Moore: Workers' Comp Presentation in Four Easy Steps

Friday, October 21, 2022 | 0

Do not let preparing a workers' comp presentation, or any presentation, cause you to stress over what will seem easy once you complete the task. 

James Moore

These are my secrets to starting with a blank page/screen and having a nice, informative workers' comp presentation. They may sound a little outside the box.

Understanding Microsoft PowerPoint

We have all heard the term "death by PowerPoint." Other than Apache Office (a free complete office system), the sources of software to use become sparse at best. I have used Apache Office in the past with no problems.

I understand Microsoft PowerPoint somewhat. I use it sparingly, as I have many slides that I have reused over the last 25 years. Yes, workers' comp changes very little over time.

How does one understand PowerPoint? YouTube has thousands of videos on PowerPoint. Check out this search. Some are more than four hours, so time budgeting becomes critical.

Let us not forget the source of the software. Any Microsoft Office software will always have internal training. This method is how I learned to limitedly use it. I open the internal training modules as I progress through creating and arranging slides.

Workers' comp presentation secret: Guy Kawasaki

I used to wring my hands, stress out and become very nervous before a presentation.  Stress is a natural process; it makes you a better presenter.

Guy Kawasaki’s seminal book on entrepreneurship has a few chapters that one should read for any presentation. The book is "Lighting The Fire 2.0."  Avoiding death by PowerPoint becomes simple when you use his book and suggestions. I will cover three here:

• Go short on time and use very few slides. With the age of the smartphone and six-second attention spans, any time that you run over, people will dislike you. I have seen that one act of going overboard on time ruin a great presentation. People will thank you for going short rather than long.
• Use pictures and get rid of the text. I use this one every time I present anything. People remember pictures. Can you recall any text that someone presented, ever? Even cartoons work, but do not overdo them, as they have been overused over the years. If you have to use text, please DO NOT JUST READ IT. You have entered the death by PowerPoint zone when you start just reading your text.
• My favorite one shows that Guy Kawasaki is a genius. Find out or estimate the age of the oldest person who will see your presentation text.  Divide the age by two. This is the minimum-sized text you should ever use. I usually use 40-point text. Thanks for that one, Guy.

Write an outline

I know this one sounds very old school, but it works. You need to be in contact with your muse. If you can find any presentations or articles similar to your workers' comp presentation subject, use this to get your mind rolling. I never liked the brainstorming suggestion.

I usually use three- to four-word ideas. I then list them using paper and pen. I have more than 100 slides that I keep in a bank that I use often. Sometimes, I have to create new slides.

Organize the ideas into groups. Your muse is calling at this point. Name the heading of each group.

Now convert your group headings into major slides, and remember to use pics as much as possible. Wikimedia Commons has hundreds of thousands of free pics you can use if you credit the photographer.

Mind-blowing: Use only 10 slides

One of Kawasaki’s recommendations, including the ones above, is to use 10 slides maximum. Why? Because you are going to only use pics. The preparation for this type of workers' comp presentation will be more than normal.

At least you will not be reading text slides and making your audience ignore you after a few minutes. You may not be able to reduce your presentation to 10 slides for a technical presentation.

Using this technique, I reduced my slides for a 50-minute presentation from 30 to 15. Leaving time for questions will allow your audience to give immediate feedback and great questions.

I still remember for years later the text-based presentations or the ones that went well over their time slot. I did not have a good memory of either case.

If your workers' comp presentation is stressing you, contact me for assistance.

This blog post is provided by James Moore, AIC, MBA, ChFC, ARM, and is republished with permission from J&L Risk Management Consultants. Visit the full website at www.cutcompcosts.com.