Business Presentations - Part 3: Infographics & Technical Problems

We'll now look at business presentations focusing on:

• directing the audience's eye to infographics (charts and graphs) and audio-visuals (videos, images, etc)
• dealing with technical problems (e.g.,projector doesn't work)
  Inforgraphics

Infographics (charts or graphs) are useful because they make numbers, measurements, trends,  and financial information easier to understand.

First, let's look at the most common kinds of infographics.

Pie Charts

Pie charts are good for breaking down information. Sales people use pie charts to show how much one products sells compared to others or the size and make up of their customer base. 

For example let's look at the comic book industry (my favourite).

 (from Diamond Comic Distributors )

As you can see, Marvel Comics has about 45% of the comic book market. 

Of course, a pie chart should use different colours or patterns to make the information clear,  and there should be a guide showing what each colour or pattern represents. 

Then, there's body language...

The presenter above is doing an "old school" (traditional) talk, using a flipchart, but, it's important to guide the audience's eye to the information you want them to see. 
 

Line Graphs

(line graph types: Oracle)

Line graphs are good for showing trends, changes, growth, etc over a period of time. Study the line graph for New York City's weather in June 2011.

Time measures (days, weeks, months, hours, etc) are on the horizontal line (left to right); units of measurement - prices, temperatures, sales figures, weight,  etc, go on the vertical line (up and down). 

You can see that the first Thursday of June saw the lowest temperature for that week at 19 degrees celsius.  Then on Friday and Saturday, the temperature went up sharply.

Again, phrasal verbs are used in business presentations of all types are used (read our phrasal verb review here). Below, are some examples of commonly used phrasal verbs and expressions for presentations from Woodward English (a very useful ESL site for students and teachers).

 Other ways of directing the audience's eye

Cursors

If you're using a projector or large screen, then, of course, the cursor of your laptop or pc is a great pointer. 

Pointers

If you're in front of an audience you can  a traditional, handheld pointer. Pens and pencils can be used as pointers if you're using an overhead projector (OHP. As for laser pointers,

Personally

I would not use a laser pointer. Laser pointers:

a) aren't that cheap

b) can be harmful to people's eyes

c) are annoying.

Unless your presentation needs a cinema-sized screen, laser pointers aren't really necessary.

We'll now move on to...

Technical Difficulties

 It happens: you're projector's light bulb burns out, your laptop freezes, there's no sound from you're audio-speakers, etc.

First rule,

Don't Panic

Next, 

Apologize 

My apologies, everyone.

I am sorry everyone.

Then, 

Explain the problem:

The projector light bulb has burned out.

We're not getting a WiFi signal.

The laptop has frozen.

After that, 

Let the audience know when the problem will be fixed.

We'll take a moment/ a few minutes/ to (replace the light bulb/wait for the laptop to reboot/etc)

If the problem can't be fixed  quickly, improvise.

Use a flipchart, whiteboard, tablet, or notepad, and continue your presentation.

  Don't keep your back to the audience for too long. 
Do one drawing/infographic/figure at a time. 
 Explain what you're writing or drawing (This line is sales in millions of dollars, e.g.)
Make sure drawings and words are clear and easy to see.
Turn and face the audience as often as possible. 

If possible, get audience members involved in making drawings or writing. You can also allow them to ask you questions during your talk instead of waiting till the end. 
 
This may add extra time to your presentation  you may have to cut out some information. If you can't cover all your talking points, you can cover them in the Q&A session. 

The important thing is too keep the presentation going.

Again,

• Don't panic
• Explain
• Improvise