Having your say

Presentation guidelines

If you are making a presentation to council, a committee or community board and are not sure what is expected of you, these guidelines will help you make your presentation more effective. Presentations to council are expected to be formal and should be prepared following the guidelines in this brochure. An effective presentation is:

planned
structured
organised
prioritised
developed with your audience in mind

But most importantly It needs to deliver the message.
To do this your presentation needs to be visual. Visuals are an important part of any presentation. They enhance understanding and increase the success of getting your message across. Adding appropriate visuals can increase audience retention by 50 per cent.

People remember:

10 per cent of what they read
20 per cent of what they hear
30 per cent of what they see
50 per cent of what they hear and see.

If you include too many visuals they will become the focus of the presentation and not your message. Less is better! One visual aid for every three to five minutes of your presentation is a guideline.

Tip: Use visual aids to help listeners remember facts, understand ideas, numerical relationships and recognise when you are discussing a new message.

General rules

Use message titles – this is a brief sentence that summarises the message you are sending and clarifies the information you want listeners to remember. Make sure the message tells the story and use it for every visual you create.
Use words - when you want listeners to remember .
Use key words and action steps - when you want to tell a listener what to do.
Use correct grammar.
Use clear, interesting verbs to create a picture.
Use pictures that convey the message - don’t go overboard with graphs, illustrations, pictures and cartoons. While they add impact and increase understanding they should be used as a learning aid, not as decoration.
Make it easy to read at a glance - provide only the information you need to communicate the message. Eliminate words and graphics that you can do without. The message title should clarify what listeners need to know.
Limit items to five or less. Use no more than five or six words per line and five or six lines per visual. One idea per visual.
Be consistent. Each visual should follow a similar format and information should be located consistently.
Keep a horizontal format. More information can be placed in a horizontal format.
Design the visual for natural eye movement from top left to right down to bottom left to right.
Font - Use large type size generally between 32 and 36 point for line text (depending on the font type). Go down in type size for each line on a multi-tier list eg

36

28

24

Choose fonts for readability: Serif fonts tend to be easy to read.
Use non-serif fonts only if the letters are large and words are few.
Use one font style per visual and only two styles per presentation.
Use capital letters sparingly. They are hard to read and can display the wrong tone for your message.
Use colour – it makes your visual aids easier to remember.
Don’t use a lot of colour – use three or four colours consistently to heighten attention. Use bright colours such as green, blue, purple. Avoid using yellow and red. Don’t use red for numbers. Red numbers have a negative connotation.
Ensure font and background colours display clearly – use dark coloured text on a light background.

Tip: Use different colour for the background of all visual aids for each topic to help guide listeners though the different messages you want to deliver.

Types of visuals

Council’s committee room, Level 15, Chambers and Town Hall Hearings Room and Chambers are equipped for two main types of presentations: overhead transparencies and PC based.

Tips for overheads

Start with a good original – one that is clear and easy to read.
Use colour to make the images vivid and easily remembered.
Number your overheads to keep order.
Keep the numbers and letters at least 1cm tall.
Make sure your visual fills the screen.
Use frames (cardboard or flip frames) on each transparency to eliminate excess light, providing visual focus. Use the frames to pre-set the positioning of the transparency on the projector screen.
Have someone change the overheads for you. It avoids distraction.

Tips for PC based

Consider using "builds" to talk to one item at a time. Builds allow you to speak to one element or bullet point at a time to keep the listeners focused.
Consider using "Transitions" to flow from one visual to the next.
Avoid using too many different types of screen transitions or builds. Consider placing a title visual at the end of your presentation to allow you to close your presentation cleanly without dropping back into the applications window.

Handouts

The best option for handouts is to provide copies of the visual aids printed three visuals per page on the left side with the right side available for notes. Handouts can also include extra information that you don’t plan to provide during the presentation. If there is a script you can hand that out also. Generally it is best to give the handouts at the beginning of the presentation. However, you may wish to leave copies of scripts on a table and mention during your presentation that these are available.

Prepare and practise

Prepare a script or notes or memorise your materials
Run through your visuals and make sure you know the order and content. If your presentation is PC based, do a test run in the meeting room you will be presenting in.
This is a good time to make any adjustments to the computer screen to eliminate glare, check out the projection screen and make sure you know how to use the presentation panel screen.
Ensure that you have your presentation on transparencies as a backup measure in case of equipment failure.
Practise and rehearse your presentation out loud to make sure the visuals aids and your script flow.
You are responsible for the room and equipment set up. It is best to do this before the meeting regardless of where your presentation comes in the agenda.

Tip: Highlight the verbs in your script or notes so you can pronounce them clearly to ensure they create the energy you need to get your message across to the listeners.

Further information

Follow the links to find further information on council, committees and community boards:

members
meeting dates
agendas and minutes
delegations (responsibilities of council, committees and community boards)
meeting protocol

Information relating to meeting protocol is also available in the brochure, Meeting Protocol – What to expect at council, committee and community board meetings, available at Auckland City Libraries and offices. Contact us to request your copy.