Hook-Line-Sinker-Workshop

Capital Area United Way

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At 22 years old, Kenny Nguyen is the CEO/Founder of Big Fish Presentations, a presentation company that does three things: presentation design, presentation consulting, and producing commercial video. By selling experiences, the company abides by the mantra of "turning presentations into experiences."

With more than 30,000,000 presentations given a day, Big Fish Presentations works nationwide with clients that range from Fortune 100 companies to small businesses. Their focus is to end the "Death by PowerPoint" era that has plagued audiences worldwide, and help the world's brightest minds and companies present their stories and ideas. By combining creative storytelling, simplistic design, and passion, Nguyen and his team help their clients enchant audiences worldwide.

Last year, Kenny competed as one of the top college entrepreneurs in the nation at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards semi-finals in Times Square, New York. Kenny and his team have also been recently featured in TedxLSU, Business Insider, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine as one of "2012's Coolest College Startups." His presentation strategies have been featured on popular blog websites such as EO Overdrive, Upstart Business Journal, American Express, Open Forum, Work Awesome, Mo.Com, YFS Magazine, and Under30CEO.

The Kairos Society at the New York Stock Exchange has recently selected Kenny and his team as one oftop 50 student companies in the world.

ABOUT YOUR FACILITATOR

Goal of Hook-Line-Sinker Workshop:

To help teams prepare, create, and deliver presentations more powerfully andconfidently for their audiences.

I. Introduction a. Icebreaker b. Agenda for the day c. Discuss Objectives/Goals

II. Presenting an Experience a. Activity: Presentation Vices/Victories b. Facilitator Speech: Presenting an Experience c. Forum: Best/Worst Presentations

III. Hooking the Audience a. Topic: Hooking your Audience b. Forum: Discovering your Presentation Style c. Topic: Finding your Audience

IV. Sinking any Doubtny Doubt a. Topic: Body Language and Tone b. Forum: How to Better Prepare for Presentations

VI. Follow-up/RecapV. Next Steps a. Recap b. Checkup Plans for Next Month c. Follow-up Questions d. Speaker Evaluation

Today’s agenda

Rules:

Attendees get around in a circle with both hands in the air palms out with fingerspointed toward the ceiling. Each finger signifies the amount of points (10) you have atthe beginning of the game. Facilitator will begin by starting a sentence with “Neverhave I ever...” plus a statement about a presentation problem or random question. Ifthe attendees are guilty of the statement the facilitator mentioned, he/she must put onefinger down. Once a player runs out of fingers, he/she is eliminated. The player with themost fingers left at the end of the “Icebreaker” is the winner.

Never have I ever questions:

• Played the drinking version of this game in college.• Gone on a tangent in the middle of a presentation.• Watched someone in this room deliver a presentation and wanted to go to sleep.• Told a joke in a presentation and it completely flopped.• Gone over the allotted time when presenting.• Thought it was possible to have a G-rated version of this game with innocent questions.• Thought that the more flashy transitions and animations I use, the more the audience would enjoy the presentation.• Thought the more formal over conversational a presentation is the better.• Forgot that telling stories is one of the most powerful ways to enhance a presentation.• Started creating content for a presentation without thinking about the end in mind.• Believed good design trumps good body language and tone in a presentation.• Used a different transition for every single slide in a presentation.• Fell in the stingray tank during a first date with someone.• Thought an audience would read a slide with more than 30 words on it.• Read off of a slideshow because I was unprepared for a presentation.• Not made the purposes of my presentations clear up front with my audiences.• Neglected a strong introduction for my presentation.• Delivered too much information to an audience.• Had to reschedule a presentation because I couldn’t get the slideshow working during showtime.• Thought that the more text I put into a slideshow the less I have to rehearse.• Neglected having an obvious structure and flow to my presentation.• Claimed my first job was a dancing Quizno’s cup mascot.• Used jargon or acronyms that left my audience confused.• Believed that text should overpower images in slideshows.• Neglected to research who my audience is before a presentation.• Forgot that the more simplistic my presentation is the better.• Forgot to ask myself what are the three main things my audience should take away after my presentation.• Believed that audiences tend to make decisions more on logic than emotion.• Used the smallest visible font possible to fit in more text on a slide.

