Presentation Thinking and Design: Create Better Presentations, Quicker

241 Pages·2014·8.038 MB·English

by  Ed Gruwez

ED GRUWEZ
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
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Harlow CM20 2JE
United Kingdom
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First published 2014 (print and electronic)
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ISBN: 978-1-292-01357-2 (print)
978-1-292-01587-3 (PDF)
978-1-292-01359-6 (ePub)
978-1-292-01358-9 (eText)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gruwez, Ed.
Presentation thinking and design : create better presentations, quicker / Ed Gruwez.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-292-01357-2
1. Business presentations. I. Title.
HF5718.22.G78 2014
658.4’52--dc23
2014024808
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The screenshots in this book are reprinted by permission of Microsoft Corporation.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
18 17 16 15 14
Cover design by Dan Mogford
Text design by Design Deluxe
Illustrations by Ed Gruwez
Slides by Ed Gruwez and Kris Geluykens
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NOTE THAT ANY PAGE CROSS REFERENCES REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION
Praise for Presentation Thinking and Design
“
‘Do you spend a lot of time at work sitting through really poor presentations? Do you wish you
were more effective at getting your ideas across? If so, this is the book for you. Ed Gruwez
has developed a simple and compelling framework for helping you design and deliver your
presentation, and he also explains why his ideas make sense. However skilled you think you
are, I guarantee this book will help you to become a better presenter.’
JULIAN BIRKINSHAW, PROFESSOR, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL
“
‘The art lies in its simplicity! Ed is a master in his approach to design content.’
FRANCIS PEENE, DIRECTOR, CHANGE BANK FOR THE FUTURE PROGRAM, BNP PARIBAS FORTIS
“
‘This outstanding book will revolutionise the way you think about and execute presentations.
The insights will maximise your impact!’
PHILLIP VANDERVOORT, GENERAL MANAGER, MARKETING AND OPERATIONS LATIN AMERICA, MICROSOFT
“
‘Finally there is a book to reveal the easiest and most powerful way to get presentations right. In
fact, it is not just about presentation, but also about transforming complex concepts into a set
of crisp and compelling messages, which is essential for anyone who needs to communicate
across a big organisation. A must read!’
I FEN CHIANG, GLOBAL DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL EXCELLENCE, NUTRICIA
“
‘Ed Gruwez’s book is a must read. It helps any level in the organisation develop neat and
impactful presentations, but also brings a breakthrough approach on slideshow productivity.’
NICOLAS FILATIEFF, DIRECTOR, MARKETING CLIENTS AND PRODUCTS, BNP PARIBAS FORTIS
“
‘I saw a clear uplift in presentation quality after we used Ed’s support to educate and train our
teams. The presentations became crisper, shorter, to the point and impactful. And the caviar is
that the team members really enjoyed the training and acknowledged that it helped them create
and deliver presentations in a better way.’
FLORENT EDOUARD, SENIOR DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL EXCELLENCE, ASTRAZENECA JAPAN
“
‘TNS’s mission is to consult business and policy leaders and help them to make better
decisions. Reporting and presenting our research findings, insights, conclusions and
recommendations with impact have become the key success criteria for valuing our service. The
‘TLSM’ approach allowed us to work in a more efficient and structured way, resulting in more
effective research presentations and reports.’
DOMINIQUE VERCRAEYE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TNS BELGIUM

Contents
viii About the author
ix Acknowledgements
xi Introduction
2 PART I: A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF PRESENTATIONS
4 The presentation paradox
22 Solution 1: Understand how your audience thinks
34 Solution 2: Use a design process
42 PART II: BUILDING YOUR PRESENTATION
44 Phase 1: The Thinking
47 Step 1: Know your audience
55 Step 2: Set your goal
63 Step 3: Plan your interaction
73 Phase 2: The Logic
78 Step 4: Select your content
89 Step 5: Write your lead
97 Step 6: Build your structure
117 Phase 3: The Story
121 Step 7: Find your handles
138 Step 8: Visualise your message
148 Step 9: Sketch your outline
161 Phase 4: The Media
164 Step 10: Create your slides
193 Step 11: Add your documents
197 Step 12: Get ready!
205 Conclusion
207 Appendix: The TLSM method at a glance
214 Further reading and references
219 Index
About the author
Edouard Gruwez, MSc, MBA was born in 1962. He was marketing and business
development director for GM and Volvo before becoming managing director of Ogilvy Internal
Communications in 2004. As a consultant, he works mainly on internal communications,
transformation and employee engagement in large organisations.
In 2010 he started to develop a method to help managers design better presentations in less
time, driven by his clients’ frustration with the quality of presentations. The method proved to
be such a success, that he continued to develop it further and backed it up with solid scientific
research.
With his company, To The Point At Work Ltd (www.tothepointatwork.com), he helps
organisations to become much more efficient in the way they work and communicate. He
now lectures about the subject of designing presentations and digital communication and he
is a frequent speaker at conferences. He has trained hundreds of managers, coached senior
executives and globally helped companies to change their communication culture.
viii About the author
Acknowledgements
This book is based on the insights acquired during years of practical experience as a manager,
consultant and designer of presentations. But without the input of numerous other people, it
would have been impossible for me to translate this practical experience into this book. Much of
the content has been gathered from dozens of books and more than 200 scientific articles. As
a result, it is sometimes difficult to know which idea came from which source. My apologies if
unintentionally I fail to mention one of these sources. You will find a list of references at the end
of the book and a more detailed list on my website www.edgruwez.com.
In addition, I would also like to thank my colleagues, friends, family, principals and trainees for
their valuable contributions to the writing of the book. I am deeply grateful to them all.
First and foremost, my three children: Valentine, Henri and Arthur.
But also the following people, who provided their help and support: André Sainderichin, Kaat
Vanseer, Dominique Vercraeye, Charlyne Mercier, Christian Dekoninck, Clara Edouard, Frank
Momoth, Geert Serneels, Ian Connerty, Glenn Vissenaekens, Graham Darracott, Joep Paemen,
Jacques Gruwez, Johan De Pelsmaker, Jordi Kastelijn, Julian Birkinshaw, Karin Vermeiren, Kris
Geluykens, Manu De Cort, Nicole Eggleton, Paul Van Damme, Peter Saerens, Sylvie Verleye,
Philip Vyt, Tim Smits, Tim Van der Schraelen, Joey Stoole and Vanessa Stoole.
PUBLISHER’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The publisher is grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material:
Figure on page 53 adapted from Herrmann, N., The Whole Brain Business Book: Unlocking
the power of whole brain thinking in organizations and individuals, © 1996, published by
McGraw-Hill Education. Reproduced with permission of McGraw-Hill Education; Table on page
176 adapted from tables 14.1, 14.2 and 14.3 (pages 267–268) in Richard E Mayer, Multimedia
Learning, 2nd Edition, © Richard E Mayer 2001, 2009, published by Cambridge University
Press, adapted with permission.
The publisher would also like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their
photographs:
Shutterstock.com:
Page 61: Talvi (top panel); defpicture (bottom panel). Page 146: Dmitry Lobanov (top left panel);
michaeljung (top right panel: woman); Gelpi JM (top right panel: man); Jeroen van den Broek
Acknowledgements ix