I love it when big brains get together: Merlin + Garr = a simpler, more visually appealing world where stuff gets done!

Regarding Stephen’s question: WHAT TO DO WITH TWO HOURS…

First, who planned this? Either the meeting planner was lazy and is relying on one speaker to carry their conference, or she/he simply doesn’t understand - or care about - how adults learn. A good rule of thumb is that your audience can sit still for the number of minutes equal to their age, e.g. if the average age of your audience is 35, they’ll remain in their chairs for 35 minutes before the shifting begins.

When I have to speak for two hours, I think of it like building a Layer Cake of You-Audience-You-Audience. Most presentations (less than 2 hours) have two layers: the speaker talks and audience asks Q&A. With two hours, you have to build more layers.

1. Start with a 5-10 minute intro of WHY you’re there, a personal or favorite story to reinforce why the topic matters, and (if it makes sense) your first main idea;

[Total time elapsed: 10 minutes]

1. Give the audience a chance to share their WHY and/or to respond to your first idea. This gives the audience an early opportunity to buy into your presentation and your time together.

For example, I talk a lot about how to engage the next generation, and I ask my audience to talk to each other about their last ‘generational moment,’ a time when they had an interaction with someone from a different generation (at work, at home, etc) and walked away thinking, “Man, are we different!”

When you feel the energy of the room start to come down, e.g. the volume decreases, go to the next step;

[Total time elapsed: 20-30 minutes]

1. Bring their attention back, and solicit a couple of the most surprising/funny stories they shared with each other. Your goal is to widen their shared sense of why they’re all in attendance, and to develop a few ‘call backs’ for later in your presentation. A ‘call back’ is what stand-up comedians often do…their last joke will ‘call back’ to a previous joke or story in their act. You want to be able to ‘call back’ to something your audience said, “Remember when Joe said earlier that his kid text messaged him to ask what was for dinner, instead of just coming down to the kitchen and asking? That’s exactly the kind of ‘digital divide’ I’m talking about here…”

[Total time elapsed: 30-40 minutes]

1. The Meat and Potatoes of why you’re there. Here, you share your best stuff. The Beyond Bullet Points document works well, and I also recommend (and use) the Presentation Zen style for slides (high visual, low text) to reinforce your spoken words with a visual message. HINT: As you’re designing this section, if you wonder whether something fits here as ‘your best stuff,’ leave it out. You’ll have PLENTY of time for Q&A, and if it’s relevant, it will be asked…

[Total time elapsed: 60-75 minutes]

1. More audience interaction. I think there are two directions to go here: 1. Individual learning (self-tests, checklists, etc.) and 2. Group learning. You need to pick the one that works best for your content. If your topic is highly technical, you may want to provide a trouble-shooting questionnaire, to help your audience diagnose where they could improve. If the topic is less technical, you can facilitate a larger discussion with questions like:
   • What surprised you about this information?
   • What shifted for you?
   • What wasn’t said that should’ve been said?
   • What do you need to know more about (a great seque to Q&A)

Even with the smallest groups, this part can last at least 15 minutes. If you also invite the audience to response to each others’ questions, e.g. “Who else has an experience with this issue that they’d like to share?” it can comfortably go to 30 minutes.

[Total time elapsed: 75-105 minutes]

1. Q&A. Here, you’re allowing the audience to ask you specific questions about your expertise and/or their specific situations. Do not let one person dominate this segment. A good rule of thumb is that for an entire audience to feel ‘heard’ by a speaker, ten percent of them must have an opportunity to interact or ask a question. So you’ve got to efficiently deal with each person’s question, and keep the conversation flowing. If your response will take more than one minute, offer to follow up individually at the break. If you don’t know, admit it, and ask the participants if they have experience with the issue.

[Total time elapsed: 90-100 minutes]

1. Your big finish. Always, ALWAYS keep something for the end. This might be Three Things to Remember. I sometimes use the “ACE” acronym: one thing to Add, one thing to Change, one thing to Eliminate. You can also end with a big closing story that leaves them on a high note, or with a provocative idea.

[Total time elapsed: 105-120 minutes]

Other tips: 1. The number one request speakers receive (if they have a good deck) is, “Can I get a copy of your deck?” Save yourself time and headaches: Do NOT make handouts of your powerpoint to distribute at your presentation. Instead: (1) create an annotated slide deck (see presentationzen.com for more about that); (2) save it as a PDF, and (3) Either give it to the meeting planner and let them duplicate it for everyone OR put it on your blogsite or website, and show participants how to download it there.

1. Some professional speakers say you should never thank your audience. I think that’s BS. Peoples’ time is extremely valuable, and speakers need to show respect. It’s also a good signal to people that you’re done. ;)

2. “Know your audience.” You can ask the meeting planner to fill out a short questionnaire about the audience, e.g. What do they read, what do they worry about at work, what are their accountabilities, are they married, kids, average age, what are the ‘hot potato’ issues that everyone’s nervous about right now, etc. If you want to go lower tech, spend a few minutes either talking with people before your presentation (Why are you here? What are you hoping to get from today?) or do some quick “Raise your hand if…” questions at the top of the presentation.

Phew!