icebreaker: “never have I ever”

Based on prior discussion with Capital Area United Way below are primary objectivestoday’s attendees would most benefit from if covered:

1. Discuss what makes presentations memorable.2. Discuss how to follow a script for a presentation.3. How to enforce good body language during delivery of presentation.4. Making complex information simple enough for people to understand.5. How to deal with difficult people and tough questions when put on the spot. Based on the objectives above, please identify any other objectives not mentioned thatyou would like to learn in this workshop:

Based on the stated objectives above, please identify the top objective you would liketo learn the most about:

objectives

Activity 1: Presentation Vices/Victories

For this 5-minute brainstorming session, break into groups of even numbers with amaximum of 4 people to a group. The facilitator will then ask each group to come upwith a list of: 1. Top 5 things that make a great presentation. 2. Top 5 things that can ruin a presentation.

After time is up, have each group reveal their list with facilitator writing down answerson whiteboard. After all groups present, identify the 5 most common elements of eachgroup. This allows the audience to realize that if they know the difference between agreat presentation and a terrible presentation, they have no excuse on making otherssuffer.

Key takeaway: Never make someone sit through a presentation you wouldn’t want tosit through yourself.

Forum: Best/Worst Presentations

Describe the best presentation you have ever seen and the worst. Be specific: what didthe speakers do that made you want to listen or not listen to him/her? What do you feellike you can do to emulate them, and apply to it to your own presentation style? Whatdo you feel like you can avoid doing to prevent boring your audience?

Key Takeaway: Everyone is different. Everyone has his or her own presentation style.

presenting an experience

Introduction:

Here’s the grim truth. Audiences will always remember the presenter more than thepresentation. For this reason, today’s presenters must find creative ways to maintaintheir audience’s attention or risk the chance of losing them for good. In this section ofHook-Line-Sinker, attendees will discuss ways to powerfully deliver presentationsthrough effective delivery, audience research, and assorted best practices exemplifiedby today’s best speakers.

In this section, attendees will learn:

• How to hook an audience’s attention within 60 seconds • How to determine who your audience is • How to find your own presentation style

Topic: Hooking your Audience

Disclaimer:First and foremost, showing passion and enthusiasm for your presentation is afoolproof way to get your audience to warm up to you. Never forget to have fun whileyou present and don’t be afraid to add a little of your personality to your presentations.

• You have 60 seconds to capture the audience with a strong introduction that can set the tone for the rest of the presentation. • Different ways to open presentations include: I. Storytelling: The act of sharing stories provides a great way for audiences to share experiences with the presenter and identify with the presenter on a personal level. Make sure stories can be made relevant to your presentation though. Stories are also an easy way to create an emotional bond with the audience. II. Questions: Questions are easy ways to engage an audience and can jumpstart an audience’s attention. Questions also provide a great way to create conversation between speaker and audience, making them more receptive to your message. III. Quotes: Sharing a nugget of wisdom from a reputable figure and following up with a related topic can make a presenter’s material seem equally as valuable. Quotes are also great way to introduce an overarching theme for your presentation. Just make sure your topic can be easily related to the quote, or else the quote just looks like a sad attempt to make you appear smarter than you really are. IV. Statistics: Statistics can be tricky, but if done correctly, can be very effective in introducing your topic. It’s just very important to make sure the statistic is very clear, relevant to your audience, and accurate. Having an accurate statistic that’s easily understood and relevant can make your message seem concrete, irrefutable, and trustworthy. [For

