You Down With O.P.P.? (Clean Version)

Yeah, you know me!

“O” is for “other”. “P” is for “people’s” work and preparation. The last “P”, well, that’s not that simple. It’s sorta like another way to call a map a script. There’s four little letters that I’m missing here. You get it on occasion, if the other party is a missin’. It seems I gotta start to explainin’…

Actually, that’s about as far as I dare take my little riff off of Naughty by Nature’s O.P.P.

“O.P.P.” in this context stands for Other People’s Plans, more specifically their presentation plans.

Over the past five weeks, I’ve been involved in planning and helping to deliver over 50 presentations. And other people’s presentation plans played a huge role in the success of these meetings.

The Show Must Go On

As a conference in Saudi Arabia was about to begin, I received word that heavy fog in Dubai would prevent several of my colleagues from arriving on time. I would need to facilitate their sessions for them.

Unfortunately for me, I was not an expert in their subject matter. Had I only been given their slides to work from, I would have completely embarrassed myself (and our organization) trying to present unfamiliar material in front of a room of knowledgeable participants. Fortunately, my fogged-in colleagues had completed detailed lesson plans and I was able to present with confidence and without missing a beat.

Click here to download a pdf copy of the blank template that they used.

What Would You Do?

Take a look at the following slide deck from a presentation I gave in December. Would you be able to fill in for me if I was stuck in traffic and I needed someone else to step up and present?

[slideshare id=33868149&doc=notjustanothermeeting-140423160411-phpapp01]

Would it make a difference if you had that slide deck and the following presentation plan (click here to download a pdf copy)?

Benefits of a Presentation Plan

Yes, investing some time and energy in creating a presentation plan before opening up PowerPoint and putting some slides together will make the planning process longer. But here are five reasons why using this format will be good for your next presentation:

Emergencies happen. If someone needs to fill in at the last minute, it’s helpful for the substitute presenter to know exactly what to say, how to say it, and how long to say it for.
Total Recall. It will serve as a good reminder if you have to give the same presentation a year from now and need some help recalling key points.
Focus. It provides a systematic way to gather your thoughts on the specific objectives that need to be accomplished during your presentation.
Keep it tight. It helps keep your presentation on track by defining exactly how much time you should spend talking about any specific point.
Who needs PPT?! Once your presentation is mapped out, you may realize that you don’t even need to put a slide deck together because there’s a better way to present your information!

Know someone you could use some help in organizing their thoughts around their next presentation? Pass this link along.

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Brian Washburn

Brian has over 25 years of experience in Learning & Development including the last 7 as CEO of Endurance Learning.

Brian is always available to chat about learning & development and to talk about whether Endurance Learning can be your training team’s “extra set of hands”.

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