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z-layrex

Powerpoint presentations

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Going for a management level promotion which involves an interview and a 15 minute presentation on the role I am applying for. I haven't done this many times in my life (certainly not at this level), I would assume many of you do this pretty regularly at work and was wondering if you have any golden rules you follow?

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8 minutes ago, z-layrex said:

Going for a management level promotion which involves an interview and a 15 minute presentation on the role I am applying for. I haven't done this many times in my life (certainly not at this level), I would assume many of you do this pretty regularly at work and was wondering if you have any golden rules you follow?

PowerPoint should be as simple as possible, they're not testing you on Year 5 ICT custom animation and transition skills. Black text on plain white background is the way forward.

 

Go over the top on simplicity and smack them with knowledge and personality but not OTT. 

 

Best advice I ever got for this kind of thing "be yourself, but not too much"

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Keep the information on each slide quite simple and expand verbally.

 

The slide should almost just remind you, and reinforce to them what you are saying.

 

Less is more

 

Give it a theme and stick with it, dont mess around too much.

 

If you are comfortable... then include a little humour... but make sure you are comfortable with it.

 

Run through it out loud... run through again out loud...run through again out loud!

 

Time it

 

Have someone watch and listen... they will see typo's that you will miss

 

Have the presentation on TWO separate thumb drives and print a hard copy There have been a few times in my life that the computer has failed or hasnt read my drive etc etc... back ups and hard copies show you are in control.

 

Good Luck

 

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4 hours ago, ozleicester said:

Keep the information on each slide quite simple and expand verbally.

 

The slide should almost just remind you, and reinforce to them what you are saying.

 

Less is more

 

Give it a theme and stick with it, dont mess around too much.

 

If you are comfortable... then include a little humour... but make sure you are comfortable with it.

 

Run through it out loud... run through again out loud...run through again out loud!

 

Time it

 

Have someone watch and listen... they will see typo's that you will miss

 

Have the presentation on TWO separate thumb drives and print a hard copy There have been a few times in my life that the computer has failed or hasnt read my drive etc etc... back ups and hard copies show you are in control.

 

Good Luck

 

This is all good advice.  Less is definitely more when it comes to slide content.  Don't be afraid to use lots of slides.  There is nothing worse than one slide with 7 statements on - Just make 7 slides and with all that space available, you can make your slides visually more appealing.  And don't just read from your slides, your audience can read.  Use the slide to prompt you to expand on the statement.

 

This video should give you food for thought.

 

And if you have enough time, I recommend this book:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Design-Worthy-Presentation-Slides-ebook/dp/B00FX3IMZY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497676895&sr=8-1&keywords=ted+slide

 

Good luck

 

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5 hours ago, ozleicester said:

Keep the information on each slide quite simple and expand verbally.

 

The slide should almost just remind you, and reinforce to them what you are saying.

 

Less is more

 

Give it a theme and stick with it, dont mess around too much.

 

If you are comfortable... then include a little humour... but make sure you are comfortable with it.

 

Run through it out loud... run through again out loud...run through again out loud!

 

Time it

 

Have someone watch and listen... they will see typo's that you will miss

 

Have the presentation on TWO separate thumb drives and print a hard copy There have been a few times in my life that the computer has failed or hasnt read my drive etc etc... back ups and hard copies show you are in control.

 

Good Luck

 

All this.....

DONT do death by powerpoint. Use it to introduce a subject then talk about it.

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Short, concise and for guidance - do not read from the screen

 

Each bullet should not overhang

 

15 mins = 5 slides max

 

use pictures judiciously

 

i like having a 'takeout' at the bottom of relevant slides…. I.e. Increasing  profit by 5%

 

PM when you've done it if you like and I will give it the once over

 

Ben

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Allow time for questions at the end, a prompt slide at the end should do it, however, sometimes audiences can and will interrupt you to ask you about a specific or specific points, be prepared that this might happen and don't let it throw you. Just be ready to adjust accordingly.

