What you are proposing, in the timeframe you are limited to, presents a very
difficult task.
You will need to learn some new skills about the technical aspects of
putting together a quality presentation. Some of these are simple, some are
not. A good place to begin would be a book store. Look for a book written
by a fellow PowerPoint MVP named Kathy Jacobs called 'On PowerPoint'. I
recommend it as a great book (for levels beginner all the way to moderately
advanced), but also look over some of the other books you will find. Pick
one that makes sense when you read it, buy it, and study it. Since you only
have a week to this projects completion, you better plan on devoting a whole
lot of time early on to this study. You do not have to become an expert in
that week, but you will need to know many of the skills quickly.
You also have to work on your overall plans for the presentation. Is the
PowerPoint meant to be the total presentation, or will you be speaking as
well? If you will be speaking, which is most likely, then decide how much
of a role the PowerPoint should play in the presentation. In most similar
cases PowerPoint is used as support for the speaker, to help better envision
the concepts and content of their talk. NEVER use PowerPoint as a script or
crutch for your speaking -- this is the surest way to make a bad
presentation.
So now you will need to decide what you want to talk about. In this case
the subject is pretty clear, they want to know about how well you would be
able to do the job. Can you? Prove it. Not to me, to them. Think, if you
were in the audience and making decisions for this company, what is it that
would make you want to hire yourself? Personality, confidence, knowledge of
the material, knowledge of the company, may weigh as heavily as demonstrated
history of task completion. They also are asking for documentation of past
successes, so there is a whole area you will have to flesh out. Time to
Show-n-Tell them the planning involved in at least one of your projects,
concept thru completion with the appropriate level of detail..
Animations and gimmicks are often used by bad presenters because they think
they will 'liven up' an otherwise bad presentation. They do not.
Animations should be used when they will add something to the total
presentation, other than just another animation. I recently saw a good
example of animations in a presentation explaining the flow of coolant in a
refrigeration system. The animated flow added to the understanding of the
system. However, a simple flow diagram may help them to visualize it better
than overly detailed blueprints.
Images and graphics can sometimes explain more than words, so, as an
example, a picture of children eating a hot lunch, while you describe the
processes you undertook to improve the nutritional value and cost
effectiveness of the local community lunch program, may carry much more
power than simple words.
Inquire what version of PowerPoint will be supplied at the interview or if
you can bring your own laptop. Write your presentation based on what will
be available then, not what you can do at home.
Lastly, leave yourself enough time to rehearse. There is no worse
presentation than one that surprises the presenter. Know your topic, know
your presentation. This enables you to speak with confidence. Practice the
presentation out loud in front of some stuffed animals, practice looking
into their eyes, not your notes. Practice some more using family or a
co-worker or two. Ask them afterward what worked and what didn't. Practice
out loud some more, in the shower, in the car. Work on projecting your
voice clearly without yelling or mumbling, work on knowing what slide is
next, without having to see it.
As you can see by the rough stuff I've suggested, you have a lot to do and
not much time. Do the job you are applying for, but use the skills to plan,
prepare, and execute your own hiring.
By the way, when you get the job, do I get a cut?
--
Bill Dilworth
A proud member of the Microsoft PPT MVP Team
Users helping fellow users.
http://billdilworth.mvps.org
PowerPoint '05 | Sep 25-28 | San Diego CA
http://www.pptlive.com
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yahoo2@ Please read the PowerPoint
yahoo. FAQ pages. They answer most
com of our questions.
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