Hooking the audience

example, during Steve Jobs' first keynote introducing the first generation Ipod music player, he stated that his new device had 5 gigabytes of data. He then made it relevant to his target market of the common consumer by explaining that 5 gigabytes of data gets you up to 5000 songs. This explanation made a normally boring description of data storage sound simple to understand, exciting, and most importantly relevant to his target audience.] V. Humor: One of the most powerful and effective ways to open a presentation is humor. Humor is a great way to loosen up your audience and have them warm up to you. However, It’s a shame that humor is arguably one of the toughest factors of a presentation to pull off. Be careful though as humor is very volatile and should only be tested if you know who your audience is. You don’t want to try a joke and hear crickets from the crowd. It’s embarrassing, and it will make your audience feel awkward as you try to pull yourself together. Try it at your own risk and, if successful, reap the benefits. • Audiences tend to make more decisions on emotion than logic. • Remember to state your objective in the beginning of the presentation. • Keep objective short, simple, and sweet as possible. Ideally, the audience should be able to recite the objective back to presenter if asked. • Don’t apologize and say statements like “I’m going to make this painless.” Show the audience you’re excited and let them know why they should be excited too. • Encourage conversation and audience engagement in the presentation. This can help keep the audience’s attention in check (Ask questions, have activities/demonstrations, etc.). • Give your audience a mental outline of your presentation to let your audience know where they are at in a presentation. • Keep things short. No one’s going to get mad if you finish your talk short yet delivered on what you came to do. It’s better if audiences want more of you than less of you anyway. [Garr Reynolds: audience attention is greatest at the opener and at the conclusion.] • Breathe and make sure not to talk too fast. Let the audience digest what you’re saying. • Remember to pause on important statements to emphasize points. • Avoid verbal disfluencies like “um”, “ah” and “you know?” • Instead of focusing on discussing the features of your product/service, explain the benefits of what your product/service can do for your audience’s lives. • Don’t act like you’re trying too hard; be calm and cool. Even if something goes wrong. • Prevent any physical barriers between you and the audience. Physical barriers can create distance between a presenter and an audience. Basically, get away from the podium. • If using a slideshow, don’t read the presentation. If you had minimal time to prepare, use speaker notes. • Rehearse, practice, and remember…have fun!

Bonus: Tie in powerful visuals and project confidence to really hook the audience.

Forum: Discovering your Presentation Style

Give attendees quiz below to help discover how their own presentation styles bestrelates to a famous speaker. After the quiz, attendees should discuss out loud theirresults and how by knowing these results can impact their next presentation.Remember to circle only one answer!

Question One:

When I present, I feel most comfortable when I am able to:

A. Deliver complex information in a simplistic manner to an audience.B. Inspire people to rally around a movement.C. Have people talk and engage with me.D. Make people laugh along with me.E. Connect emotionally with audiences about my past experiences.

Question Two:

As a presenter, the words I would like people to best describe me are:

A. Articulate, simplistic, and firm.B. Motivating, purposeful, and inspiring.C. Approachable, laid-back, and conversational.D. Funny, entertainer, playful.E. Verbose, cool, sharp.

Question Three:

When asked to give a presentation, I am more likely to open up with a:

A. StatisticB. QuoteC. QuestionD. JokeE. Story

Question Four:

The occupation that would best relate to my speaking style would be:

A. TeacherB. CoachC. CounselorD. Movie StarE. Storyteller

Question Five:

The thing I prefer to focus on the most when creating presentations are:

A. Simplicity of topicsB. Delivery of presentationC. Level of audience interactionD. Content and StructureE. Visuals and Emotional Context

Question Six:

I tend to judge other presenters the most on the:

A. Knowledge and credibility of PresenterB. Passion of PresenterC. Ability to be improviseD. Personality of PresenterE. Level of Approachability of Presenter

Question Seven:

If able, the speaker I best wish to emulate is:

A. Steve JobsB. Martin Luther King Jr.C. Tony HsiehD. Chris RockE. Bill Clinton

Mostly A’s

Your preferred speaking style is: Relevance [Steve Jobs]The late Steve Jobs is a prime candidate for presentation case studies because whenon stage, he is articulate, nimble and steadfast. Yet one of the most overlookedqualities was his ability to make even the most high-brow, technological jargon soundsimplistic and even fun. For example, when introducing the iPhone in 2007, Jobsshowcased and reviewed each product beforehand. He primed the audience for thecomplexity of the iPhone by showing its relevance to the previous products. Keeprelevance in mind in your next presentation; it creates cohesiveness and resonance.

