MBA Journal Six Sigma Education Resources

How Six Sigma Practitioners Should Give Presentations

At some point, every Six Sigma practitioner must give a presentation, whether it's targeted for process owners or a board of directors. Many people believe that Six Sigma means calculating statistics in front of a computer, but the truth is that everyone involved in Six Sigma Management spends more time interacting with co-workers than with computers. Unfortunately, most people have never learned presentation techniques. Here are a few tips on how to improve presentation skills.

Develop an Organized Presentation

• The following tips will help to deliver content with maximum impact.
• Minimize both the number of slides used and the amount of information on each slide.
• Organize the talk with a strong introduction, a body with supporting arguments and facts, and a strong close. Be sure to use transitions between concepts. And in writing the close, consider what the goal is for the audience: challenge them? Motivate and inspire them? Call them to action?
• When using bulleted lists, keep the sentences to one line whenever possible. It's acceptable to remove words such as "the" or "a" in this case.
• To create a more vigorous presentation that commands attention, use an active voice rather than a passive voice.

Build Professional-Looking Slides

• Limit the number of fonts within the presentation. It's best to use just two or three simple fonts such as Arial. Make sure the font size is large enough to read from the back of the room; 16-point is the minimum.
• Graphics will break up the text and capture visual interest, but don't use too many. Leave some blank space on the slides to make them more readable.
• Stick to a maximum of four to six complementary colors throughout the entire presentation. Make sure there's a large contrast between the background and the words to ensure readability. For instance, a light background requires bold, dark type while a darker background works better with a lighter font color.

Deliver the Presentation Confidently

• Know the content inside and out. Be prepared for questions at the end of the presentation, but don't be afraid to turn away a question which is beyond the scope of the presentation.
• Explain the slides; do not read them to the audience. Consider adding variety, supplemental information, or a deeper meaning which isn't shown.
• Time the presentation to make sure that the allotted time is not too long or too short. When in doubt, shorten the presentation. Some presenters like to have a countdown timer to help them stay on track or a partner in the front row of the audience who can signal at designated intervals.
• Speak with conviction to grab the audience's attention. Vary the intonation and pacing, and make sure to speak loudly enough for the entire room to hear clearly.

One final note: the best way to prepare for any presentation is to practice, practice, practice. It's often helpful to record the practice for later viewing and critiquing or to perform a dry run with a colleague who will give honest feedback.

By applying these techniques and practicing extensively, the chances of success will be greatly tilted in the presenter's favor.