Preparing Powerful Consulting Presentations
The majority of business communication happens with the use of presentations. Decks of PowerPoint and Keynote slides are used during most business meetings, they are employed to summarise key ideas in written communication and even replace Word documents as the form of choice for longer text pieces that include charts and graphics. In short, presentations are ubiquitous. Whether you still study, work in business or the public sector, or do research chances are you work with slide decks almost every day. If you are involved in creating any kind of slides used to convey information you will profit from taking this course.
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The majority of business communication happens with the use of presentations. Decks of PowerPoint and Keynote slides are used during most business meetings, they are employed to summarise key ideas in written communication and even replace Word documents as the form of choice for longer text pieces that include charts and graphics. In short, presentations are ubiquitous. Whether you still study, work in business or the public sector, or do research chances are you work with slide decks almost every day. If you are involved in creating any kind of slides used to convey information you will profit from taking this course.
The majority of business communication happens with the use of presentations. Decks of PowerPoint and Keynote slides are used during most business meetings, they are employed to summarise key ideas in written communication and even replace Word documents as the form of choice for longer text pieces that include charts and graphics. In short, presentations are ubiquitous. Whether you still study, work in business or the public sector, or do research chances are you work with slide decks almost every day. If you are involved in creating any kind of slides used to convey information you will profit from taking this course.
Consultants of the top consulting firms are widely considered the masters of powerful presentations. The reason for it is their use of specific tools and rules when preparing presentations. In this course you will learn about these methods (and see examples of their use) which include:
- adjusting your presentations to its purpose and audience
- using the SPQA (Situation, Problem, Question, Answers) framework to define your presentation
- structuring your slides vertically and horizontally and filling them with meaningful charts
- abiding by several slide construction rules and argument structuring guidelines
- using checklists to make sure your slides are flawless.
I will also walk you through best practices of slides preparation and equip you with pre-defined rule sets for preparing powerful presentations that you will be able to download.
Enroll now and take your presentation skills to the next level.
What's inside
Learning objectives
- You will learn how to structure ideas in your presentations both across each slide and the whole deck
- The flow of your presentations will improve via proper slide sequencing
- You will learn by examples how to use frameworks that help build a presentation starting from loose ideas (spqa, storyboarding, etc.)
- Your presentations will contain less mistakes and inconsistencies thanks to provided guidelines and checklists
- You will understand how to choose appropriate visualisation methods to support your message
- Your presentations will look much better thanks to taught best practices regarding graphics used by top consulting firms (with examples)
- You will learn how to structure ideas in your presentations both across each slide and the whole deck
- The flow of your presentations will improve via proper slide sequencing
- You will learn by examples how to use frameworks that help build a presentation starting from loose ideas (spqa, storyboarding, etc.)
- Your presentations will contain less mistakes and inconsistencies thanks to provided guidelines and checklists
- You will understand how to choose appropriate visualisation methods to support your message
- Your presentations will look much better thanks to taught best practices regarding graphics used by top consulting firms (with examples)
Syllabus
Introduction
Lecture content: how a given situation/scenario defines the way you think about the purpose of your presentation, your audience, the slides' content and style. Also, what kind of frameworks are often employed by consultants of the top consulting firms to plan out a presentation
Key words: audience, purpose, content, style
Read more
Syllabus
Lecture content: how a given situation/scenario defines the way you think about the purpose of your presentation, your audience, the slides' content and style. Also, what kind of frameworks are often employed by consultants of the top consulting firms to plan out a presentation
Key words: audience, purpose, content, style
Lecture content: There are basically three ways to start a presentation one can choose depending on the presentation circumstances. The lecture answers the questions when to choose which of the three.
Key words: diagnostic oriented, facts oriented, action oriented, starting point
Lecture content: Every presentation should be structured along two dimensions: the horizontal and the vertical. The former ought to glue adjacent slides together, while the latter makes sense of information flow on every slide. This lesson teaches how to make meaningful use of these dimensions.
Key words: horizontal logic, vertical logic
Lecture content: How to plan the work on a deck of slides. What should be done before jumping into PowerPoint and Keynote and editing slide files?
Key words: task definition, thought structuring, document drafting, work review
Lecture content: Framing the whole presentation using SPQA with the use of an actual example.
Key words: SPQA framework, situation, problem, question, answers
Lecture content: How to make use of the piramid principle in building convincing slides. Building clear inductive or deductive arguments and mapping them onto slides.
Key words: pyramid principle, argumentation, logical tree, logical chain, probing question, follow on question, core message, main message, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning
Lecture content: Building slides with the use of deduction or induction. When to use which method?
Key words: logical tree, logical chain, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, core message, supporting message
Lecture content: What to consider when constructing a slide from top (header) to bottom (footer) including general rules for all visual elements.
