1.
11 DEADLY
PRESENTATION
SINS
Rob Biesenbach
!
A Path to Redemption for Public Speakers,
PowerPoint Users and Everyday Presenters

2.
Stuck in PowerPoint Hell?

3.
Suffering from Listless Delivery?

4.
And Lackluster Content?

5.
Here’s Your Path to Redemption

6.
Sin #1:
A Flat
Opening

7.
DON’T
… make it all about YOU

8.
DON’T
… walk through your agenda
I. Blah
II. Blah blah
III. Blah blah blah
IV. Blah blah blah blah
V. Blah blah blah blah blah

9.
DON’T
… walk through your agenda
I. Blah
II. Blah blah
III. Blah blah blah
IV. Blah blah blah blah
V. Blah blah blah blah blah
(Tell us the “why” before the “what”)

10.
DON’T
… sell right out of the box

11.
Tell a story instead

12.
Tell a story instead
Just make it original. AND relevant!

13.
Hook our interest
Bold claim
Surprising statistic
Provocative question
More help here

14.
Or try one of these
“How often have you experienced...”
“It was the scariest moment of my life...”
“Like you, I was brought up to believe...”
— Patricia Fripp’s Opening Options
(she has 27 of them!)

15.
Sin #2:
Lack of Focus

16.
Determine
your goal

17.
Boil it down
Points

18.
Boil it down
Points
If you try to say everything, you
end up communicating nothing

19.
What do you want them to …
Know?
Feel?
Do?

20.
What do you want them to …
Know?
Feel?
Do?
If it’s just “know,” send a memo instead

21.
Sin #3:
Bad (Or No) Storytelling

22.
Stories rule

23.
They humanize us

24.
They put a face on issues

25.
They raise
the stakes

26.
Structure is critical
Character
Goal
Challenge

27.
Structure is critical
Character
Goal
(A ton of info here)
Challenge

28.
Sin #4:
No Emotional Pull

29.
Facts are
called cold
and hard for
a reason.

30.
Facts are
called cold
and hard for
a reason.
They don’t
warm hearts
or change
minds.

31.
So tap into emotion

32.
And make it personal

33.
This guy knows
The market is not seduced by logic.
People are moved by stories and drama
and hints and clues and discovery.
Logic is a battering ram.”
— Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog

34.
Sin #5:
Dull, Ugly Visuals

35.
Images trump words *
Moo
2007
2009
0
Recall
17.5
35
52.5
* Picture Superiority Effect
70

36.
Wrong

37.
Right

38.
Wrong

39.
Right

40.
Slides are not script
The best presentations are the ones
where the slides are completely
meaningless unless you have seen the
speaker present them. Ensure that your
slides act as a visual enhancement to
everything that you’re saying.
— Mitch Joel, Twist Image

41.
Sin #6:
Misunderstanding
Body Language

42.
92% of communication
is non-verbal, right?
92%
8%

43.
WRONG
Content Matters!

44.
You should
never cross
your arms,
right?

45.
WRONG
It’s intention that counts
Decide that you’re thrilled to
present to this great group of
people. Think about the purpose of
the interaction, what you want to
get out of it, and your
attitude. Focus your emotions, and
your gestures will take care of
themselves.
— Nick Morgan, Public Words

46.
So be natural

47.
Sin #7:
Inadequate Rehearsal

48.
Practice, practice, practice
Out loud!

49.
Don’t memorize—internalize

50.
Arrive early and prepare

51.
And stop futzing!
We don’t go on the air because
we’re ready; we go on because
it’s 11:30.
— Lorne Michaels, SNL Producer

52.
The Path to Redemption

53.
For your next presentation …
… the choice is yours

54.
You can do the usual …

55.
Or set yourself apart

56.
So be bold, take risks

57.
Connect

58.
The Rest of the Deadly Sins
1. A Flat Opening
2. Lack of Focus
3. Bad Storytelling
4. No Emotional Pull
5. Dull, Ugly Visuals
6. Misunderstanding Body Language
7. Inadequate Rehearsal
8. Failure to Understand Your Audience
9. Low-Energy Delivery
10. No Audience Interaction
11. A Weak Finish

59.
More in the book
“We’ve all committed the 11 deadly
presentation sins on the way up in our
careers. This insightful book will help
make sure that your way up doesn’t
become the way down!”
Dr. Nick Morgan
Author, Give Your Speech, Change the World
11DeadlyPresentationSins.com
RobBiesenbach.com

60.
Photo Credits
Smooth Fire by Stef
Gate to Hell by Chris Whiteside
Tired Labrador 3 by Superburg
Magic Forest by Rodrigo Lozano
Sleeping by Michael Lorenzo
Showtime2 by John Lee
Dollar in a Box 1 by Svilen Milev
Reading to Son by Aline Dassel
Hook Scale by Odan Jaeger
Microscope 1 by Marcelo Terraza
Lost 2 by Sanja Gjenero
Counting Fingers 3 by Peter Gustafson
The Thinker by Henk L
Heartshaped Hands by J. van den Berg
Against Sun by Asif Akbar
Turning pages by Mateusz Stachowski
Legs by Rimkaitis
Happy Me by Celiece Aurea
Kite Surfer by Jason Weeks
200 Meters by Zsolt Zatrok
Miss Summer by Dani Toth
Lighthouse by Rob Biesenbach
Oil Pumps by Dani Simmonds
Seth Godin by Joi Ito
Viewfinder by Andrew Beierle
Steve Jobs by Blake Patterson
Paper People by Davide Guglielmo
Writing by Mateusz Stachowski
Gorillas at Apenhaul by Jenny Rollo
Hand Gestures by Sufi Nawaz
Rehearsal by Howard Liberman
Practice by Tom Hart
Studying for a Test by Hvaldez1
Conference Room by Justyna Furmanczyk
Path by Anzaar Nabi
Meeting Room 1 by Johannes Raitio
Rolled-out Cookies by Joy
Standing Out by Steven Goodwin
Skydiving by Piotr Dorabiala
Walk on Pier by Kuba Rola