PowerPoint Presentations*

Strategies for Success

*please print a copy of your presentation off, for professor, and in case of emergency

I. Of course, understand audience and purpose.

• In the final project, you are trying to persuade an investor by providing information of your restaurant concept, fully considering all business and cultural aspects of the proposal.
  

II. Organization / Development of Presentation

• The most important aspect of a presentation is the clarity, and ordering your information (from slide to slide) in a logical manner

• Remember Organizational Patterns, Chapter 7
  

• How are you starting the presentation? What information comes when?

• When do you discuss the economics? Do you include all of the money aspects at once, or spread throughout presentation?

• When do you discuss community and how your place fits in?

• Real estate – property value (rent, or buy?)

• Neighborhood?

• When do you discuss the food, the look of the restaurant, etc.?
  

III. Slide Rules

1. Each slide should be used effectively by having a smaller purpose that fits into the larger purpose of presentation.
2. Divide presentation into larger categories (see II. above) of information and break down each category with individual slides in individual sections for each category created.
3. Don’t spend too much time on one slide in presentation (30 seconds per slide).
4. Thinking of 1-3, each slide should be made reader-friendly. Don't stuff any individual slide with too much material. One slide=one purpose (like a paragraph!).
5. Use non-distracting graphics that fit within textual content. (Don't use offensive or controversial images, or random "cool" graphics just to get them in.) 
6. Balance out the text v. graphics in each slide.
7. Use backgrounds, fonts and other formatting techniques that will relate to your overall business concept. (Don't use neon colors for a "classy restaurant proposal"! But, if you're doing a retro-'80s place...gnarly.)

IV.  Content meets form: Re-hashed

• Legibility of font; appropriate font size
  
• A font that thematically fits presentation and restaurant
• Color of font and slide background to fit theme, too
  
• Graphics – variety of graphics; pictures or model of restaurant, including dining area, kitchen, outside look, and logo/sign; neighborhood shots
• Charts and Graphs: use to break down the budgetary concerns for at least the first year, and you may project the first five years!

V. Effective Language

• Short, uncluttered sentences
• Language that mimics the restaurant concept
• Language that is aware of its purpose within the PowerPoint (bullet points for numerous points, for example) 
• Verb choice appropriate to slide purpose
• Use of nouns over pronouns
• Support you main points with statistical/numerical data
• Reference your graphs and charts, and other graphics, in text. Don't just put in charts without prior interpretation of data...

In-Class Work, 5/20:

What economic factors play a role in determining a business' actions in dealing with another business? 

This important question will  drive your working on the economic proposal for BTS 3. In the economic proposal, you must outline both the direct economic considerations between two companies, but also outline the cultural-business impact through research and use of an economic research study. 

For in-class practice, let's read the following blog post from The Wall Street Journal and then answer the following (10-20 minutes):

"IBM wants to buy out Sun Microsystems because it believes the consumer market makes it a good move. First, why does IBM believe this?  Secondly, answer what some of the possible consumer factors IBM should research before going through with the deal."

Effective Sentences

Today, as we continue discussing Effective Language, we will focus on a few syntactical issues (sentence structure issues) we can work on polishing.

Let's go to the Owl Website, first to look at some of the suggestions and examples, and then to practice with the on-line worksheet.

Pre-Writing Strategy -- in-class

First, open up a blank Word document to do the following:

Before we worry about formatting and editing, we must get out content.

Answer the following questions in good detail, and feel free to use examples from your resume. Go into more depth on what you did at your jobs, or in school, etc.

1. What are 2-3 skills you've learned in college that will help you in this particular job? (Specify the course, what projects and technology you worked with, etc.) What in the job posting you are applying to makes you think these skills are necessary for this job?

2. In what ways have you demonstrated those skills you write of above? In the real world, on the job? In other worlds, how have you put that knowledge to use on practical levels?


3. What is something you do that you feel represents who you are as a worker? A specific task, project, idea that you put into practice? Explain that here.




* After we do the above writing we will e-mail our answers to a peer. When you are directed, you will partner with one of the people at the computer next to you. You will switch seats, read each other's answers...and respond in a "Dear ..., letter" at the end of their document. But, you will also use the following guidelines in a response:

Critiquing a Colleague's Work (p. 55)

1. Start with a positive comment
2. Discuss the large rissues first. (In other words, don't edit words, commas, etc.)
3. Talk about the document, not the writer