Key words: header, topic, body, keep it simple and stupid
Lecture content: What questions to ask when reviewing a complete presentation draft? How to confirm that the flow of your slides makes sense and that separate slides are easy to understand.
Key words: storyline, flow, sequence, logic, structure
Lecture content: Twelve specific rules on all aspects of slide deck creation including meaningful structuring, compelling visuals, homogenous use of texts and graphical elements
Key words: tracker, animations, transitions, homogenous, unification
Lecture content: Meaningful tables and charts that fit the core message versus bad examples. Learning best practices by analyzing work of others'
Key words: tables, charts, qualitative, quantitative, pie chart, bar chart, column chart, dot chart, curve chart, matrix, process, org chart, gantt chart
Lecture content: Good slides versus bad slides. Examples of real life slides with comments. Applying lessons learnt to improve slide construction for the future
Key words: header, template, graphics, charts, coloring, so what
Good to know
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Activities
Follow tutorials on presentation best practices
Show steps
Enhance your presentation skills by following guided tutorials that provide expert insights and practical tips.
Show steps
-
Explore online tutorials and resources on presentation best practices
-
Identify areas where you can improve your presentation techniques
-
Apply the lessons learned from the tutorials to your own presentations
Read 'Slideology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations' by Nancy Duarte
Show steps
Gain in-depth knowledge about the principles and techniques of effective slide design and presentation delivery.
View
Good Charts for Persuasive Presentations
on Amazon
Show steps
-
Read the book thoroughly, taking notes and highlighting key concepts
-
Apply the principles learned from the book to your own presentations
-
Share your insights and learnings with your peers
Create a presentation using SPQA framework
Show steps
Apply the SPQA framework to structure your presentations and improve their overall organization and flow.
Show steps
-
Identify the situation, problem, question, and answers for your presentation topic
-
Create an outline based on the SPQA framework
-
Develop the content for each slide, ensuring alignment with the SPQA framework
-
Revise and refine your presentation to enhance its clarity and impact
-
Present your final product to receive feedback and insights
Two other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all five activities
Participate in peer review sessions for presentations
Show steps
Gain valuable feedback and insights by participating in peer review sessions, allowing you to enhance the quality and effectiveness of your presentations.
Browse courses on
Peer Review
Show steps
-
Join or organize a peer review session
-
Provide constructive feedback to your peers on their presentations
-
Incorporate the feedback you receive into your own presentations
Develop a slide deck for a specific business scenario
Show steps
Put your newfound knowledge into practice by creating a comprehensive slide deck that addresses a real-world business scenario.
Browse courses on
Business Presentations
Show steps
-
Identify a specific business scenario or problem that needs to be addressed
-
Research and gather relevant data and information
-
Develop a clear and concise presentation outline
-
Design and create high-quality slides using appropriate visuals and graphics
-
Rehearse and refine your presentation for maximum impact
Follow tutorials on presentation best practices
Show steps
Enhance your presentation skills by following guided tutorials that provide expert insights and practical tips.
Show steps
- Explore online tutorials and resources on presentation best practices
- Identify areas where you can improve your presentation techniques
- Apply the lessons learned from the tutorials to your own presentations
Read 'Slideology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations' by Nancy Duarte
Show steps
Gain in-depth knowledge about the principles and techniques of effective slide design and presentation delivery.
View
Good Charts for Persuasive Presentations
on Amazon
Show steps
- Read the book thoroughly, taking notes and highlighting key concepts
- Apply the principles learned from the book to your own presentations
- Share your insights and learnings with your peers
Create a presentation using SPQA framework
Show steps
Apply the SPQA framework to structure your presentations and improve their overall organization and flow.
Show steps
- Identify the situation, problem, question, and answers for your presentation topic
- Create an outline based on the SPQA framework
- Develop the content for each slide, ensuring alignment with the SPQA framework
- Revise and refine your presentation to enhance its clarity and impact
- Present your final product to receive feedback and insights
Participate in peer review sessions for presentations
Show steps
Gain valuable feedback and insights by participating in peer review sessions, allowing you to enhance the quality and effectiveness of your presentations.
Browse courses on
Peer Review
Show steps
- Join or organize a peer review session
- Provide constructive feedback to your peers on their presentations
- Incorporate the feedback you receive into your own presentations
Develop a slide deck for a specific business scenario
Show steps
Put your newfound knowledge into practice by creating a comprehensive slide deck that addresses a real-world business scenario.
Browse courses on
Business Presentations
Show steps
- Identify a specific business scenario or problem that needs to be addressed
- Research and gather relevant data and information
- Develop a clear and concise presentation outline
- Design and create high-quality slides using appropriate visuals and graphics
- Rehearse and refine your presentation for maximum impact
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