Scott Schwertly, who is the CEO of Ethos3, was my latest guest on the Atkinson Public Relations podcast. That's not him in the picture above. You'll understand if you visit the Ethos3 website.

Here is a recap of what Scott and I discussed.

PROCESS

Scott breaks a presentation into three elements: content, design, and delivery. The problem with most presentations is that people immediately begin focusing on the design aspect when the other two are far more important.

CONTENT

"Walk away from your computer." That is Scott's first piece of advice for anyone assigned a presentation. Grab a pad and brainstorm the message you want to communicate and a story that exemplifies the message. Don't open PowerPoint until you know these key points and have an outline of the story.

Story is vital to building a presentation that is "self contained," meaning it will work equally well online and in live presentations. Ethos3's award-winning "Meet Henry" presentation is a perfect example.

DESIGN

Ethos3 rarely works in PowerPoint or Keynote, because the software models are driven by bullets points and text.

Whenever possible, Scott recommends substituting imagery for bullets points.

DELIVERY

Passion for the material is far more important than the creativity of your design or the sizzle of your PowerPoint presentation. Stories are perfect vehicles for passion, especially if you are talking about a client whom you helped or the team that accomplished a difficult task. Emotion is a good thing, as long as it supports your message.

ONLINE DELIVERY

Slideshare is obviously popular, but there are other options. Scott likes how Sliderocket is using live Twitter feeds for commentary. Prezi is a great tool for non-linear presentations. And Zentation allows users to easily synchronize video with presentation slides.

About the Author

Brannan Atkinson, APR, is president of Atkinson Public Relations.

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