Presentation Advisors Blog

Why Aren't More Restaurants Rewarding Customers via FourSquare?

2010-03-11T23:36:03-05:00

I'm finally on the FourSquare bandwagon. Click here to follow me!

I joined about a month or so ago but only checked into my first location on Wednesday. Only reason for the delay was that I hadn't downloaded the FourSquare app for my iPhone until this past week, and checking in without the app is nearly impossible.

As I sat at one of my favorite lunch locations, Liquid Lunch in Milford, CT, my mind (per usual) began to wonder what the possibilities were for restuarants, bars, cafes, and the like to harness and embrace the power of these location apps (Gowalla is a similar competitor).

To start, I noticed that there was no sign of any social media calls-to-action in the restuaruant, urging customers to join their Facebook Fan Page or to follow them on Twitter. They could easily post today's soups and sandwich of the day, ask for recipe recommendations, offer Twitter or Facebook-only daily coupons, and more. Definitely a missed opportunity.

Getting to FourSquare, I immediately likened it to a frequent visitor card. Encourage your customers to check-in to FourSquare when they arrive, and after their 6th check-in they can get a cup of soup for free! If they're motivated enough, they could organize a FourSquare party like Joe Sorge did at a Milwaukee burger joint called AJ Bombers to earn the coveted "Swarm Badge" (50+ users in one place). In great social media fashion, pictures from the event were posted on Flickr. Notice the sign in the image below encouraging customers to follow them on Twitter and to check-in on FourSquare. That's what I'm talking about!

Naturally, Starbucks has embraced FourSquare, creating a "Baristas" badge which can be earned by checking into a Starbucks location five times. While I feel that a real reward like a free cup of coffee would be better, the unique badge is a step in the right direction. AJ Bombers knocked it out of the park. When will we see more establishments embracing these location-based mobile services?

If you have any examples of establishments utilizing location-based mobile services, please let me know in the comments!

AJ Bombers image courtesy of Tray on Flickr

No Presenter is Perfect, Not Even Steve Jobs

2010-03-09T23:39:45-05:00

I've written a post about being the perfect presenter before, but while reading "The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs" by Carmine Gallo, I read a great excerpt about Steve's perfection, or rather lack thereof, that I wanted to share with you. I edited some of it for brevity's sake.

"No matter how much you prepare, something might, and probably will, go differently from how you had planned. Notice that I didn't say something will go 'wrong.' It goes wrong only when you call attention to the issue or you let it ruin the rest of your presentation. The difference between mediocre presenters and a true master such as Jobs is that when demonstrations do not turn out as planned, Jobs reacts with a cool confidence."

Steve Jobs is widely considered to be one of, if not the, best presenters alive today. Steve Jobs makes mistakes too. Take a look:

Nobody prepares like Steve Jobs. He practices for hours and hours and hours to make sure his presentations are perfect. He'll go through multiple full dress rehearsals of his Keynotes. The key difference, aside from the fact that he prepares more than anyone out there, is that while Steve Jobs strives for perfection, he doesn't expect it. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure he's frustrated when something doesn't go as planned. But as Carmine said, Jobs doesn't lose his cool nor does he draw any undue attention to the hiccup. He just moves on. That's all you can do.

I said it before and I'll say it again - Nobody is perfect. Not you, not me. Not Steve Jobs either. So when your presentation doesn't go as planned, just try to continue having fun and move on.

Choosing the Right Font in Your PowerPoint Presentation

2010-02-26T00:43:38-05:00

Fonts are very important to me within presentation design. I take my font choices seriously and a number of them are near and dear to my heart. "Choosing your font wisely" is actually my #3 tip in my eBook, Ten Tips and Techniques for More Effective Presentations. But why are fonts so important?

First and foremost, the font you choose says a lot about the message you're trying to convey. A font like Helvetica is clean, simple, and legible. It's not going to jump out and grab your attention, but maybe that's not your goal. Maybe you don't want to be radical. Maybe you want to be sleek, smooth, strong, and consistent. However, if you want to start a movement, you want an original font like Magnum or Birth of a Hero that grabs your audience's attention and demands that they listen. They aren't as legible and can't be used throughout a lengthy presentation, but are sure to turn heads.

