Building Decks, Communication & Effective Speaking
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Emeritus Professor | Coach & Mentor to Aspiring Professionals | Helping the Next Generation D...
Series Preface
This series of manuals represents my attempt to capture, organise, and share more than 20 years o...
Introduction
You can have the best analysis in the competition and still lose. Every year, judges see teams th...
About the Author
Cam Welsh is an award-winning educator and coach who has been honoured with the title of emerit...
How to Use This Manual
The first Discover Your MAD Skills Masterclass Manual focused on solving the case: deciphering th...
PART I: The Purpose of the Presentation
A case presentation is not a report delivered through PowerPoint. It is the final stage of the ca...
Chapter 1: You Are Not Building Slides. You Are Building an Argument
One of the biggest mistakes case teams make is starting their presentation by opening PowerPoint....
Chapter 2: The Problem Isn't Time - It's Focus
Case competitions create a powerful temptation: "We only have ten minutes. We need to get everyth...
PART II: Deciphering the Communication Challenge
Before you build the story, you need to understand the communication situation. The same principl...
Chapter 3: Before You Build the Deck, Decipher the Presentation
Just as you should not solve a case before understanding it, you should not build a presentation ...
Chapter 4: Know Your Audience
Case teams often say: "We're presenting to ACME Corporation." You aren't. You are presenting to p...
PART III: Building the Story
A strong case presentation should feel like one connected argument. Judges should never have to a...
Chapter 5: A Presentation Is a Story with a Purpose
Video: Make Them Take Note: 7 Techniques to Deliver Presentations People Actually Remember Video...
Chapter 6: The Executive Summary Is the Destination
Once you have built the story, give the judges the destination. An executive summary should answe...
PART IV: Deck Architecture
Once the story is clear, you can begin designing the deck, but not by opening PowerPoint. Your fi...
Chapter 7: Build the Deck Before You Build the Slides
Video: Slide Deck Tips That Make Your Case Presentation Professional and Persuasive A common cas...
Chapter 8: One Slide - One Message
Once you know what each slide needs to communicate, the next challenge is making that message obv...
PART V: Visual Communication
Once you know each slide's message, the next question is: What is the clearest way to show it? Vi...
Chapter 9: Visuals Are Thinking Tools
Video: Building Better Slide Decks: 9 Practical Rules for Professional, Visual Case Presentations...
Chapter 10: Make the Important Information Obvious
Choosing the correct visual is only the first step. The audience still needs to know where to loo...
PART VI: Slide Design
A slide can contain the right message and the right visual and still fail if the audience cannot ...
Chapter 11: Build for the Back Row
A slide that looks perfectly readable on your laptop may be almost impossible to read from the ba...
Chapter 12: Don't Design Your Deck Like a Poster
A presentation slide is not a report. It is not a textbook. It is not a spreadsheet. It is n...
PART VII: Communication and Speaking
A strong deck does not present itself. Once the slides are built, the team must bring the argumen...
Chapter 13: Speaking Is Not Reading
One of the most obvious presentation weaknesses is reading the slides. If the slide says Revenue ...
Chapter 14: Speak to the Judges, Not to the Screen
Video: Presentation Tips That Actually Work: Body Language, Warmth, and Authenticity Video: How ...
Chapter 15: Your Voice Is a Visual Tool
Video: Effective Speaking Strategies: 10 Practical Techniques to Deliver a Memorable Case Present...
Chapter 16: Speak in Headlines
Strong presenters help the audience navigate; they don't assume the judges will automatically und...
PART VIII: Team Presentation
A case competition presentation is a team performance. The judges are not evaluating four separat...
Chapter 17: Four Speakers Should Sound Like One Team
A team presentation can easily become four individual mini-presentations. Speaker one delivers th...
PART IX: Effective Speaking Under Pressure
Case competitions do not reward perfect conditions. They test what happens when: time is tig...
Chapter 18: Confidence Is a Skill
Video: How to Deliver a 1% Presentation Plan, Practice, and Perform with Confidence Confidence i...
Chapter 19: Don't Memorise the Script
A word-for-word script can feel safe. Every sentence has been decided. Every transition is w...
PART X: Q&A
The presentation does not end when the final slide appears. Q&A is where judges test the depth be...
Chapter 20: Q&A is Part of the Presentation
The prepared presentation may be finished. Your work is not. Q&A is where the judges move beyond ...
PART XI: Building the Deck
A strong deck is not built by starting at Slide 1 and working forward. It's built by making a ser...
Chapter 21: The Recommended Deck-Building Process
Case teams often build presentations in slide order. They start with the title slide. Then th...
Chapter 22: The Slide Audit
Once the deck is built, challenge every slide. Not: "Does this slide look good?" "Is this sli...
PART XII: Practice
You have built the argument. You have designed the deck. You know the story. You have prepared th...
Chapter 23: Practice Like You Play
Many teams practise by sitting around a table and talking through their slides. That can be usefu...
PART XIII: Discover Your MAD Skills Presentation Checklist
Resource: PDF Version Available for Purchase Decipher Do we understand the audience? Do we u...
PART XIV: The MAD Skills Presentation Test
Before you compete, ask the following: 1. Clarity: Can the judges understand our solution? 2. R...
Closing Reflections: The Presentation Is the Product
Your case solution is not finished when the analysis is done. Your thinking needs to transform in...