Important team innovative presentations have something in common with lawyers. Most lawyers fervently believe that a case is won or lost before they ever enter a courtroom because it is the research, analysis, preparation, and strategies that firmly set the wheels in motion for a decisive win.
The more critical the presentation and consequences of it are, the more extensive the time and effort you dedicate to getting ready. Preparation can’t begin soon enough, and waiting only increases risks of all kinds. Begin by carefully selecting a team that will work effectively together. Follow these guidelines to help ace your planning and preparation.
How to give innovative presentation background information
The team leader should inform team members about all aspects relevant to giving a winning presentation, including an audience description, the situation they’re likely to encounter, the goals and strategy for the presentation, what to focus on, and what to do and not do.
Write a common document that summarizes this important information and refer to it when someone goes off on a tangent or strays from the task and goals at hand.
How to create a strong innovative presentation outline
The team leader should draft a proposed outline (some call it a straw man or skeleton outline) as the starting point for planning the entire presentation. Then, brainstorm with the team to get their ideas and recommendations for improvement and their agreement.
A good outline shows logical flow, continuity, consistency, and transitions of each part playing into the whole. Shorten or omit parts of the outline deemed unnecessary.
Provide enough content to present your case and cover all the points; use examples to support your case without digressing to gratuitous anecdotes. Do the topics support and complement each other? Do they lead to the presentation goals? Check for overlap, contradiction, and possible ambiguity.
How to focus on innovative presentation priorities
Whether you call it a core message, main point, or winning theme, have the team agree on what it is so they can repeat it during their portion of the presentation and otherwise appropriately reinforce and highlight it for the audience. Likewise, the facts, statistics, and metaphors that act as vital supporting points and reminders throughout the session should emphasize your key points.
How to implement an innovative presentation timeline
Together with the team leader, all members should put together and agree upon a detailed, realistic implementation plan and timeline of activities to finish, and then make firm commitments to meet the milestones. The team leader should send out reminders to each person for upcoming milestones, and address and help any team member struggling with a deadline before he falls too far behind.
Determine the total time allocated for the presentation, and then with the team decide which portions require more or less time based upon the perceived priority of the topics.
For example, say you have a total time of an hour and a half (90 minutes) and four presenters. You can start by saying that each one has about 15 minutes (even though later it’s decided some may get some 10 minutes and others 20 or so).
Assume you give 10 minutes for the presentation introduction and conclusion (which is generous) and 30 minutes for the formal Q & A at the end.
How to prepare for the worst innovative presentation
There are numerous other Murphy’s Law scenarios for which you should have contingency options, such as equipment malfunctions or breakdowns, or an unexpectedly absent presenter. Assign someone to deal with malfunctioning equipment while another team member sets up a backup piece of critical equipment.
Create a backup plan for a team member’s unexpected delay or absence on presentation day. Some team leaders ask each member to not only perfect their own presentation but get to know another assigned one as a kind of understudy ready to jump in. Think through anything that might negatively affect your presentation and come up with some viable work-throughs.
How to create innovative presentation support materials
Assign one person (usually a graphic designer) to merge files together to create handouts, slides, and other visuals that have the same format, color coding, design elements, fonts, and themes, templates, and layouts. Spell-check and look for inconsistencies. You don’t want your visuals looking like a patchwork cavalierly strung together at the last minute.