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My advice would be to not use PowerPoint but instead take the chance to show your potential employer your skills in MS Paint. 

 

Painstakingly draw each 'slide' as you go - making use of the wide range of tools available. 

 

Don't feel under pressure as you feel their eyes burning through the back of your head as you enter into the second hour on the first slide.

 

Your dedication and commitment to the process will show them your unwavering want for the job. 

 

You're welcome. 

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1 minute ago, sphericalfox said:

Allow time for questions at the end, a prompt slide at the end should do it, however, sometimes audiences can and will interrupt you to ask you about a specific or specific points, be prepared that this might happen and don't let it throw you. Just be ready to adjust accordingly.

This is an important point... depending on what you prefer.

 

I used to always tell people to please hold their questions until the end as i may well answer them in the presentation.

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No transitions
No shitty clip art
Use graphics (tables/graphs) where possible
Use plenty of white space
Text should be concise and a prompt for you to expand upon, do not write too much in a slide

Oh and I did one of these for a job and include a slide title 'ideal candidate' and listed how I met the JD criteria. Don't do that. Or at least don't use that title. What a tit I was when younger!!

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4 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

This is an important point... depending on what you prefer.

 

I used to always tell people to please hold their questions until the end as i may well answer them in the presentation.

Depends on the individuals you are presenting to. Sometimes I seen people interrupt cos that's just their nature, others do it deliberately as a test, sometimes its genuinely to help the presenter elaborate on an important point. I'm not attempting to muddy or worry him, but its always better to be mentally prepared for interruptions, even if you ask for the questions for the end. All about contingency and not letting it derail you. I've seen confident and assertive presenters turn into a car crash after their first interruption, as they clearly weren't prepared to manage this as they were in 'script-mode'. Best to try gauge your audience before you start, ask politely that you'll be happy to address the questions at the end, and if they ignore you, try to address them with a short answer to move on (usually tell them that this is great question or point), and tell them to save that question until the end so you can elaborate further.

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6 minutes ago, sphericalfox said:

Depends on the individuals you are presenting to. Sometimes I seen people interrupt cos that's just their nature, others do it deliberately as a test, sometimes its genuinely to help the presenter elaborate on an important point. I'm not attempting to muddy or worry him, but its always better to be mentally prepared for interruptions, even if you ask for the questions for the end. All about contingency and not letting it derail you. I've seen confident and assertive presenters turn into a car crash after their first interruption, as they clearly weren't prepared to manage this as they were in 'script-mode'. Best to try gauge your audience before you start, ask politely that you'll be happy to address the questions at the end, and if they ignore you, try to address them with a short answer to move on (usually tell them that this is great question or point), and tell them to save that question until the end so you can elaborate further.

True dat

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Depends on the individuals you are presenting to. Sometimes I seen people interrupt cos that's just their nature, others do it deliberately as a test, sometimes its genuinely to help the presenter elaborate on an important point. I'm not attempting to muddy or worry him, but its always better to be mentally prepared for interruptions, even if you ask for the questions for the end. All about contingency and not letting it derail you. I've seen confident and assertive presenters turn into a car crash after their first interruption, as they clearly weren't prepared to manage this as they were in 'script-mode'. Best to try gauge your audience before you start, ask politely that you'll be happy to address the questions at the end, and if they ignore you, try to address them with a short answer to move on (usually tell them that this is great question or point), and tell them to save that question until the end so you can elaborate further.


And when saying you'll come on to the point later, do it in a really nice smiley way.

I have a habit of being as bit short when people interrupt.
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8 hours ago, z-layrex said:

Going for a management level promotion which involves an interview and a 15 minute presentation on the role I am applying for. I haven't done this many times in my life (certainly not at this level), I would assume many of you do this pretty regularly at work and was wondering if you have any golden rules you follow?

