Don’t let PowerPoint® be a crutch

How many of you are a spokesman or spokeswoman for your company or organization? If so, you are the one that clients, employees, community leaders and other vested parties look to for information about new products or services, as well as leadership, industry trends and company direction. It’s a tall order, and too many executives think their delivery has to be ponderous and super serious.

To keep your information memorable, don’t rely too heavily on your PowerPoint® slides or Web page enlargement. It helps to project these images but don’t count on them to carry your speech. Inform your audience that the important points of your speech will be available to them (either online or as handouts), so they don’t have to fuss with extensive note taking. If you give the audience handouts prior to your talk, people will be shuffling through these papers rather than listening to you. (There are exceptions to this guideline, so you be the judge.)

Since most people won’t remember statistics, use them sparingly. Link the statistics to trends, which are easier to recall. Leave the esoteric examples up in the clouds. (Important statistics should be in your handouts or online charts.) Use examples that your audience can relate to … by linking them to current events, common annoyances (driving in heavy traffic), pop culture (using I-Pods while running or running errands) or heartfelt interests (kids, parents, neighbors and pets).

Inject your speech with humor. Use an approach that suits your style. Don’t try to be Jay Leno or Don Rickles. Low-key jokes work just fine. Presenters are often told to start with a joke that will loosen up the audience. Instead, get the audience’s attention with a great headline (use a startling fact or question), then space your “jokes” throughout your speech. The audience will be more attentive and have better recall when the jokes, stories and anecdotes reinforce your key message.

Welcome to the 21st Century cyclone

It’s almost a natural disaster. But, alas, it’s mostly man-made. I’m talking about the financial meltdown/sub-prime mortgage crisis/manufacturing base erosion/and conversion to the Web that has upended a lot of industries. As we sort out what works best and will sustain us economically over the next few decades, if not longer…let’s not lose sight of excellence. If people continue to do what they do best, what they are passionate about, and what they have a strong interest in, how can we go wrong?

Certainly, I hope my business will survive. I know the editing, design and production process. I’m a skilled writer and I work with some very talented people and outstanding suppliers. We like what we do, some of us even love it and wouldn’t want to do anything else. Right now, I’m trying to apply my strengths to new venues like presentations. Perhaps in addition to writing and producing annual reports, newsletters and brochures, my company can produce anniversary books for companies or memory books for families of the recently departed.

If you love what you do, how can you stretch that to new markets or different industries? Can you turn your hobby into a business while you keep your day job (if you have one)? Can you partner with someone in a similar industry for added strength and resilience?

Think back to how you made it in your career or business. Who helped you? Are you extending that help to others? Like the people of Fargo, N.D., we need to come together in times of crisis and prevent the worst from happening. Let’s rally behind the producers in this economy, not the shakers and takers.

Economic stimulus for the rest of us

Right now there are a lot of smart, educated and experienced people who are out of work. They may have been employed in the financial services field, worked in the auto industry, have been mortgage lenders or estate agents, or even retail owners or employees. Aside from doctors, nurses, government workers, teachers and auto mechanics – to name a few of the “safe” occupations – there are a lot of industries and sectors undergoing massive restructuring and downsizing.

While we await the results of the stimulus package, how else can we – downsized employees, baby-boomers not yet ready to retire, small business owners, and the next generation of workers (recent college graduates) – make a difference and jump-start the economy with our ideas, products and services?

The failure rate of new business launches is intimidating. Fewer than 70 to 80 percent survive the first year; of those that do survive only about half will make it to the five-year mark. I’ve been fortunate to be in business for 15 years, but this recent downturn is making it even tougher. I’ve had part-time employees and would like to hire again. Yet, due to business fluctuations, I continue to rely on talented and productive free-lancers.

Is there an easier way to launch an idea or drive more sales that doesn’t involve spending lots of time and money in getting it to market? Those who create new items or services often lack the business skills or desire to do sales, accounting, marketing, human resources and management – just some of the roles required in running a business. Is there a way for small endeavors to survive and grow relatively quickly with an infusion of smarts from a “go-to” source? I don’t think it’s the government that will or should provide this impetus. When I contacted the Small Business Administration years ago, I didn’t get much satisfaction.

I know of several small-business owners who have a product to sell but lack the knowledge or connections to gain ground in the marketplace. Is there a way to create a shared knowledge database that could pair an inventor or small business startup with a business-minded person to help the business take off rather than idle on the runway? If this process could be made easier, a slew of new industries would thrive.

I welcome your comments and suggestions!

Paper or plasma – how do you like your news?

The digital age is whirling faster than a cyclone. Just learned today that the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News are combining editions and only printing four days a week. I already get the News, now I’ll be getting the power of two papers packed into one.

Good thing that I just renewed my Wall Street Journal subscription. I was feeling an information gap after having gone without the Journal for about a month just to see if I could. But, I couldn’t – the information and editorials of that paper are just too powerful and timely. I need to keep my brain cells functioning. Now, the question becomes, “Do I subscribe to the New York Times to keep things balanced?”

Will we still be reading newspapers one year from now? Papers are messy and tend to pile up. But do we want to read everything on line? The chasm between reading online or holding a tactile paper is looming large, and the solution is still a few years away, even at today’s frenetic pace.

Along those lines, I attended a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) workshop hosted by Pure Visibility in Ann Arbor, MI. They are on the cutting edge of showing business owners and corporations how others can find them “on-line,” to bring better visibility to their products and services. Right now, the Web is like a candy store and most of the information is free. That’s a good thing. But I still want my news, I just don’t know what format works best: paper or plasma? (aka digital news). Heaven help us if we have to get our news from corporate websites because traditional newspapers couldn’t make a go of it in the digital age.