Second, the way you implement the chosen font can make or break your presentation. This goes hand-in-hand with your grasp of the content and time spent preparing/practicing. There's no excuse for lack of preparation, so I'll continue this post as if you know your content in and out. Since that's now the case, you don't need to put full sentences of text. Make sure you use a legible font size and don't be afraid to go large. Some people ask me what the minimum font size is. Gun to my head - 30pt is the minimum, but if you're worried if you're font is too small, then it's DEFINITELY too small. What I always say is...

I want to make sure you understand that font is just one component of many that create an effective PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, and your slides are NEVER more important than you, the living/breathing presenter. The most important information will be coming out of your mouth, not pasted onto a slide.

What are your favorite fonts? What original fonts do you use? How do you determine your font size?

3 Great Presentation and Speaking Tips in Four Minutes

2010-02-21T23:28:28-05:00

We've all heard/used the phrase, "I couldn't have said it better myself." Well recently I came across a video with some speaking and presentation tips that I literally could not have said better myself. Speaking coach Mike Landrum, better known as "Coach Mike", shared some of his best presentation and speaking tips with Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications, including the biggest stumbling block of speakers, how video can improve their performance, and the problem with using PowerPoint incorrectly in speeches.

I've seen a number of videos containing presentation tips, but this was one of the best, as I tweeted last week. In less than four minutes Coach Mike answers all three questions in a manner that anyone can understand. I'm not perfect (not even close) and have a tendency to be verbose at times, so whenever I see someone get to the core of an issue in such a short amount of time, I'm always impressed.

Check out the video below and please let me know your thoughts in the comment section:

There were some problems with the embedded video. You can watch it on the RaganTV.com site here.

The Value of Relationships and Giving in the New Era of Marketing

2010-02-18T22:54:46-05:00

Editor's Note: This is the first post in the new "Marketing" category. While this blog has primarily been focused on presentation skills and design, I'll be branching out to include other passions such as Marketing and Social Media.

Maybe I’m just a little too “west coast” in my ideals, but there are certain marketing practices that I can’t stand.

I can’t stand email blasts to people who didn’t opt-in. I even hate the words “email blast.” I hate the profession of selling email lists. I hate cold-calling. I hate automated mass-follow (and then unfollow) Twitter programs. I hate people who only tweet links to their site. Sponsored tweets creep me out. I hate auto-DM’s, pop-up ads, banners, Pay Per Click, and contrived, self-indulgent press releases.

And don’t even get me started on SPAM.

I’m not claiming that these methods and techniques don’t work. Some do. Some don’t. That’s just not the way I believe people should market, nor do I believe they are increasing in effectiveness. They’re either declining or completely worthless. Marketing is not about grabbing your attention by interrupting you. It’s about creating valuable relationships. By “value” I mean GIVING value, not just taking it.

You have to give, give, give, give, give, give, give, and then maybe you can ask for something in return.

Trust me, if you cold-call me you have ZERO chance of getting my business. Problem is, I’m too nice to cut you off so you’ll probably waste 5 to 10 minutes of your (and my) time before I say no. I do, however, like talking to those who I call as an interested prospect because they’ve offered me so much free value in the past. I actually feel happy to give that person my business.

Here’s the formula I believe in. First, create an amazing product. Second, find the group of people who need or would care about your product and start creating honest relationships. Third, GIVE. If you opened a hair salon, find a sidewalk and start giving away free haircuts. If you opened a bakery, start delivering your muffins and cookies to local businesses. If you are a web designer, find a non-profit and give their site a major facelift for free. If you do this for as long as humanly possible, then you will see returns. Loyal customers will start coming to your hair salon because they know you and they’ve seen your work. Companies will start ordering your muffins on a weekly because they’re hooked. The non-profit will refer you to everyone they can because you donated your time and effort to make their site better.

If you’re not cultivating relationships and creating value, then your business is a sinking ship. The best time to start doing this might have been years ago, but the second best time is right now.

Image courtesy of Cakeface Originals on Flickr

Digital Storytelling and Effective Design from The Oatmeal

2010-02-14T23:01:04-05:00

One of the cornerstones of effective presentation design is the ability to turn text-based information into a visually engaging story - a.k.a. Digital Storytelling. I don't think it's a skill that anyone is born with. It takes a number of "ingredients" including an eye for design, the ability to view the story from the audience's perspective, and a great deal of restraint.

