"Dear %_FirstName..." or How Not to Address a Customer Email

In recent years, we’ve heard so much talk about how marketing is no longer about pushing our messages onto people. Now it’s all about building a relationship with them using dialog on social media and in our blogs. We’re told it's a new world where customers seek us out, so we have to provide valuable content, establish credentials as an authority in our chosen domain, and connect like we’ve never connected before. It’s a world where interaction and conversation reigns supreme over the old ways of bombarding potential customers with one-way messages that scream, “BUY MY PRODUCT,” from the rooftops.

And it works. Sort of. It works provided we all play our part in a mutually agreed upon illusion. Customers and prospective customers pretend that they have a relationship with a brand or corporate entity. And the brands act like their prospective customers are their pals. 

The problem is that everyone involved knows that it’s a bit of a ruse. A contrived relationship at best. So the shared illusion can come crashing down on itself with the slightest provocation.

Take today for example. 

What Did You Just Call Me?

I’ve been a member of a professional association for many years now. I’ve attended their conferences, read their content, and watched their videos enough to start believing these people are my friends. See, social marketing works! But they managed to disabuse me of that notion with the stroke of a key. I just received a message in which my friends addressed me as Dear %_FirstName. 

*Sniff*

They got everything else right. The casual, friendly tone of the copy. The respectful close to the message. But none of that works when the message starts out saying, in effect, “To whom it may concern.”

Now don’t get me wrong. I know we’re not really friends. I know I’m just one of tens of thousands of entries in their CRM who received the exact same message today. So it’s not that I’m shocked or hurt to discover that we aren’t really buddies. Not at all. My point is how such a simple mistake (and yes, I’ve made the exact same mistake myself) can undo many years of relationship building by stripping away the illusion of relationship — even if just for a moment. After all, a real friend would never say, "Hey....ummmm, what's your name again?" would they?

Lessons Learned? 

Not so much a lesson, as a reminder not to let all the effort you’ve put into building a connection with customer through social media and content marketing slip away because of a simple mistake. Make sure to check, double-check, triple-check those mailings before clicking that SEND button. It’s worth the extra time.

Tell me what you think. Have you received a “Dear <firstname>” email from a company you deal with? How did it make you feel?

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Beware the Dreaded “Frankendeck”

A mob of angry men stride purposefully through the dark wielding torches that flicker menacingly as they bob to and fro. It’s an all too familiar scene. Only this time they’re not after the monster in the castle.This time, they’re after you!

Sure, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but today is Halloween so it seems a fitting way to revisit the evil monster that continues to threaten conference rooms across the nation — the dreaded Frankendeck.

Are you guilty of releasing Frankendecks on your audiences? You know the ones. Presentations that look like they were assembled from unrelated parts — parts that just don’t belong together.

These monsters are often born in the rush to assemble a new presentation from slides purloined from other decks you or your team created for other purposes. Or they might result from having too many cooks in the kitchen while the deck is being brewed.  

Either way, the result is the same. An abomination that nobody wants to see.

So how do you avoid them? It all starts with a story. Think you’re not a natural story teller? Don’t be so sure.  I’ll bet that when you’re relaxing with your friends, you tell all kinds of stories that keep people engaged, entertained, and informed. But how do you apply story telling to fend off a Frankendeck? Not so obvious. Fortunately, there’s help. 

Check out Cliff Atkinson’s Beyond Bullet Points method, or the Slides that Rock techniques, and you’ll find that you can craft a story for your next PowerPoint presentation. All it takes it spending a bit more time at the outset, before you start creating and assembling slides. The first time you do it, it’ll probably feel like you’re wasting time, but stick with it. I promise you it’s worth the effort. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll be the envy of the office. Here are some of the benefits you’ll enjoy:

1. You’ll need fewer slides to get your message across
2. Your audience will stay awake, and even pay attention to your presentation
3. You will become a celebrity and have adoring fans far and wide

Ok, maybe I’m over selling things a bit with that last point, but I promise you that if you make an effort to learn about telling stories with your presentations, you’ll be very happy you did. And so will the people you present to.  

So after you’ve made the rounds of your neighborhood tonight and had your fill of candy, why not take a vow never to create another Frankendeck. 

Tips for Using Media in Your PowerPoint Presentation

All presentations should tell a story. Storytelling with PowerPoint requires different elements than writing prose or scripting a video. The text in your presentation isn important, but has to be clear and concise. If you want to write an essay, choose another medium. 

Who says PowerPoint has to be boring? By paying special attention to the interplay of all the media  PowerPoint makes available to you -- graphics, images, type, sound, and motion -- you can weave together a powerful, compelling story. 

Text

Use text sparingly. The ideas is to capture key points in your message, and not to deliver every detail. Always use short bulleted paragraphs. People digest information much better when it’s presented in small chunks. If you feel you need to have long paragraphs on your slides, step back and reevaluate what you’re trying to day. There is always a way to convey the essentials without turning your slide into a page of text.

Images

Photography has become a popular way to add visual interest to slides. The two watchwords to keep in mind here are: big and hight-quality. Never “borrow” images from other places on the web unless you have explicit permission to use the. Images are copyrighted, and using them without permission could leave you open to legal action. So where should you get your images from? If you’re a good photographer, consider using your own. If photography isn’t your cup of tea -- of if you’re pressed for time -- don’t worry. There are plenty of high-quality, legal images available to you. 

Royalty-free images are an easy to find, and affordable option. Check out istockphoto.com, shutterstock.com, and pond5.com to get an idea of the range of images available, and what they cost. 

