When you prepare your presentation, the structure of your presentation is paramount – it should go like this:

1. The Story. A contrast between a fantastic “what could be” and the problematic “what is”. You could say: We want to achieve..[Goal B] But unfortunately [Problem A]. For example, We want to foresee Sales in China with Data. And we can. But unfortunately, there are gaps in our data sources. We are lacking data.

2. Solution. How do we get from A to B – formulated in a single sentence. For example, We need to invest in better data quality.

3. Proof of the value of your Solution. For example: Let me show you my calculations on how precise we could forecast sales in China if we had this data…Maximum 1 slide with 1 infographic.

4. What’s Next? The logical and down-to-earth practical next step, if we are to achieve the goal [B]

5. Reward What does your audience get out of it, if they adopt your solution? What’s the one major benefit?

Please prepare, submit below, and bring to our Training Day.

Max. 2 slides + flip charts.

Hook

No preambles. Open directly with: 

• Imagine….

• Involvement Activity like “Before I show you [number] how many percent do you think we spend on [X] each month?”

• Contrasting examples: Are you famiiar with…? What if we….?

• Personal Story

• Use objects to illustrate proportions of data relevant to your message

• Provocative statement “We are all lying to ourselves”

• Horror scenario

The Story

Contrast: Present a contrast between what you want to achieve, The Aspiration, and the problem you are facing that must be overcome, The Complication.

We want to achieve..[Goal B] But unfortunately [Problem A].

Solution + PROOF

Solution Sentence

Present your solution in one sentence:

“Therefore we must [verb] … “

Tip: Use a verb when formulating your solution. Instead of Optimization (noun), say: Let’s optimize (verb).

Prove your solution’s value with:

Data:

• “We can see here that …” (Data) Or:

Case Story Data:

• “In the pilot version, we learned that …” (Show Case Story Data)

What’s Next?

Call to Action: The 3 actions is takes to implement this:

1. ___________________________

2. ___________________________

3. ___________________________

Sum Up Call to Action: In three words only:

1. _____________

2. _____________

3. _____________

Reward: The one major thing they will get out of it.

Callback: Say something that references your hook and “completes the circuit”.

Hook

Monday morning. Imagine taht Microsoft Teams just crashed and won’t be up and running for another 7 days. No meetings for 7 days! Imagine what you could do…You could focus on your core work for several hours straight. You could decide things on a short phone call.

Virtual meetings rule our calendar. Let’s change that.

The story

Contrast: We are an efficient workplace, wanting to work smarter, not harder.

But unfortunately our meetings are very long, inefficient and very time-consuming. This is threatening our effieciency.

SOLUTION + Proof

Solution Sentence

Let’s halve our meeting activity

Data

In our department we hold 750 meetings a month, which sums up to roughly 1,300 working hours. Every month. In average it takes 2.1 meeting to conclude or make a decision on any project. What if we could do it in 1? Then we could halve all meeting activity.

What’s Next?

Call-to-Action: In order to decide, not discuss, let’s:

1. Only invite need-to-have people

2. Start every meeting with formulating what needs to be decided.

3. Replace Virtual Meetings with short telephone calls to expedite decision-making.

Sum up Call-to-Action in three words:

1. Invite fewer

2. Clear expectations

3. Stand up

Reward

We will have more time for the fun stuff.

Link back to the Hook

If we can agree on this, I’ll ask them to turn Microsoft Teams back on:)