One of the best examples of Digital Storytelling is The Oatmeal. If you haven't heard of The Oatmeal, I'm thrilled to have turned you on to it. The Oatmeal is a collection of comics (among other things) created by 27 year-old web designer Matthew Inman. Matthew takes ordinary and extraordinary ideas and creates a visual story that informs, engages, and NEVER fails to entertain. Some of his comics include Why I Believe Presenters Were Sent from Hell, How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You, and one of my favorites, Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling.

Matthew's comics are designed very well, understand the audience's viewpoint (my printer was DEFINITELY sent from hell to make me miserable), and remain short and easy to quickly consume. Let me know which ones are your favorites!

Has Emerging Technology Changed the Culture of Presentation Design?

2010-02-11T10:01:00-05:00

I'm not sure when it happened, but it was definitely within my lifetime. As technology began to expand and morph at a mind boggling pace, people began to change with it. Life always evolves, but I think it has changed the way we work in a negative way, especially in regards to presentations.

I remember coming home from a summer vacation in my early teens. I had met a girl. It was nothing romantic but we became close friends. She lived about 90 minutes away - a lifetime for a 14 year-old. To maintain contact we wrote letters. Yeah, letters. It was a long-distance phone call and my parents didn't feel like paying $0.99 a minute so we could wax poetic about nothing at all. I had to sit down with a pencil and paper, write, mail, and wait at least a week to get a response. I couldn't email her. I couldn't text her. I couldn't @reply her on Twitter. I couldn't check our pictures on Facebook. Sounds like an eternity ago, right? That was 1994.

Today, everything is about immediacy. My phone hardly rings anymore...that's too slow. Texting is preferred by most of my friends and acquaintances, and actually speaking seems too informal for business associates. I've noticed that this has evolved to the workplace, where people sitting RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER carry on conversations via-email (which actually slows down the process). Can't you just swivel your chair 45 degrees and ask me the question?

This immediacy has bled to presentations. When I see presentations today, they all seem to have been thrown together in a matter of minutes. Nobody sits down anymore and actually creates a presentation. I don't mean create a PowerPoint...I mean create a presentation. One with depth, honesty, meaning, and a story that takes the audience on a journey. One where the presenter has spent hours upon hours practicing, editing, and practicing some more until they know it by heart. One where passion exudes and the audience is engaged.

A presentation like I just described takes time. It takes lots of time, practice, and hard work. We don't all have the luxury of time (or resources), but when it matters so much don't you owe it to yourself? To your audience? To your company (especially if it's YOUR company)?

There's isn't necessarily a formula for a successful presentation, but as Gary Vaynerchuk recently said, "Hard work is never not part of the formula." I couldn't have summed it up any better myself.

Image courtesy of rutty on Flickr

Create Remarkable Presentations or Be Ignored

2010-02-08T20:16:26-05:00

When it comes to benches, they're all pretty standard, right? 4 (or so) legs with a place for your butt and maybe a place to lean your back. When have you stopped and said, "that's a pretty average bench"? Never, because nobody notices something they've seen a million times. When have you even noticed a bench?

Business presentations today are like benches. They differ a little in color and materials, but overall they're basically the same. Standard corporate template. Titles on the top of the slide, followed by bullet points below. Maybe there's an image to the side (exactly where the PowerPoint template tells you to put it). Tiny logo in the corner that you can't make out and don't care about anyways. Since they're all the same, audiences tune them out.

But what if you really thought about the design of your bench? Not just form and function, but took the time to design your bench in a way totally different from all the other benches. What if you ditched the "ordinary" and created something remarkable...something extraordinary?

What if you saw one of these extraordinary benches? You'd notice it, right?

As Seth Godin says in the Purple Cow, "Either you're remarkable or you're invisible." With some basic presentation design principles and some sweat equity, you can create remarkable presentations (that get noticed!) too.

4 Presentation Tips You Should Never Follow

2010-02-05T00:20:25-05:00

Recently I stumbled upon a 2007 blog post from Neil Patel at QuickSprout.com. It was entitled "The Lazy Man's Way to Building a Great PowerPoint Presentation." I have to say, I found myself disagreeing with most of it...so much that I felt compelled to blog about it. [Please see Neil's response below]

If you read my work even on a semi-regular basis, you'll know that I hardly ever speak from a pedestal and never put other people's work down. I'm not a critic. I am constantly crediting others for my inspiration and see my fellow presentation designers as colleagues, not competitors.