Mostly B’s

Your preferred speaking style is: Inspiration [Martin Luther King Jr.]MLK was not only a fantastic orator, but he was also a phenomenal leader in acontroversial movement, which gives him the attribute of inspiration. In his famous IHave A Dream speech, King is bold and declarative in his message — but moreimportantly, he features a call to action within his words. By setting an agenda withpurpose behind it, he has given the crowd a clear direction and a path to results. Heprovided a solution to their hardships, and they followed him passionately. While youmay not be rallying troops for a revolution, it is important to remember that everypresentation needs a call to action. Without a sense of purpose and direction, you arejust saying words.

Mostly C’s

Your preferred speaking style is: Conversation [Tony Hsieh]As the CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh is celebrated as an entrepreneur who brings ayouthful glow to the business world. His company culture models have been writtenabout and discussed in many circles, and his views on leadership are revered. WhatTony brings to the table is the attribute of conversation in presentations. He talks to theaudience as if they were in his living room, which makes them feel more comfortableand, therefore, more receptive to his message. Remember not to talk down to youraudience. Put yourself on the same level as the crowd and have a conversation.Audience engagement yields interactivity, which empowers the audience and increasesyour rapport with them.

Mostly D’s

Your preferred speaking style is: Entertainment [Chris Rock]Chris Rock is a legend on the comedy scene. He’s known internationally for his standup,as well as his big screen endeavors. Humor is a particularly powerful form ofentertainment that can mold an audience’s perception, and Rock uses it to keep hisaudience intrigued and excited to receive his message. He is dominant but playful inhis performances. Always remember the power of humor in your presentation; it warmsthe audience to your message and keeps them excited.

Mostly E’s

Your preferred speaking style is: Storytelling [Bill Clinton]Our 42nd President is regarded as a highly talented speaker and leader. One ofClinton’s strongest attributes is his ability to tell stories that enable the audience to bea part of the story themselves. By immersing the audience in a narrative — as shown inhis 2007 Harvard commencement speech — they can truly experience the topic athand, which gives them a sense of empowerment. And an empowered audience listenswell and receives messages with more gusto because they feel as if they are moredirectly involved.

Key Takeaway: Finding your own presentation style will enable you to feel ascomfortable as possible during showtime.

Topic: Finding your Audience

Disclaimer:Audiences today are tough. Their idea of presentation keynotes is pretty much concertlevelexperiences. There’s good news though: You don't have to live up to this hype tobe an awesome presenter. You just have to know whom you're talking to and whatthey're expecting— and deliver!

Below are little tricks are some questions you can ask beforehand to out who youraudience is:

1) Who is going to be in the crowd?

• This question is important, as it'll tailor the content and references in your presentation. • Avoid using technical terms and jargon. Simplicity is key in presentations.

2) When/where are you presenting?

• Find out beforehand what equipment the venue will provide and what you need to bring. • After lunch time crowds are typically the roughest if you're feeling less than confident, Try presenting in the morning • If you're presenting after lunch, try waking up the audience by to engaging them (ask them questions, get them standing up, tell a personal story).

3) What's the main thing they want from the presentation?

• Basically, what is the main reason people are attending the presentation? • Avoid “data-dumping” and only deliver information that is relevant to them.

Introduction:

We’ve all seen it. Slideshows that are full of text, without content structure, and seemto drag on and on. These problems strongly contribute to the modern phenomenonknown as “Death by PowerPoint.” Well, here’s some good news and bad news. Badnews is, there will always be bad presentations out there. Good news is, you’re in thisworkshop and will learn how to create slideshows that won’t put your audience tosleep. Secrets your competitors most likely will never know. How’s that for boostingyour confidence in your next big presentation?

