MLDP Recap: Presentation Design for the User Experience with Dave Uejio

Read a student's account of a recent session in our Management Leadership and Development program below. For more information, about MLDP, click here.

David Uejio, leader for Talent Acquisition at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, highlighted three main points when doing his workshop on presentation design:

1) Design for them – Create a presentation particular to your audience to keep them interested and involved.
2) Design for you – As the presenter, you need to be comfortable with the material, and therefore create a presentation that you can work with.
3) Mindhacks – Use a story to stir emotions, use powerful images on slides, or any other methods to connect with your audience.

It was really interesting to see Dave not only explain these points to us, but use them in his presentation as well.

More than just these main points, Dave also highlighted what we should not do in a presentation. Things such as reading directly off the slides, using clip-art images, or using cheesy animation features of PowerPoint not only distract the audience, but also cause people to lose interest in the topic. Dave suggested that PowerPoint should be used as an accessory to a presentation, but should not be the sole focus. Ultimately, the presenter should know the topic well enough to where he or she can use PowerPoint as a guide for organization if necessary, but not beyond that.

One point Dave made that struck me was where he talked about the context of a presentation to an audience. If you’re talking about a topic you care for, you should take time to make sure that your audience is interested— the best way to make this happen is by rehearsing.

Overall, I really enjoyed Dave’s presentation. I left the room knowing not only how to make a better presentation for my audience, but also how to enhance my own experience.

-Atul Vaidyanathan ‘14