I don't know much about Neil. Nothing really. I found his post while following an inbound google search to my blog (apparently I show up on the first page when you combine "lazy" and "PowerPoint" along with some other filler words). This is not a personal attack, or a criticism of his work. I merely want to give my opinion of these particular presentation tips.

Neil also wrote a post entitled, 10 Tips for a Killer Presentation. As a whole the post is right on and I would be comfortable directing my readers to take those tips into consideration. (See, I'm not a bad guy)

In his blog post, he embeds a SlideShare presentation which you can view below.

PowerPoint Template

View more presentations from neilpatel.

I'm going to highlight the points I do not agree with. Again, I only disagree with some of his points. Others are right on (ie Keep it simple, use large/legible fonts, less [text] is more). These are only my opinion, but my opinion is shaped from extensive research and hands-on designing of hundreds of presentations. You can take it for what you think it's worth.

Keep it Simple: Use only black and white slides - The use of black/white (or white/black) slides is truly indicative of a lazy presenter. The audience is taking time out of their day or evenings to listen to what you have to say. The least you could to is put a little though into the design. Using black/white is not inspiring, eye-catching, or engaging. I plan to write a post about the 7 deadly sins of presenting, and this is one of them.

Dont Abuse Visuals: Use visuals only when they are needed because they can distract your audience - This is like a dagger to my heart. The KEY to an effective presentation is the use of visuals. First, Vision trumps ALL other senses. If you want to ensure your main points are remembered by the audience, using visuals is the BEST way. Combining senses is even better, but if you have to choose one, use vision (aka images). Using images easily trumps the use of text when it comes to audience recall. You can read all about presentation brain rules here. Second, if you're just going to use words in your presentation, save everyone the time and email it to them. They can read, you know.

Images are so important to an effective presentation. I'm not saying your presentation should be completely comprised of images - it's not a picture album. But saying that visuals can distract an audience is simply untrue. I realize "visuals" can also include graphs and charts, and too many of those can be data overload. You would certainly want to avoid using too many of those.

When using images, use stock photography - I think he's half right here. I use stock photography often in my presentations. iStockphoto.com is an affordable place to find very good stock photography. However, you want to avoid the posed corporate images or images you've seen in hundreds of other presentations. When possible, try NOT to use stock photography. One great way to use original (and often free) images is on Flickr, via CompFight. Make sure you're using images that offer a creative commons license, and read the license carefully. Flickr is always my first stop to find imagery, although it's not rare for me to end up finding the image I'm looking for on iStock.

Build Your Brand: Add your company logo on every slide - Why? Who is looking for that? Who says we need a logo on every slide? I think adding logo (and even corporate templates, to a point) are selfish practices of shameless self-promotion. Those things are about you, and the PRESENTATION is about the AUDIENCE.

Let's be very honest here - how much does having a logo on the slide help? Are you afraid that the audience will forget who (or what company) they are listening to? If so, you've got big problems. I dare to say no audience member has ever left a presentation excited about a brand because of their logo. They will not buy into your brand because you made them stare at your logo for 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Ditch the logo and take back that valuable real estate.

I have a feeling there will be a couple standard rebuttals, so I wanted to list my responses in advance.

This is the LAZY man's way to build a great PowerPoint presentation. What you suggest is a lot of work - I believe "lazy" and "great presentation" don't belong in the same sentence. I realize there are situations where you only have a short time to design and prepare. For that, I've written a post about creating a presentation under the gun. It involves some simple design techniques that anyone can use, but it does involve working hard. Input = Output.

Neil isn't a presentation designer. Stop being so hard on him. - I don't think you need to be a presentation designer or have any artistic skills at all to design an effective presentation. I believe we all have the skills to do it. It simply takes hard work and preparation.

Neil's Response:

Good points. I have probably presented 200 plus times over the last 6 years and I have to say the way I present is very effective.

Nothing is free. If you don't include your logo, you may not get business.
Images are good, but having too many can distract people from the overall message.
Some of the most effective presentations are done with simple looking slides. You don't need fancy designs. If the audience is there to look at your pretty slides instead of your content, something is wrong.

What are your thoughts? Am I way off? Right on? Overreacting? Let me know by leaving a comment!

Photo courtesy of NathanGibbs on Flickr