92Managing Yourself
Emails are a particularly tricky form to master, although we write
them all the time; for special tips, see the box “How to write an email.”
Once you’re happy with your draft, consider sharing it with colleagues as
well. As a proxy for your intended audience, they can give you feedback on
what is working and what isn’t.
Persuasive presentations
Presentations are a hybrid form of communication, a combination of oral
speech, text, and images. They’ve become one of the standard ways pro-
fessionals share information with groups and, increasingly, with individu-
als as well. While this format may seem less dense than a written report,
it’s more challenging to put together. Visuals compete with words for the
viewer’s attention, and the emphasis on images means presenters often
give short shrift to basics like structure and audience.
To create a powerful presentation, you need to distinguish the slide
deck itself from your presentation as a whole. Too often we elevate the deck
itself as the main event, but your voice should never play second fi ddle to a
screen. So what is the right way to combine these forms?
Step 1: Decide whether you’ll use slides
Slides can be a powerful ally in your ability to communicate with an audi-
ence. They can also undermine your presentation by giving people some-
thing besides you to focus on, so use them selectively. In smaller, informal
settings, it’s better to use a whiteboard or handouts than a big glowing
screen. When you do use slides, create them after you’ve prepared your key
messages.
Step 2: Plot it out
Fundamentally, presentations are a kind of storytelling, says Nancy Duarte,
who works with speakers at TED talks to improve the quality of their pre-
sentations. Duarte argues that an effective presentation, like a good story,
has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Within that structure, it juxtaposes
the status quo—“life as the audience knows it”—and then disturbs that sta-