Another alternative is photo stock offered under the creative commons license. Depending on which creative commons license the photographer has applied, you can generally use these images for free, as long as you give attribution and provide a link to the original photo. You can find these on Flickr.com and other photo sites, but a great way to search for them and get the right attribution and links all in one place is photopin.com

Typography

A good way to add a little style and visual interest to your next PowerPoint presentation is to try a different font. Choosing the right font can change the entire feel of a presentation. Some fonts bring a friendly, casual look to your slides. Others convey a more business-like quality. Choosing the right font is an art in itself, but do yourself a favor and experiment a little with your next deck.

There are plenty of high-quality, professional fonts available from traditional type foundries like Adobe Type, Linotype, and Monotype.

There are plenty of lower cost, and free fonts available too. Sites like FontShop.com, Fonts.com, Google Fonts are good places to get started. 

You should know that if you’re not going to be presenting from your own computer, the font you choose may not be available and PowerPoint will substitute an available font. This will change the entire look of your slides.  

Animation & Transitions

Putting your presentation in motion can be very effective, but too much can be more of a distraction than an attention grabber. PowerPoint provides a wide range of slide transitions, and animation effects for elements within a slide. However, you shouldn’t let the fact that there are dozens to choose from lead you to think you should use them all. Stick to one or two subtle transitions, and use them for the whole deck. And animate slide objects only when the animation adds to the clarity of the points being made. 

Movement for movement’s sake is not the path to effective message delivery. I like to think that animation is to PowerPoint as spices are to cooking. Choosing the right ones, and applying them in judiciously gives better results than a ham-fisted approach. 

Sound

PowerPoint is truly a multi-media tool, but most people overlook the use of sound. Except for special applications -- like self-running canned presentations for something like a museum display -- you should probably use sound sparingly. Avoid the temptation to use zany, cartoony sound effects to a business presentation. But if you’re careful, you can use sound effects to bring attention to a sound byte, play background music, or use sounds to illicit a laugh from your audience.

photo credit: Saad Faruque via photopin cc

5 Tips to Create an Engaging PowerPoint Presentation

Sitting through a boring PowerPoint presentation is agony. Any business presentation is meant to inform, motivate and deliver some kind of call to action. Here are some things you can do to make your next PowerPoint presentation a bit more engaging.

• Use it as a tool - Don't forget PowerPoint is a tool for making visual presentations. It is not a place just to dump your data or a word processing program. As you prepare your slides, think of yourself as a presenter not a writer. A presenter mind set give your presentation a more natural flow, and make you someone the audience wants to engage with.
• Keep it simple - An unfettered look works best for your presentation. While this is clearly a generalization, using simple, but powerful messages and images is usually a good way to stir emotion. And despite what people like to think, emotion is what spurs people to act.
• Don't tell, show - This old adage is especially true when it comes to presentations. Talking on and on is a great way to lose your crowd. It is true that "a picture is worth a thousand words.” Whenever possible, use images to deliver your message. Your autience wants to "see" your talk, not read it.
• Surprise them - Does it seem like someone wrote a template and everyone follows it when give a business presentation? To stand out and really engage your meeting, do the unexpected. Surprise your audience. Challenge the beliefs. Tell stories to keep them engaged. Create a little mystery in your stories, and watch as people pay close attention to see how the mystery gets resolved.
• Don't read it - The constant drone of someone reading their presentation will have their entire gathering nodding and bobbing. Talks like this are torture for an audience to sit through. Learn your messages, practice beforehand, and you’ll deliver a talk that people want to hear. Make eye contact with your audience. Vary your speech and voice patters. You want to sound normal and natural.

Make It Fun

Using these PowerPoint presentation tips should help you deliver a fun and engaging talk. Keep your audience paying attention to what you are saying by being as natural as you can be. They surely don't want to sit through another boring PowerPoint presentation. Be engaging and your audience will be engaged!

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Job Hunting? Here Are 4 Tips To Make A Riveting Resume PowerPoint Presentation

The job market of yesterday is gone. With so many applicants for each advertised position it’s getting harder to get your foot in the door. A paper resume isn’t going to do the trick all by itself, no matter how nicely it’s formatted or how good your qualifications are. No resume is going to get you a job. The best you can hope for is that it gets you a call from the employer. While opinions vary, some say it helps to have a visual resume in addition to a traditional one. The goal is to get your credentials seen. After all, that's the first step to your landing that dream job.

PowerPoint is a great tool for creating a visual resume. While not nearly as powerful as professional graphic design software from companies like Adobe, those tools tend to be expensive and have steep learning curves. PowerPoint, on the other hand, is accessible to just about everyone. Your presentation needs to have a professional appearance and be interesting enough to make an employer want to look into your background a little further.

Here are four PowerPoint presentation tips that can help your resume get you in the line of sight of potential employers.

1. Big graphics can be attention grabbers, but it’s important that they be well done. Amateurish attempts at graphic design will not cast you in the right light with your prospective new employer. If you use graphics, know what you’re doing, or get help form someone who does. But graphics aren't the only way to get attention with a PowerPoint resume presentation. Remember you are telling a story. The story of your work experience and skills. Tell a story that is compelling. Make sure you reinforce your strong points so that the organization will see why they need you.
2. Place your work experience front and center. It represents the payload of information you want to deliver to prospective employers.
3. Secondary content should consist of your education, skills, and other work related information that supports your work experience. Make sure that you are not sending mixed messages and that your resume forms a cohesive overview of why your skills and experience make you the best person for the position.
4. Impart some of your personality into your presentation. You have more freedom here than in a traditional resume. Get a little creative, but make sure to keep your message clear and concise. Showcase your skills and experience while giving the reader a glimpse of who you really are.

Use these PowerPoint presentation tips to help you resume stand out and get you the job you are applying for.

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