpointingoutitskeyaspects.Thesimplerachartis,themoreclearand

52、directitsmessagewillbe.Complexchartsofsimpleinformationarefailures.Simplechartsofcomplexinformationareachievements.Whendatademandscomplexcharts,theyarenearlyalwaysbetterpresentedonaprintedhandout.Wewillworkaroundtheselimitsasbestwecan,butyoumustbeawareofthemandstriveforsimplicity.Inthehandsofskilled

53、peopletrainedinpresentinginformationvisually,therearesoftwaretoolscapableoftransformingcomplexdataintoelegantandeffectivecharts.Buttheseoftenrequirespecializedskills.YoullfindallsortsofexamplesofchartsandgraphsintheInfographicsHYPERLINK/ibm/presentations/pre_templates.htmlpresentationtemplates.Oncey

54、ouvegotyourpresentationprepared,however,yourereadytoPresentItwhichjusthappenstobethesubjectofthethirdandfinalsectionoftheIBMPresentationMethodology.ThetemplateTheIBMPresentationTemplate(someonereadingthishasalreadymentallyshortenedittotheIPT,nodoubt)givesyouafewbasicoptionstochoosefrom.Insideofthebl

55、uebands(theletterboxarea),youcaneitheruseablackbackgroundwithwhitetextorawhitebackgroundwithblacktext.Youcanhavebackgroundimageryonthetitleslideinsidetheletterboxorinthebluebands.Afewthingsyoushouldntchangehowever:Thecolororsizeofthebluebands,exceptbetweenthetwovariationsgivenasoptionsinthetemplatea

56、ndforthestyleofthebandsintheprintableblack-and-whiteversion.Thefont,whichisArial.(Arialisoneofthesans-seriffonts,whicharegenerallyconsideredeasiertoreadprojectedonamonitororscreen,orwhenprintedondarkbackgrounds.Seriffonts,suchasTimesNewRomanandBodoni,aregenerallyconsideredeasiertoreadinprintonwhiteo

57、rlight-coloredpaper.)Thesize,position,orotherattributesoftheIBMlogointheupperright.Thecolorpalette.Theminimumpointorfontsizeofthevarioustextelements.ThepositionofsuchelementsasIBMConfidential,thetitleofthepresentation,thepagenumberingifyouuseit.Whenyouusethetemplate,youllseemoreguidelinesinthenon-di

58、splayingmarginsofitsslides,andmoredetailedexplanationsareavailablefromthetemplatedownloadmenu.Fornow,wellconcernourselveswithsomeofthemostbasickindsofpagesandhowtousethemmosteffectively.WheretobeginCongratulations:Youhaveawell-organized,concise,targetedpresentation.Youknowthematerialwellenoughtoimpr

59、oviseifneeded,andrespondtoquestions.Yoursupportingvisualmaterialslooksharp-andmoreimportant,theyconveyinformationtosupportyourmessages,nothingmoreorless.Youhavecreatedaneditedversionofyourslides,reformattedforblack-and-white,andprintedenoughtohandouttoyouraudience.Yourethoroughlyprepared.SayIt,DontJ

60、ustPlayItItsbecomeanacceptedpartofthecultureatIBM(andelsewhere)toe-mailapresentationtosomeone,inlieuofpresentingitinpersonorwhenanin-personpresentationisntpossible.Whilethiscanbeagreatcost-saverintermsoftravelandtime,realizethatifyourchartsarecompleteenoughtostandallontheirownwithoutyourthoughtfular