In this section, attendees will learn:

• How to simplify slide messaging and reduce textual clutter. • How to build slides that are more visually focused. • How to manage the content, flow, and structure of presentations.

Topic: How to create visually appealing slides:

Disclaimer:Audiences will always remember the presenter more than the presentation.Presentations are meant to be “visual aids” not “visual crutches”.

• Use high quality graphics and not clip art. (Shutterstock and Istockphoto) • Stay consistent with no more than two complimentary fonts throughout the presentation (ex. Futura and Futura Bold). • Fonts should always be big enough to where audiences don’t have to squint. • Popular fonts in slide shows that can be easily read are typically san serif fonts (ex. Arial, Helvetica, and Gillsans). • Audiences are more likely to remember your presentation if you incorporate meaningful images with your text. Just remember though to make sure the image resonates with what you're saying (this means keep the image and text closely related to each other). • Charts are a great way to showcase data. [From Garr Reynolds: Pie Charts to show percentages, Vertical Bar Charts to show changes over time, Horizontal Bar Charts to compare quantities, Line charts to demonstrate trends] • Remember to contrast with color the most important slice/line/bar.

*Show a before and after slideshow to illustrate points*

Forum: Wordcraft

For this brainstorming session, the facilitator will ask attendees to discuss theiropinions on why presenters overload text in their slideshows. Why is having too muchtext dangerous for audiences? Is this a problem in the attendee’s business? Is theattendee data-dumping in their presentations? How can this be prevented?

lining the presentation

Show a step-by-step process:

Slide 1: Title + bullet points with nothing but text (Too much text and too many main ideas on slide)Slide 2: Have one bullet point (Remove text and have only one main idea)Slide 3: Have main idea of bullet point (Remove unnecessary text and place in speaker’s notes)

Text Tips:

• One main idea per slide please. Slides that have multiple main ideas should be broken up into multiple slides.• To avoid data dump, always ask if information on slide is really relevant to audience. (Ex. Do they really need to know a general overview of your company if this is the fifth meeting?)• Avoid more than 30 words a slide.• Limit bullet points and text. The more bullet points you add, the greater the chance your audience won’t read them.• If you have to have text to help you present, keep it in the speaker notes. Don’t overload your slide with it.• Slides that are meaningless without the explanation of the presenter are the best.• If attendee’s company is very content heavy, details can be put in the afterpresentation handouts.

Key takeaway: Let’s be honest, who really reads all that text?

*Show slides provided by client or facilitator*

Activity 2: Slide Therapy

For this activity, break into groups of even numbers with a maximum of 4 people to agroup. Facilitator will hand out 4 different short slideshows to each group. Groups thenhave 20 minutes to find ways to improve the visual aesthetics and messaging of eachslide on paper. After 20 minutes, groups are then asked to 1) present the problemswith the old slides 2) explain their improvements and 3) provide mock visuals of slides.Other groups will then score the improved new slides based on scorecard below. Thewinning group’s score will be recorded for the prize at the end of the day.

Scoring Sheet:

Group managed to improve slide effectively 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Slides’ message are concise and to the point 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Successfully becomes “visual aid” not “visual crutch” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Overall Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Slideshows will include:

• Old slides from client that Big Fish Presentations have redesigned. • Sample slideshows that facilitator has brought to meeting.

Topic: Scripting your presentation

Below is a content template we built that can be helpful in structuring future eQ healthpresentations. We encourage EQ to follow this template in building futurepresentations to, not only save time, but also to create better flow and structure.

I. Introduction:

Opener [Credibility boost]: − State why you're hereFollow-up: - Our PhilosophyPreview of Main Points: - Objectives as main points - Project ScopeThesis/transitioning sentence: - State Call to Action

II. Main Point One - Main Point X:

- Introduction of Point One- Supporting Content- How it's relevant to audience and objective- Clear Transition Sentence

III. Conclusion:

- Restate call to action- Recap of Main Points- Ending

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Facilitator will show some slides on the screen either from client’s presentations or apresentation provided by facilitator. Based on the layout of this template, facilitator willshow an example of how by applying this template, it will be much easier for audiencesto follow the flow of the presentation.

