Michael Alley has investigated an alternative to the default PowerPoint slide layout, which he terms the “assertion-evidence design.”

This approach employs succinct sentence headlines (sentences that make an assertion) at the top of the slide.  Under it, in the main section of the slide, there would appear a visual representation of evidence, such as a picture or a graph.

In multiple experiments, Alley has found that students viewing presentations following this design were better able to recall the main assertion of slides than were those students viewing presentations employing phrase headlines and bulleted text.

An example of a phrase headline would be, “Product safety,” a phrase that contains no information of value and no point of view. 

If the author of such a slide were to use Alley’s “assertion-evidence design,” the headline might read, “Product safety is competitive.”  That is, the sentence would make an assertion, or a point, and then the viewer would be able to glance down to review the evidence on display that supports the assertion.

McKinsey and Co.,  a leading consulting firm, has used this methodology for years, if not decades, as have other reputable institutions, including the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.  

Any presenter whose job is to create clarity out of complexity will benefit from using Alley’s “assertion-evidence design.” 

Sims Wyeth & Co. provides public speaking courses, executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, voice and speech training, speech writing, and courses that address stage fright, body language, presentation strategy, and effective use of PowerPoint, all of which contribute to greater executive presence and personal impact.  Sign up for our presentation tips and learn more about us at http://www.simswyeth.com/.

As I said in another recent blog on complexity, most knowledge workers have to find the signal within the noise.  In other words, we have to gather information, sift through it, and decide what is important and what is not, draw some conclusions, make recommendations, and defend them.
 
We often have to do this quickly, or late at night, or on top of other duties.  We need a method or a tool to help us think about complex issues, and organize our thoughts and words, so that we can get the work done, save time, look good, feel good, and have a life.
 
Here’s one way to approach the challenge.  After you’ve gathered your information, and contemplated it for a time, and you’re getting ready to put pen to paper, the first thing to do is craft the introduction.  And believe it or not the introduction should state the obvious so that everyone is on the same page when you begin.
 
Think about the broadest possible statement you could make to describe the situation you’re addressing.  Abraham Lincoln, contemplating the big picture before he had to give a pretty complicated speech, wrote, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
 
That’s a 30,000 ft. view of the situation: 87 years of time and a continent’s worth of space in one sentence.   It’s obvious, but it sets the stage and makes everyone curious about where he’s going with his talk.  
 
Now that you’ve gotten them all on the same page, see if you can pinpoint the problem  that needs to be solved, or the opportunity that needs to be capitalized on.  Problems and opportunities are two things that get our attention, and excite the emotional part of our brains.  
 
Lincoln’s second sentence did just that.  “Now we are engaged in a great civil war,” he wrote.  You might not have such drama to report, but you should attempt to focus the mind of your listener/reader on a problem or opportunity that is meaningful to them.  Define the problem as you see it, but then go beyond problem definition to explore the possible negative consequences should the problem not be addressed.
 
Good.  Now you’ve set the stage, introduced the problem and brought to their minds the importance of the problem (or opportunity.)  Now you must ask the questions that need to be asked, and answered.  
 
The questions you ask will frame the body of your report or presentation.  You do not have to ask them overtly, or aloud, but you should always ask yourself, “What are the questions that my information answers?”  Usually, the questions you craft will be answered by one of the Six Brothers: Who, what, why, when, where or how.
 
If you’ve asked the right questions, and used the right words in asking them, then you are off to the races.  Answer the questions, and select the evidence you will mention in support of your ideas.
 
Lincoln asked the implied question, “What can we possibly say or do here to honor these men who gave their last full measure of devotion to our country?”  He answers that question by saying that there’s nothing we can say or do.  Instead, he asked this audience to re-dedicate themselves to “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” so that it will not perish from the earth.
 
Of course, since you are a professional knowledge worker, using PowerPoint, you will be more long-winded than our only “poet president.”  You may frame your presentation around a number of questions that require detailed responses lasting an hour or two, and well over one hundred PowerPoint slides.
 
Nevertheless, you can keep your audience on track by reminding them of where they are on the march of a hundred slides.  You can say, for instance, “Now that we’ve covered what to do in response to the law suit, let’s look at how we should execute the plan, and then who should be responsible for each phase.”
 
Finally, when you’ve gotten to the end of the last answer to your last question, you must remind them, readers and listeners, of the problem or opportunity that they have. Then you must remind them of the answers you have provided to the question, only use different words this time.  It makes them pay more attention.
 
Then urge them to do something: to take action, change their attitude, or take a first step. Lincoln asked his audience to re-dedicate themselves to the cause of our democratic system of government. People like strong leadership, and listeners like speakers who know what they want.  
 
Tell them what you want them to do, then remind them why they should do it, and/or what will happen if they don’t.   
 
Then bow and get ready to bask in the roar of your standing ovation.

Presenting for Results^SM Update:

We have scheduled our 2nd public seminar called Presenting for Results^SM. If you are so inclined, please join us on Nov 18 & 19, 2010, at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, NJ, which is on Rte. 3 East, just east of the Garden State Parkway.  The program is fun, eye-opening, highly experiential and beneficial to your confidence and career, and thus good for your company as well.  Or let somebody who could benefit know about the program. There is very limited enrollment to keep it practical and interactive.  Click here to learn more.

Sims Wyeth is an executive speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in presentation skills and public speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com.

Every time I set up my video equipment, I have to untangle the power cord from the AV Out and In cords.  They nest together in the carrying case, and find maddening excuses not to straighten out and get to work.

To clarify this complexity, I have to step back, calm down, and ask myself a question, such as, “What seems to be the problem?”  Then I have to look at the rat’s nest of black wires, and begin the delicate surgery of extricating one wire from the clutches of the other, although sometimes a cord gets hung up on itself.

It would help if I put them away apart from one another, neatly coiled and secured with a twisty or a rubber band.   But that would require memory and forethought, both of which are dwindling assets in my personal portfolio.

But let’s stick with that thought.  Are the cords poorly designed, or am I too lazy to take action to prevent the problem from recurring?

Both.  But since I can change and the cords can’t, I should take steps to prevent their further misbehavior.

So, to clarify complexity, once you see it happen, recognize it as a problem, be patient, think, and separate the elements of it, one from another, keeping them apart with mental twisties or rubber bands, until you assemble them as they were meant to be assembled, plugged into all the logical receptacles.

And don’t forget that if the receptacles happen to be on the surface of the human brain, analogies and metaphors can help you get your message into the gray matter. 

Presenting for Results^SM Update:

We have scheduled our 2nd public seminar called Presenting for Results^SM. If you are so inclined, please join us on Nov 18 & 19, 2010, at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, NJ, which is on Rte. 3 East, just east of the Garden State Parkway.  The program is fun, eye-opening, highly experiential and beneficial to your confidence and career, and thus good for your company as well.  Or let somebody who could benefit know about the program. There is very limited enrollment to keep it practical and interactive.  Click here to learn more.

Sims Wyeth is an executive speech coach in Montclair, NJ specializing in presentation skills and public speaking training in order to give accomplished people the knowledge and skill they need to become accomplished speakers. Learn more public speaking tips at www.SimsWyeth.com.