June 2, 2006
Sarah's Strategies: How to Avoid BPD
Todd's Tidbits: Reasons to Ride
Greetings!
Couple of revelations and observations . . .
You'll see an acronym used in Sarah's article below, so I'll throw one at you too. I suffer from CFFLBGWIOM. Cub Fan For Life Because Grandma Willed It On Me. There's nothing I can do about it, so I have to continue to believe—and my belief has never been so tested as in the last month.
As a first-year manager for our son's team, I can relate. We've lost a couple of heartbreakers and some weren't even close—we're 0-5. If the stars are aligned, and that pesky goat doesn't show up again, we could break the string tonight...
Last week we moved. After 16 years in the old house, we decided we needed bigger closets. My wife made an observation that really rings true and I thought was pretty funny. We had movers. You know, the "professionals," not your cousin's friend-of-a-friend and his buddies.
Have you ever used the pros? See if this doesn't remind you of the team you had. There's the "boss," who is usually a little quiet because he shoulders the responsibilities for the other guys, potential breakage, and continu
ally keeping an eye on the clock.
Then there's the "wacko" who immediately wants to impress the client with his quick wit and loads of experience and expertise. Thinks he's Mr. Funny—and is...sometimes. He's actually not a bad worker, but you have to suffer through the inappropriate stuff. Oh, did I mention he smokes like a chimney?
There are the two Spanish guys. Although they don't communicate in English too good (sic), they are the hardest workers and also get stuck with the hardest jobs. I wish I knew more Spanish. When the wacko told them to hurry up, "because we're burning daylight," the looks alone were great, but whatever Jose said to Juan must have been priceless!
And last of the five man crew is always the New Guy. "Hey New Guy, get this...get over here...that's not the way to do it..." This guy never has the stamina of the others either. Around 3pm he was nowhere to be found for about an hour. Little bugger must of needed a nap.
So, does that sound anything like your movers? My wife related this theory to a friend of ours and he nearly finished her every sentence with the same scenario that he's had time and again.
Well, that about sums it up for this newsletter. Oh yeah, once the boxes are unpacked (say 2009), you're all invited over for a brat and a cold one—maybe we'll watch the Cubs!
Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com
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“If I managed the Cubs, I'd be an alcoholic.”
—Whitey Herzog
“There's nothing wrong with this team that more pitching, more fielding and more hitting couldn't help.”
—Bill Buckner
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In The News: Off to Hollywood
When you dominate a market like Schirmer Engineering does in Ch
icago, you are bound to win some kind of an award. We are proud to announce that Schirmer Engineering’s Chicago High-Rise marketing campaign has just been chosen as a finalist in the National SMPS Marketing Communications Awards.
This year’s competition was fierce and the contest had the highest number of entries in over 5 years. After being reviewed by 72 judges, 4 entries were chosen as finalists in each category. Schirmer will be off to Hollywood in August at the Awards Gala where they will find out exactly what place their targeted campaign won.
Here are a few highlights of why Schirmer won:
- A new high-rise ordinance was passed in the City of Chicago in January of 2005 and 900 buildings were required to comply by December 31, 2005
- Schirmer contacted Pepper Group to help them create a direct marketing campaign to motivate those building owners to retain Schirmer to conduct the required Life Safety Evaluation surveys
- Their goal was to obtain 10% of the possible Life Safety Evaluations
- With the custom letters, an over-sized brochure and a great offer, Schirmer successfully performed 205 of the possible Life Safety Evaluations (33%)
- After the deadline, the City of Chicago announced that only 350 buildings complied, which meant that Schirmer performed over 85% of all of the Life Safety Evaluations
We are proud to have worked with Schirmer to develop this campaign and can’t wait to find out the results!
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Sarah's Strategies: How To Avoid BPD
If you have ever attended a seminar, a large meeting or sat through a lecture, you have probably experienced BPD at its very worst—Boring PowerPoint Disorder. Might I guess that you are even guilty of passing this syndrome on at least once.
Think about all the presentations you have given or viewed over the years. I bet that 9 times out of 10 they were crammed with ten to fifteen bullet points per slide, each a full sentence. More time is usually spent reading the slide than listening to the presenter.
Because people abuse those tiny slides, I would like to take this opportunity to help you try and avoid contracting and spreading Boring PowerPoint Disorder.
Follow these simple guidelines and you will greatly improve your presentations:
- Lighten Up. Avoid having too much text on each slide. Your slides should support your talk, not be your talk. For this very reason, you should not be writing complete sentences on your slides. If your audience is concentrating on written text, they are most likely not giving you their complete attention. “Four by Eight” is a great rule of thumb. Use a maximum of four points per slide and eight words per point. Ideal usage is only 3-4 bullets per slide.
