A Good Meeting...Is it Possible?

I recently attended a project kickoff meeting with a federal agency client. The meeting was scheduled to last 8 (!) hours. There were 50 people participating -- my immediate reaction was to assume that the meeting would be long, boring, and chaotic. I showed up armed with my BlackBerry and some snacks to get me through the anticipated brain-drain of such a long meeting with so many people. As it turns out, it was one of the best run and effective meetings I ever attended. I will tell you why.

1. Detailed Agenda. The agenda was distributed in advance by the project manager so all the participants were clear of what would (and would not) be accomplished at this meeting. The agenda is the Playbill of the meeting. Without this, meetings can get sidetracked and become less effective.
   
   
2. Great Facilitator. The project manager did a great job of pacing the meeting. While she allowed discussion on the issues, she didn't let the group go off topic. She wasn't afraid to (nicely) cut off a discussion and to assign a group to follow up on the topic at a later date.
   
   
3. Clear Lines of Authority. The project manager began the meeting by introducing the decision makers and establishing the lines of communication. She clearly stated who could make decisions, who could not, and what channels to follow regarding communicating project issues.
   
   
4. Decisions were Made. Nothing is more frustrating that a meeting that doesn't resolve an issue and leads to ...oh no...another meeting. The project manager invited all the right decision makes who could on the spot make the call on any given issue. What satisfaction it is to leave a meeting with clear direction!
   
   
5. Repectful Audience. About a third of the meeting participants were affiliated with the armed forces, several were in combat fatigues. There was an air of discipline and respect that I rarely see in audiences. Only one person spoke at a time. People waited until a speaker finished before chiming in. There were no "side-bar" conversations. Even with 50 people in the room, and no mics or amplifying equipment, everyone could hear the speaker.
   
   
6. Climate Control. A room that's too hot, too cold or stuffy can be the kiss of death for an effective meeting. Make your audience comfortable and their focus and attention will last much longer.
   
   
7. Meeting Minutes. The project manager started the meeting by stating that the meeting minutes would be very important as they would memorialize all decisions made and would be refered to in future discussions. The participants tasked with keeping the meeting minutes asked questions throughout the meeting to ensure clarity in the documented minutes. Needless to say, I frantically took notes for those 8 hours to make sure I didn't miss anything.

I hope I don't have to sit through too many all-day meetings, but if and when I do, may they all be as organized and well planned as this one was.

PowerPoint that's Powerful...Not Pointless

It's happened to all of us a thousand times. We go to a seminar, presentation, or meeting. The room lights dim, the projector goes on and with the anticipation of opening night, we await a presentation to be delivered with PowerPoint. While many of the presentations I've sat through are excellent, many more have been terrible. The attendees are sleeping or bored, checking their emails on their BlackBerrys, realizing that these are precious minutes that they will never get back. 

Those lost hours which I'll never get back prompts me to post this list of ideas on how to successfully do a presentation with PowerPoint. 

1. YOU are the presenter, not the screen. The visuals on the PowerPoint are not the main event, you are. Your delivery must be polished and your tone upbeat and not monotone. Regardless of how good your PowerPoint is, it won't make up for a poor delivery.
   
   
2. Don't Use the slides as your script. The slides are meant to be a visual aid for the audience to better understand or remember what you are telling them. The slides should not be your script where you write down every word you plan on saying. And for God's sake, DON'T READ THE SLIDES! As a presenter, you should face your audience and speak. Don't face the screen and read the slides word for word!
   
   
3. Use few words. The less words, the better. If you have a text slide, make sure that you use just a few key words to reinforce your point. Also, make sure that the font is large enough to be read. If you fill a slide with text, people can't read it and they will just doze off.
   
   
4. Slide titles are important. Give throught to your slide title. This sets the stage for what you are telling your audience. Make sure that the title concisely captures the idea you are trying to convey in your slide.
   
   
5. Use pictures and graphics. Keep text slides to a minimum. Pictures, photographs, diagrams and graphs are all much more helpful for conveying a message and reinforceing a concept. Even if you have a text slide, consider adding some clip art or other visual help reinforce the idea.
   
   
6. Use animation, but use it wisely. PowerPoint has some terrific animation features that can be used to focus your audience on your message. For example, when discussing a list of items, you can have the list animated so that each bullet point comes in individually with each subsequent click. This keeps the audience focused on the one item you are discussing rather than reading ahead to the entire content of the slide. But don't go overboard. Too much animation can be distracting.
   
   
7. Plan your timing. Be respectful of your audience's time. A good rule of thumb is one minute per slide. If you have a 30-minute speaking window and you have 60 slides, you will probably run over.
   
   
8. Share your stories. Any presentation is more interesting if you include real stories or anecdotes. People perk up when you talk about a real situation that happened to you and how you solved it or worked through it.
   
   
9. Use some humor. Not everyone is a comedian, nor should they try to be. However, a well-time joke or anecdote helps your audience keep focused on your message.

With a little time and attention, you can have presentations that are awake-worthy. Be respectful of your audience's time and they will return the respect by not sleeping (or throwing tomatoes).