1. The thrills and spills of
presentations and workshops
@felderston
(I never use it anyway)

2. Hello
Hi…
I’m oli…
I spend a lot of time writing and
presenting half-baked presentations
and running poorly planned workshops

3. A disclaimer
A lot of this might be massively patronising,
but it’s not meant to be
Just hopefully a couple of useful points to
ignore or borrow from

4. This presentation includes…
Some fun tips on
writing
presentations
A couple of
pointers on how to
present them
(well?)
A couple of tips for
setting up and
running workshops
Some goofy
workshop
techniques you can
steal

5. First up, presentations
How to write
them so they
don’t suck
How to present
them like a
badass
+

6. Firstly, I disagree with this:
Sex Presenting
You’re naked
You’re turned on
You’re doing it with a
roomful of colleagues
You have a clicker
*If you love presenting as much as sex, you’re doing one, or both of them wrong

7. Tip #1
Don’t start
writing the
damn thing at
7pm the day
before it’s due
Source: Me @ 19:15 yesterday

8. But, overall, I think there are some simple things to
bear in mind
1.
who the hell are
you writing it
for and how
will they
receive it?
2.
What are you
trying to say? And
how will you say it
in a way that makes
sense?
3.
How will you make it
sexy and not dull and
horrible?

9. Why the context you are writing for matters
1.
who the hell are
you writing it
for and how
will they
receive it?

10. What’s the seniority and attitude of the audience?
CEOPerson doing all the work
“I need all the detail
because i’m actually
making this happen”
“This is my life, please
keep going”
80+ charts Fewer than 10 charts
“Yay another meeting” “What are the key
decisions I’m making”
“Hang on, I’ve got an
important call”
“Who the hell are you and
why are you still talking?”

11. We aren’t paid by the chart
CEOPerson doing all the work
“I need all the detail
because i’m actually
making this happen”
“This is my life, please
keep going”
80+ charts Fewer than 10 charts
“Yay another meeting” “What are the key
decisions I’m making”
“Hang on, I’ve got an
important call”
“Who the hell are you and
why are you still talking?”
Focus on what is important for the people in the room
Don’t throw in the kitchen sink for the sake of it
What do you want actioned? Why is it happening?

12. Are you presenting it? Does it need to be a leave-behind?
Is it a prop or fun visual
to make a point?
Or is it an idiot proof
explanation of what you
need to do?

13. What do you want out of it?
Are you selling
something?
There are probably 3 main roles for a presentation…
Are you starting a
discussion?
Are you explaining
something?
• “Miss World Order
• Subtle crescendo
• Hints to call back to - leave
breadcrumbs
• Shape the discussion
• Whatever you need to bring it
to life
• Clear signposting
• Summary charts and executive
summaries
• Short, simple accompanying
text
• Provide supporting links and
examples
• Frame the question and
discussion clearly
• Pause for discussion, and
direct it
• Force the question and bank
the answers
• Just enough stimulus
*I completely made this up

14. How to be clear in presentations
1.
who the hell are
you writing it
for and how
will they
receive it?
2.
What are you
trying to say? And
how will you say it
in a way that makes
sense?

15. Have a narrative, and tell people what it is
People don’t (usually)
like surprises
They also want to know
where it’s going
(And when they can go to
the toilet)
Source: Joyfully stolen from Russell Davies

16. Map it out, don’t just throw charts at it
Know where you’re going
Thinking through at a
bullet point level
Go macro first

17. Say what you need in the headlines…
See Above

18. … And tell a story with them
(Although, know your audience… Some corporate
organisations don’t like them to be too conversational)

19. It’s also a balancing act
as little as you
can get away with As much as you
need to get your
point across
“If in doubt, less is more”

20. Be a human
write like a human
Imagine your
audience is human
Try to engage them
as such

21. But also be a ruthless editor
When writing a presentation,
the temptation is to
overexplain everything. You
would do best to edit every
unnecessary word, avoid
leaving chunks of prose in, and
make it as clear and precise so
you can talk around it when
you’re presenting it
Don’t overexplain
edit every unnecessary word
No chunks of prose
Be clear and precise
Talk around it when presenting

22. But you still need space for charm
1.
who the hell are
you writing it
for and how
will they
receive it?
2.
What are you
trying to say? And
how will you say it
in a way that makes
sense?
3.
How will you make it
sexy and not dull and
horrible?

