With the wide acceptance of my book “On-The-Job Speech Training” (now available as an eBook on amazon.com) middle level executives consistently ask “How do I help my boss be a better speaker?”

Once you have seen your boss give a speech regardless of audience size, you often try to influence him/her to use some of the techniques in “On-The-Job Speech Training”.

It has been my experience the PowerPoint crutch is the single most important habit that should be broken.

There are two reasons people use the PowerPoint application to draft their speech.

It is on everyone’s computer so it must be just as valuable as a word processor.

After all, may times the PowerPoint images become a “leave behind.” Any graphic should not be the same on screen as the leave behind.

The two issues converge with someone who is not convinced a speech should be developed using these steps:

Develop an outline with the three key points to instill in the audience. Argue, discuss or just lobby for the three keys. Then add a closing “call to action.”

Fill in the three key points with a written, or spoken (then transcribed) script. Time that script out loud for length. Edit that narrative.

Turn the finished script over to a true graphics person with PowerPoint experience.

Very few of us are capable of editing a PowerPoint deck we created. Not sure if it is pride of authorship or an unearned appreciation of our own graphic abilities.

What happens too often is the graphics become the “world’s largest teleprompter.” The detailed bullet points become script. The temptation to turn your back on the screen and read the bullet points to a bored audience is too great.

Then there is the detailed graphic that needs the disclaimer “I know you can’t read this, but I am going to put it up anyway.”

CHANGE BEHAVIOUR

Get your boss to record his/her rehearsals or presentations. We are all our own worst critics. Take notes if you can watch with the boss. Highlight the dozen or so key points and or the disjointed thread from thought to thought.

Engage in conversation about ROI (Return on Investment) of time spent preparing and presenting the speech. What is the best use of the executive time? Can a graphics designer (internal or contract) do better graphics, quicker?

Give examples of a good PowerPoint support for a Steve Jobs product introduction. No words? Of course not. Good support graphics are just that “support graphics.” Leave behind decks are something else entirely.