“Our biggest challenge I've seen in the digital platform is forming relationships and creating a collaborative culture. In order for a client or a consultant to trust us, you have to have a relationship established. If you're developing that relationship digitally, you're going to have to lean in and provide time to get to know them. To understand the things that are important to them and what elements are barriers for them. Getting to know a client on a professional level is going to make your job so much easier when you have to pitch a presentation.” - Elizabeth Lockwood
Overview
As we zoom into 2021 we take a look at the digital presentation process to set you up for success.
In this episode we will talk about:
How to prep for a design meeting
How to structure a meeting with a clear agenda
Effective verbal and visual presentation styles
Look at zoom etiquette
How to maximize client engagement and form a relationship digitally
Now lets elevate your practice by crafting successful design meetings.
Good Graphic Communication
It starts with good graphic communication. Try showing vs telling by leading the client along a journey. Think about giving them threads to tie a story together.
The act of communication is the visual exchange of information. Explore how you can be effective at communicating ideas through a combination of visual forms such as: info graphs, written word, images, and drawings.
Verbal Communication
Make eye contact, avoid buts, ands, likes and be concise. Be articulate and prepared by adding voice fluctuation and a good pace. Use modes to make the information stick such as: keep it simple, unexpected, make it concrete, credible, emotion and use stories.
Visual Communication
The pro of using slides as a presentation technique allows you as the presenter to control what the audience sees. The con is that often in architecture we need to relate a view or a concept to a plan, elevation and section at the same time. If you put all that information on one slide, it's going to be overwhelming and difficult for people to digest. So, think about how you can pace the presentation, to give a clear introduction, have body content and then closing content so that you're coming back to some of those elements. Some of the slides might be repetitive to show a floor plan midway through.
Storytelling
The art of presenting is about storytelling. It's about painting a picture, supporting your case with rationale as to why the client might care. Consider using metaphor or relationships to get the team engaged and excited about the project.
Know Your Audience
It is important to design and structure your presentation to your audience. It is good to know:
Where your audience is coming from
What vocabulary you should use
What their triggers are
What their roles and interests are
How familiar they are with the design process
How much time they have, what their energy level and focus is for the meeting
At the beginning of presentations, I like to reflect back to the client what I heard them say from a past meeting to assure them I am listening and working towards incorporating their concerns. Think about meeting the audience where they are at and then take them further.
Zoom Prep 101
Always plan to have your camera on and encourage others to have their cameras on. This will help personalize the meeting.
Position your camera in a way so that you can physically look at the camera eye instead of looking at a second monitor. If you need to look away from the camera be transparent and say “I'm still listening to you, I'm going to be looking at the second monitor while I share the information.” When you're trying to bring a point home make a concerted effort to look back at the camera.
Send out the agenda ahead of time
Carefully consider the amount of time, the structure and pace you want to have for discussion vs. presentation.
Communicating ahead of time any software you want the audience to use so they can practice it before. Consider pulling up the presentation in Mural board or a Bluebeam session to virtually collaborate.
Plan for 1 or 2 other team members to have the digital presentation on their desktop incase you need assistance with screen sharing.
Assign a team member to manage the room, watch for attendance, the mute button, raising hands and the chat window. This person can also support you as a facilitator by taking notes.
If you've got kids at home lock the door to avoid interruptions.
Take a shower. It is not only going to wake you up but it is going to build your confidence for the presentation.
Avoid too much caffeine so you don’t get the jitters.
Do a power pose by holding your hands above your head for an extended amount of time. This releases a hormone that will give you more confidence. TedTalk
Make yourself feel your best by clearing your virtual and physical desktop. Get dressed (head to toe) in your normal presentation attire. Think of this as an extension of curating your full background.
Zoom Etiquette
When everyone gets on, give everyone a chance to get settled. Make sure to do introductions and greet everyone. As you kick off the presentation, really make sure to manage the process along with the tasks. Give everyone a quick round robin to share their understanding of where they are at with the project. After introductions make sure to review the agenda and confirm with the audience if any adjustments need to be made. When inviting the audience to speak, allow pauses for longer then might feel comfortable. You can always say, “I am going to pause for a moment to allow anyone on the call to respond.” Once you have paused for a while you can also invite specific audience members to speak up.
When your ready to dive into the presentation, make sure to have a clear intro, body and conclusion planned. Introduce the flow for the presentation and when you will invite feedback. This helps the audience understand the pace and how they can engage during the call. I like to invite feedback intermittently so that the audience doesn’t get overwhelmed or lose track of something they thought of at the beginning of the presentation. For example, “Joe, you mentioned that this was something of a concern. Can we talk about that? Do you still see that as a concern?”
Plan to mark up work directly in Bluebeam or Adobe Acrobat so that comments and decisions are visually captured on screen. At the end of the meeting, summarize what you have heard by paraphrasing back to the audience what was decided and what next steps are. Make sure to confirm clear outcomes with dates and who will perform those tasks.
If you are running out of time avoid glossing over or partially introducing an item. Be okay saying lets table that topic for next time. It is also ok to end a meeting early. Don’t feel like you need to fill the space with extra information.
Forming Relationships Digitally
The biggest challenge I have seen in the digital platform is forming relationships and creating a collaborative culture. You have to establish a relationship to gain trust with clients. If you are developing a relationship digitally, you are going to have to lean in and provide time to get to know the team in order to understand what items are important to them. Getting to know your client will make your job easier when you try to pitch a presentation to them.
In Closing
Being intentional about how you set up and execute a presentation will set you up for success in your next digital meeting.
If you have any techniques that have worked well for you, I welcome your feedback in the comments below or by emailing elizabeth@milelongtrace.com
Till next time keep designing y’all.
Credit
Branding & Graphic Design work by Andrea Schwoebel https://www.andreaschwoebel.com/
Photo by Jonny Clow on Unsplash
Photo by Justin Buisson on Unsplash