23. A picture cannot tell a thousand words
Pictures are tricky
They can make the most
boring shit interesting
BUt they can also distract
you from making sense

24. illustrate, don’t decorate
A POWERFUL
POPOSITION
*PROUDLY Stolen from russell davies
Both terrible and lazy

25. A springboard, an evocation, or an illustration
Bring an anecdote to
life
Add emotional context
to a point
Carry information in an
engaging way

26. A couple of “don’ts”
If you're talking about budgets you don't need a
picture of some money
If you're talking about having ideas you don't need
pictures of lightbulbs
If you're talking about teamwork you don't need a
picture of some brightly coloured people holding a
piece of jigsaw
Don’t use full-stops on every single point line
Even more specifically, never, ever use clipart
*Because We hate ourselves enough already

27. “Say it with boxes”
Even the most boring wall of text
or replaying of a simple brief can
be improved by breaking it into
boxes because it makes it easier to
digest, clearer to talk around, and
creates (the illusion) of thinking. It
also gives you some kind of
framework to work around, even if
it’s nonsense.
The most boring of text or simple brief can
be improved by:
Breaking it into some boxes, or a simple
framework
Easier to digest
Clearer to talk
around
Creates (the
illusion) of
thought
It also makes it look less boring

28. Have fun with it
It shows

29. And then, how to present it (WELL)
1.
Own IT (you are
a strong and
powerful
individual)
2.
Don’t read read
the charts, tell a
story
3.
It’s not all about you
(AK A SHUT UP)

30. Embody the presentation
Behavioural psychology tells us
that body language can lead how
you feel
If you look, feel and act like a
badass, you will present like one

31. Rehearse it, know it, do it
Some people like to rehearse it solo
Or with an audience
Or in your head
But whatever you do… internalise it

32. But do whatever makes you feel comfortable
Everyone is different
Don’t listen to anyone telling
you how to do it
Just feel how you like to do it

33. Feel free to go off piste
Detours are fun
it makes you seem human
It show’s you know your stuff
Run with it

34. But be the tour guide, don’t let them get lost
Bring them in to land
You’re in charge
Don’t let them stray or get
lost

35. Please… Shut up
Pauses give you time to
breathe
They also give people time
to think
ANd sometimes ask
questions

36. So… Onto workshops…
I love workshops
But I also hate workshops

37. A couple of tips for running workshops
1.
PlanNING
PLanning
planning
2.
Trust the process
3.
Be the energy

38. Rules help us all have fun
No No’s
Quantity not quality
Reserve judgement
Park it
No pet projects
Follow the leader

39. Be crystal clear on what you want to achieve
Learn / Create / Develop
People / Purpose / Process

40. Fuck seniority
Everyone is equal
It’s not just a chance for the
most senior people to say
their piece
It’s your job to make it feel
equal

41. Don’t speak
A workshop should be
participative
No more than 1/3 should be
presenting
Shut the hell up

42. Trust the process
It should feel chaotic
If you follow the right
process it will get the right
idea
Help everyone trust together

43. Take everyone on the journey
Get consensus
Sort, cluster, improve and
vote
The process matters as much
as the output

44. Avoid groupthink
Get people working solo and
sharing back
Break people into small teams
Minimise ‘full group’ time

45. icebreakers and energisers work
They seem naff
But they make a real
difference
Build them in and take them
seriously (even if they feel
stupid)

46. Make it a safe space
It should be playful
Stupid ideas are the path to
good ideas
There are really no bad
answers (at least at this
stage) Only boring ones

47. Lastly, some little exercises to steal for workshops
Nearly there…

48. have a goal - 40 in 20
Studies show, if you don’t give
a target, people come up with
about 8 ideas in 20 minutes
If you give them a goal of 40
ideas, they come up with 24
*I made these numbers up because I can’t find the source

49. Make it a race - get to the end of the table
Post-it note race
Fun, gives everyone a target
Visual and uses the space

50. What would x do?
A fun projective to push
people in new directions
What would apple / amazon /
facebook / gandhi / corbin do?

51. Get outside of the norm - what would get you fired?
challenge everyone to come up
with a good idea that would
get them fired
Prize for the best

52. Speed dating
Get different people to own
different products / problems
/ areas
Get them to speed date with
other people for 2 minutes and
see what sticks

53. projective - imagine you’ve nailed it
Imagine it’s 2020
What went well
What’s the headline
What are customers saying
What did you have to do to get there?
What did you have to stop?
What was the biggest investment?

54. map out the consumer journey
What do they do throughout the day?
Pain points? Touch points?
Where can we make a difference?

55. What would a better / the opposite company do?
Imagine you are launching the
opposite company in the same
category
It does all the stuff you wish you
could do but can’t
It makes a fresh start and is massively
successful
SOGRA
EKIN
IDUA

56. Lastly, have a think, make it up, have fun
It’s not rocket science
BUt it should be fun
And it should be creative
What will get the best results?

57. In summary
1.
Know your audience,
know yourself, and
break the
presentation down
into a structure
2.
Have fun, make it
participative, keep
it interesting and
tailor it to the
purpose and the
audience
3.
Be creative, use a
range of techniques,
don’t just make it
“another presentation
/ workshop /
brainstorm / snooze-
fest”

58. Questions?
*22:23, half a bottle of wine and 57 charts later