Building Decks, Communication & Effective Speaking

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...

Introduction You can have the best analysis in the competition and still lose. Every year, judge...

About the Author Cam Welsh is an award-winning educator and coach who has been honoured with t...

How to Use This Manual The first Discover Your MAD Skills Masterclass Manual focused on solving ...

PART I: The Purpose of the Presentation A case presentation is not a report delivered through Po...

Chapter 1: You Are Not Building Slides. You Are Building an Argument One of the biggest mistakes...

Chapter 2: The Problem Isn't Time - It's Focus Case competitions create a powerful temptation: "...

PART II: Deciphering the Communication Challenge Before you build the story, you need to underst...

Chapter 3: Before You Build the Deck, Decipher the Presentation Just as you should not solve a c...

Chapter 4: Know Your Audience Case teams often say: "We're presenting to ACME Corporation." You ...

PART III: Building the Story A strong case presentation should feel like one connected argument....

Chapter 5: A Presentation Is a Story with a Purpose Video: Make Them Take Note: 7 Techniques to ...

Chapter 6: The Executive Summary Is the Destination Once you have built the story, give the judg...

PART IV: Deck Architecture Once the story is clear, you can begin designing the deck, but not by...

Chapter 7: Build the Deck Before You Build the Slides Video: Slide Deck Tips That Make Your Case...

Chapter 8: One Slide - One Message Once you know what each slide needs to communicate, the next ...

PART V: Visual Communication Once you know each slide's message, the next question is: What is t...

Chapter 9: Visuals Are Thinking Tools Video: Building Better Slide Decks: 9 Practical Rules for ...

Chapter 10: Make the Important Information Obvious Choosing the correct visual is only the first...

PART VI: Slide Design A slide can contain the right message and the right visual and still fail ...

Chapter 11: Build for the Back Row A slide that looks perfectly readable on your laptop may be a...

Chapter 12: Don't Design Your Deck Like a Poster A presentation slide is not a report. It is ...

PART VII: Communication and Speaking A strong deck does not present itself. Once the slides are ...

Chapter 13: Speaking Is Not Reading One of the most obvious presentation weaknesses is reading t...

Chapter 14: Speak to the Judges, Not to the Screen Video: Presentation Tips That Actually Work: ...

Chapter 15: Your Voice Is a Visual Tool Video: Effective Speaking Strategies: 10 Practical Techn...

Chapter 16: Speak in Headlines Strong presenters help the audience navigate; they don't assume t...

PART VIII: Team Presentation A case competition presentation is a team performance. The judges a...

Chapter 17: Four Speakers Should Sound Like One Team A team presentation can easily become four ...

PART IX: Effective Speaking Under Pressure Case competitions do not reward perfect conditions. T...

Chapter 18: Confidence Is a Skill Video: How to Deliver a 1% Presentation Plan, Practice, and Pe...

Chapter 19: Don't Memorise the Script A word-for-word script can feel safe.  Every sentence h...

PART X: Q&A The presentation does not end when the final slide appears. Q&A is where judges test...

Chapter 20: Q&A is Part of the Presentation The prepared presentation may be finished. Your work...

PART XI: Building the Deck A strong deck is not built by starting at Slide 1 and working forward...

Chapter 21: The Recommended Deck-Building Process Case teams often build presentations in slide ...

Chapter 22: The Slide Audit Once the deck is built, challenge every slide. Not: "Does this sl...

PART XII: Practice You have built the argument. You have designed the deck. You know the story. ...

Chapter 23: Practice Like You Play Many teams practise by sitting around a table and talking thr...

PART XIII: Discover Your MAD Skills Presentation Checklist Resource: PDF Version Available for P...

PART XIV: The MAD Skills Presentation Test Before you compete, ask the following: 1. Clarity: C...

Closing Reflections: The Presentation Is the Product Your case solution is not finished when the...