- No spectacles, please. You don’t want people to search for their glasses during your presentation. For starters, avoid using a font size less than 22 points. You shouldn’t need to use anything smaller if you followed my previous tip. Choose a font that is easy to read. Typically serif fonts, like Times New Roman, are more legible. Also, watch out for chaotic background images. If the room is going to be well lit, a simple light-colored background with a dark font for your bullets tends to show up the best. If the room is going to be dark, use a dark background with a light font for best viewing.
- Keep it simple. Everyone knows that PowerPoint has the capability for you to insert animated text, sounds and fancy transitions. But, it is almost never appropriate to use these. They can be effective in certain situations, but often distract your audience from the main points you are making. Plus, they really aren’t that cool.
- Clip art is so last year. Avoid using clip art at all costs. Everyone that has ever used a computer has seen them all before. Don’t get me wrong, visual images can be great, but they need to be selected carefully and be appropriate to the point(s) you want to make. Don’t just place images on a slide for the heck of it. Having too many elements on one slide is distracting. When you place an image on a slide, ask yourself if it helps to demonstrate your point. If it doesn’t, get rid of it.
- Don’t pull a switcheroo. Avoid switching between programs, such as calling up a web page. This takes extra time and can make it difficult for your audience to remain focused on your presentation.
- Get Offline. If you don’t have a need to show a live website, disconnect from the Internet. While you are presenting, you wouldn’t want your computer to randomly start downloading a software update. Also, it would be horribly embarrassing if your instant message program popped up and revealed your screen name, Looking4Luv.
- Practice makes perfect. It seems so obvious, but so many people skip this step. Always, always practice before you present. This will alert you to any modifications you need to make so your presentation flows well. Also, this gives you a chance to proofread your slides one last time. As everyone knows, spell check doesn’t catch everything. You should also go to the room you will be presenting in, test the projector and see how your voice flows in the room. This way you can avoid any mishaps that could happen during your presentation.
Aside from the clip art, animations and transitions, PowerPoint actually has some very useful functions that you may not be aware of. There are tons of navigational shortcuts that you can use to give a more efficient presentation. For example, when you are in slide show mode, simply press the number of a slide you want to jump to and press enter. There will be a seamless transition on screen. For more shortcuts, download our Peppercorn Learning quick reference guide.
So, in conclusion, PowerPoint is a great support tool for your presentations. I reiterate…a support tool. The potential for abuse is huge. But, if used properly, you will present much more effectively. You’ll impress your boss, clients and co-workers.
You have just received your vaccination for Boring PowerPoint Disorder. Please pass this along and stop the spread of this vicious malady.
Sarah Perry
sarah@peppergroup.com
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Todd's Tidbits: Reasons to Ride
Did any of you get up early enough to join the 20,000+ cyclists on Lake Shore Drive Sunday morning? As always, Bike The Drive was a total blast and this year the Pepper Group was further represented by Sarah Perry who rode with her brother and some hometown friends.
As long as we’re on the topic of biking, on June 24-25, the MS 150 "Tour de Farms" will be upon us again. I'm more excited than ever to be a part of this 2-day, 150-mile bicycling adventure that is aiming to raise $1.75 million towards research and services directly benefiting people with Multiple Sclerosis. The Pepper Group sponsors the ride both monetarily and through services.
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Starting out on Day 2 last year
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This is my ninth year doing this ride and each year I meet more amazing people who have MS. It feels wonderful to be helping make their lives easier. One of the most emotional experiences I've had occured last year when we rode by a yard-sign that said, "Thanks for supporting MS. Our Mom was diagnosed in July, 2003."
After five years of riding with me on our tandem, Savannah (at age 11) rode the entire 150 miles on her own bike last year. She will be doing it solo again this year and Delaney (now 7) will be riding with me on the tandem again.
"It’s a long ride, and a long journey. I’ll admit it’s hard, but the people, and the places I get to see, and all the lives I know I’m benefiting, makes it all worthwhile. There’s nothing on this Earth quite like the MS 150!"
-Savannah Underwood, 12
"I like it, because you can help others and you can exercise a lot."
-Delaney Underwood, 7
The biggest reason for doing the ride is to raise money for the National MS Society. They are not a United Way agency and receive no government funding. As you may already know, MS is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that generally strikes people between the ages of 20 and 40. Symptoms can range from numbness in the limbs to paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatments are giving hope to those affected by the disease.
I don't like asking for money, but this is the main charity we've been dedicated to over the past few years and their work is very important. Any help you might be able to offer will be greatly appreciated!It's easy to pledge us... simply click here. If you'd rather do it the old-fashioned way, please let us know the amount you can give and we'll add you to our pledge list. Payment can be made by check (National MS Society), MasterCard, Visa or American Express.
Thank you very much for your consideration!
Todd Underwood
todd@peppergroup.com
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