Page 135 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

126 DELIVERY

I can tell you from experience that this approach can eclipse the
competition and make the difference between failure and success.

A FINAL WORD ON
POWERPOINT AND
PRESENTATION DECKS

Using this new methodology we’ve been talking about does not
always make sense. The exception to the rule is when companies
send out rookies and recent hires to give new business and sales
presentations. These are people who do not have a depth of knowl-
edge about their products or companies, nor do they have a lot of
speaking experience. If the meeting is important, they have no busi-

ness being out there in the first place. So it is probably a good idea
to load them up with heavy visual aid support that can provide some
quality control and consistency of presentation and allow them to
stay a little more in the background, where they belong. In a special
case like this, many of the old rules could apply. (Of course, as I have
said, the real answer to this question is that companies should never
send very junior people to give any kind of presentation—unless
those people have been thoroughly, correctly trained and
prepared.)
By contrast, the further up one goes within organizations, the
less desirable it becomes to rely too heavily on visual aids until you

arrive ultimately at the office of the chairman, who should never use
them.

FLIP CHARTS

Flip charts are most useful in highly interactive meetings, such as
“ideation” sessions where things are moving fast, creativity is fl ow-