ED GRUWEZ PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED Edinburgh Gate Harlow CM20 2JE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1279 623623 Web: www.pearson.com/uk First published 2014 (print and electronic) © Gedecom NV 2014 (print and electronic) Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third-party internet sites. 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 The print publication is protected by copyright. Prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, distribution or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, permission should be obtained from the publisher or, where applicable, a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom should be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. The ePublication is protected by copyright and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased, or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and the publishers’ rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners. 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 Print edition typeset in 9.5pt Helvetica Neue LT Pro by 3 Print edition printed by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport 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