Most presentation suck. Here's my best advice on how not to, and it boils down to a single, simple idea: Focus on the listener. Not yourself. Not your content. Not your slides. THE LISTENER.

1. How to Present
A Top Ten List.

2. 2
“My name is
Inigo Montoya…”

3. #Truth
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Most presentations suck.

4. The Point
You will be a dramatically more effective
presenter if you build and deliver your
presentations with a focus on the listener.
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5. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
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6. Duh.
• Sound obvious?
• What was the point of the last presentation you saw?
How about the 3 before that?
• Start here: What is the one big idea you want the
listener to walk away with? WHAT IS THE POINT?
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7. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
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8. Purpose of Communication
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A
ListenerThinks /
Feels / Does A
B
ListenerThinks /
Feels / Does B
Story

9. Example: CXO “Point B”
• Actifio frees data from infrastructure to
enable hybrid cloud, accelerate
development, and improve protection.
• This is cool, and could free me from the
stress of knowing I’m screwed.
• I want to learn if this can help us.
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THINK
FEEL
DO

10. Important Questions
• What is Point A for your audience?
• What is the shortest story that will
get them to Point B?
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11. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
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This is my 3rd section.
Guess how many are left?

12. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
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13. Have I mentioned you should…
FOCUS ON THE LISTENER.
• Not the content
• Not the slides
• Not how brilliant you will seem if you just make
these 13 points.
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14. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
5. Entertain > Inform > Promote
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15. COPYRIGHT 2016 ACTIFIO 15
“I need everyone to
agree we’re going to
entertain, inform,
and promote… in
that order of
priority.”
~Guy Kawasaki

16. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
5. Entertain > Inform > Promote
6. Start Strong
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17. WaysTo Start Strong
• A question that matters to the audience (GOOD), OR…
• Who here is nervous about their end-of-Summer presentation?
• A factoid that shocks the audience (BETTER), OR…
• The single biggest fear of all human beings: public speaking
• A personal story that connects to your audience (BEST.)
• Last year, one of our interns blew us away by following a few simple
rules, and I’m going to share her secrets with you today.
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18. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
5. Entertain > Inform > Promote
6. Start Strong
7. Have Good Slides
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19. Read this:
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http://amzn.to/29i7OG2

20. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
5. Entertain > Inform > Promote
6. Start Strong
7. Have Good Slides
8. Treat each slide like the
punchline, not the joke.
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21. There are people in the room.Talk to them
• Don’t read anything, especially your slides.
• Talk to individual audience members. Make your points, as
you would in a normal conversation, with a friend.
• Use each slide to emphasize a single idea in the flow of your
pitch. Put up a picture, explain what it means.
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22. 22
“If you can’t explain it
simply, you don’t
understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
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23. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
5. Entertain > Inform > Promote
6. Start Strong
7. Have Good Slides
8. Treat each slide like the
punchline, not the joke.
9. Keep it short
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24. Rules ofThumb
• Have an hour? Speak for 40 minutes.
• Half hour? Speak for 20 minutes.
• 5 minutes? Build your “Agenda” slide, and speak to it.
• The goal is not to get through your slides. It’s to move
the individuals in your audience from Point A to Point B.
• Easier in a dialogue than in monologue.
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25. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
5. Entertain > Inform > Promote
6. Start Strong
7. Have Good Slides
8. Treat each slide like the
punchline, not the joke.
9. Keep it short
10. Practice
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26. COPYRIGHT 2015 ACTIFIO 26
This guy prepared for 2 days.
You are not this guy.

27. HowTo Present:TopTen
1. Have A Point
2. Start With Structure
3. Communicate Progress
4. Tell them what you’re going to
tell them, tell them, tell them
what you told them
5. Entertain > Inform > Promote
6. Start Strong
7. Have Good Slides
8. Treat each slide like the
punchline, not the joke.
9. Keep it short
10. Practice
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28. ClosingThought…
You will be a dramatically more effective
presenter if you build and deliver your
presentations with a focus on the listener.
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29. More…
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30. MICHAEL TROIANO, CMO mike@actifio.com 805.876.4266 @miketrap
Thanks.