Do you still work in the NHS? Maybe I can't remember correctly. If you can get your hand on a standardised corporate PPT template then use it. It sub-consciously will make your presentation 'legit'. If you don't know where to find one, your Exec office admins will likely be able to help, if it's not available on your intranet etc.

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my experience based on academic presentations rather than business so may not all apply, but my general rules:

 

Use numbers 1) rather than bullet points as it's easier to refer to whilst talking

 

Max 5 points no more than 7/8 words each slide. 

 

Use images/tables/graphs where appropriate. Don't just throw in a table for the sake of it and make sure you talk about it if it's there. 

 

Practise. Practise. Practise. If they've given you 15 minutes practise it through to make sure it's 15 minutes. Don't settle for 'well 16 is close enough'. If there's a particular part you always struggle on slow down when you get there 

 

I like to set an image/photograph as the background and set the transparency to 50-75%. Maybe less appropriate here though

 

When you really want to push home a point, as someone said earlier, black text on white background can be very effective. 

 

Finally once you've plugged in the USB, drag your slides to the desktop and run it from there. USBs can sometimes malfunction at the worst time...

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Did one a few months ago for the same reason.

Heed the advice of folks on here who have advised you to keep it simple.

Research the way your company communicates to people visually - particularly in its' publicity and web site.

Don't slavishly copy its' corporate style, unless that is what they have asked for. Instead design your slides so that they are appropriate to the type of business you are in.

Large businesses in Engineering/Defence where I usually work tend to go for a subtle, undemonstrative but sometimes quite distinctive house style.

This shows that you have thought quite a bit about the presentation and if you have got it right the people you are making the presentation will be on your side. You have made quite a significant step towards making a good impression and, maybe, landing the job.

Many people have been fed a diet of extremely boring and badly presented presentations, with bog-standard typefaces, horrible graphics, too much detail and vile colours.

This is why so many people make jokes about Power Point presentations being a substitute for working.

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Loads of good advice in here, won't repeat it so the 1 thing I'd advice than no one else has, sack PowerPoint off and use prezi. It's free and looks so much cleaner than PowerPoint, always looks better in interviews

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As others have said, keep the slides simple. The other great advice above is to practice it numerous times out loud. This will help both with the timing and delivery.

If possible, you want to know exactly what you're going to say - almost to the point of it being scripted - even though only a tiny amount of it will be on the slides themselves. Finally, expect to be nervous for the first minute or two, that is normal. Don't panic if you feel nerves strike and don't worry that you probably won't be getting much in the way of positive feedback from your audience - in an interview they are probably scribbling trying to keep up with their scoring system. 

 

I give a fair few training presentations at work and give the same spiel time after time - even having bits in where I purposely make it look like I'm going off the top of my head or ad-libbing bad jokes which i repeat every single time! I don't necessarily recommend doing that in a job interview but would recommend knowing exactly what you're going to say and practising the timing of it. The better you know your presentation the less worried you'll be once you begin and the nerves of the first few mins will soon wear off. 

 

Good luck!

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My advice would be to first of all forget about PowerPoint and decide what you want to say. Then think about how a visual aid would help you. Stats and figures, trends, projections are all easier to convey with graphics than words. Us PowerPoint to give clarity and to highlight key points and back up what you're saying not just echo it.

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I've used PowerPoint presentations in numerous training courses, they provide a focus while you speak and can be kept as a record and aide-memoire by the delegates.  I've never used one for an interview.

 

I've been a manager in my working life and whenever I've interviewed someone I've looked for three basic qualities, none of which I've felt the need to be backed up with a visual presentation.  The questions I wanted answered were:

 

1.  Can the interviewee do the job?

2.  Will the interviewee love the job?

3.  Will the interviewee fit in?

 

Whenever I've been interviewed I've tried to get as much background information on the job first and then used the interview to fill in the gaps.  That helped with (1) and (2).  Effectively I've used the interview as a two-way information flow, the interviewer wanted to know if I was right for the job and I've wanted to know if the job was right for me.

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