Slideshows will include:

• Old slideshow from client that Big Fish Presentations have redesigned.• Sample slideshows that facilitator has brought to meeting.

Introduction:

So what’s the one essential element that can separate a great presenter from anamateur? Confidence. Confidence is key when wanting to convince audiences tobelieve in your product/service/cause. After all, if you don’t seem to believe in yourself,why should the audience believe in you?

In this section, attendees will learn: • How to practice effective body language. • Creative ways to rehearse before a presentation. • How to deliver an impromptu presentation.

Topic: 5 Ways to have better body language*

Disclaimer:The first step to portray confidence is to showcase good body language. Bodylanguage is a non-spoken language of communication that sparks trust, showssincerity, and can genuinely show an audience you believe in what you are presenting.

Below are five tips to showcase good and positive body language:

1. Stand up and smile. • According to statistics, people notice facial expressions the most during presentations. • A smile can show sincerity and create a feeling of trust between you and the audience.2. Maintain Eye Contact • Very basic but very important. This creates a personal feel and also showcases you believe in what you're saying.3. Keep an Open Posture • An open posture this shows an audience that you are open to them. • By crossing your arms it makes you look insecure and less confident. • Keep feet shoulder width apart with shoulders pointed toward audience members.4. Use Hand Gestures • This can help emphasize special points. • This can have your words gain more impactful meaning.5. Keep Fluid Movements • Keeping fluid movements will showcase confidence combining with your tone and content. If you're up on stage still as a plank you'll look very nervous. • When emphasizing points, feel free to take a couple of steps and move around to recapture an audience’s attention.*Get a willing audience member to demonstrate this section*

sinking any doubt

Forum: How to better prepare for presentations

Being properly prepared is also a form of projecting confidence, as strong preparationnot only relaxes your nerves, but also shows the audience you care about yourpresentation and their time.

Around the room, each attendee describes the worst presentation they have ever givenand what they could have done to prevent it. Attendees are encouraged then todiscuss together on creative ways they can prepare for their next presentation whenstretched for time.

Quick Presentation Preparation tips:

1. Time Yourself • This helps you keep your content to a minimum and not go overboard. • I normally like to finish a minute or two under the mark just to give me leeway in case I ramble.2. Record Yourself • You can catch verbal disfluencies, body language mishaps, and confusing statements to be revised. • Rule of thumb is when your not embarrassed watching yourself, you're ready!3. Experiment • Continuously experiment and tweak your presentation. It should never feel awkward when delivering. • Do what is natural to you and you'll more likely find yourself in the comfort zone when delivering.4. Test the Equipment out beforehand • If able, test out the equipment beforehand! If anything goes wrong with the presentation and you can’t go on, it’s still your fault.5. Discover a pre-presentation ritual to calm your nerves • Everyone gets nervous before speaking, so it’s important for you to feel as comfortable as possible. • From listening to certain songs, watching a movie, meditating, to stretching, find a ritual that can relax you beforehand. Your audience will thank you.

Key Takeaway: No matter what, the show must always go on. It’s up to you to beprepared 100% all the time.

Today, you should have learned:

• How to hook an audience’s attention within 60 seconds • How to determine who the audience is • How to find your own presentation style • How to practice effective body language. • Creative ways to rehearse before a presentation. • Simplify content for your next presentation •Find a way to make create a script for eQ Health

Based upon results of today’s seminar, the next steps we can take are:

• Presentation checkup next month/quarter via conference call • Schedule a future in-office brainstorming session for client’s next big presentation.

FOLLOW UP/RECAP

speaker evaluation

Expertise of Speaker 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Presentation Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Usefulness of Information 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Interst of the Subject 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Overall Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Additional Comments:

Name (Optional)

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