Conduct Segment Dry Runs

Once the team has recovered from the management review, conduct the segment dry runs. These can be conducted in any order, allowing those segments with more serious problems extra time to make improvements without affecting the schedule. This is NOT a full team dry run. I recommend you take one segment at a time before a few key people. Because the segments can be given out of order, it is worthwhile to restate procedures and responsibilities such as introductions, transition statements.

This is a good time to use a video camera to help polish the delivery skills of the presenters. Evaluate each recorded performance with the presenter and offer coaching on content, delivery and style.

Review the Storyboard with Management

This review can be invaluable in heading off false starts, redirection, and confusion. It also saves time, money, and morale. Make sure that text and visuals are complete enough to give management a representative sample of progress. Conducting this review early helps you correct shortcomings without sending a shock wave out to the team. Suggested areas to address:

1. Is the content technically correct?
2. Are the key points and themes getting through?
3. Are the visuals relevant and accurate?
4. Does the storyboard reflect the presentation’s purpose?
6. Does the story hang together?

Prepare Storyboards

Prepare storyboards in the presentation control room. Each segment should follow the agreed-on pattern in its organization and visual design. Use the agenda charts between segments to highlight transitions and to add to the impression of team cohesiveness. Set up storyboards in sequence to facilitate orderly review. If you have subcontractors involved, they should prepare storyboards in your presentation control room as well. This ensures that the subcontractors’ segments conform to the standard, thus preserving the team image.

All presenters should develop their own storyboards. Don’t allow presenters to delegate this responsibility. I have seen presenters who could not utter a word at the 1st dry run because it was the first time they had seen the charts. The only thing harder than giving a business presentation is trying to give someone else’s.

Review Key Points

Ask all the presenters to identify the essential points to be made in their respective segments. All presenters should attend so they know what the others are covering. This review gives the presentation coordinator and management a feel for the presentation’s tone and direction early in the process. Most important, it provides a starting place for discussions that can identify and eliminate misinterpretations of guidelines, inconsistencies between presenters, organizational overlaps, and general deficiencies.

Hold a Kickoff Meeting

Assemble the full presentation team including management, advisers, support specialists, and subcontractors if they are part of the presentation. The following agenda items are recommended:

-Overview of the presentation and its objectives

-Audience analysis

-Themes and sub themes

-Presentation team line-up and sequence of segments

-Presentation guidelines

-Facilities overview

-Introduction of support specialists and roles

-Development schedule

-Directions to participants (dress code, protocol, security, directions to the site, transportation, lodging, seating, etc.).

Inspect the Site

It’s important that the presentation coordinator and graphics director visit the actual presentation site early because some presentation decisions will be based on the site’s physical characteristics. Be thorough. One company wanted to demo some new electronics products. The surprise was that all the electrical outlets were in the back of the room. “Excuse me. Does anyone have an extension cord?”

Pay attention to seating arrangements, equipment, lighting, and visual requirements. Keep a keen eye out for potential distractions. We once paid to have curtains installed in an U.S. Air Force Ft. Mac Arthur conference room. You want the customer’s eyes on you and not on the beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean.

Record directions to the site along with room and building numbers. Photograph or sketch the room so it can be accurately simulated for rehearsals.

This is also the time to make transportation and delivery arrangements. Give consideration to contingencies and back up plans. What happens if, at the last minute, the customer changes conference rooms? What if your presentation is designed for two projectors and two screens and they only provide you with one...and the projector’s bulb is burned out? To avoid being victimized by Murphy’s laws, you have to think like Murphy. Plan ahead. Double check everything.

Assign Responsibility

Assign responsibility for each segment of the presentation. Management and the presentation coordinator should make these assignments. They should also set the guidelines for planning, organizing, and preparing the presentation.

Set up a presentation control room. This room becomes the hub for all presentation tasks such as preparing storyboards, holding stand-up reviews, dry runs, etc. Post and strictly adhere to a detailed schedule of activities and responsibilities. Develop a question-and-answer chart to record anticipated customer questions. Be hard on yourselves. Ask the tough questions. The team can then develop thorough answers that support the theme of the presentation. If your presentation contains classified material, control access to the room. The presentation control room is a haven from distractions and a good place to concentrate and brainstorm.

Make one of your presenters the team leader. The team leader is the quarterback. Once the customer’s conference room doors are closed, the team leader is in charge. Duties include:

-Introducing the team

-Previewing the presentation’s scope

-Managing time

-Summarizing key points

-Fielding questions

-Recording follow-on actions
-Observing and interpreting customer reactions