How can you use problem-solving skills to create an engaging presentation?

Before diving into your presentation, it's crucial to pinpoint the problem you aim to solve. Identify your presentation's main goal and the gap between the current situation and the desired outcome. Understand your audience's needs, expectations, and concerns. To measure success, set clear criteria. Addressing these questions sharpens your focus and ensures your presentation aligns with your objectives and resonates with your audience.

Spend most of the presentation focusing on how problems are framed. Provide some learning on heuristic thinking. Use easy and live examples to enable people to engage - the problem of what to have for tea, a broken car, the economy. Use Cynefin to help understand sense making and then use experiential examples to assist with differing lenses and to highlight how world views are different. The presenter can then use this style to highlight the patriarchy, whiteness, neurotypicality, heterosexism on how problems are framed. This can then focus on what may look like short-term solutions are actually next week's problems. In this depth of presentation, people can use their learning in every aspect of their lives.

When you identify problems first, it's easier to create presentations that address the audience's pain points and solutions. Presentations are then tailored to the audience, which enhances buy-in and engagement.

Starting with the problem and working backwards you have the ability to prepare, gather resources and find the supports needed for a solution. By doing this, you are setting the example of being proactive, by doing research, while also expanding your knowledge. When you find the answers you need, you will both be educated and provide a solution; garnering credibility and respect in your presentation.

It's not YOUR problem. It's THEIR problem. It's not YOUR solution. It's THEIR solution. It's not YOUR knowledge. It's THEIR transformation. You are being invited to speak because of your experiences and expertise. You're already halfway there. Showing up like the expert and asking proper open-ended questions to dig a little deeper isn't only expected, it's required.

My favourite? The 5 Whys. We want to care more about DEI... Why is that? Because we need to do this... Why do you need to do this? Because we've received a complaint... Why did you receive a complaint? Because our hiring practices are from the 90s... Why is that? Because we don't foster a culture of belonging. Bingo. Now you know you're not just talking about hiring. You're digging deep to talk about belonging.

Use a ‘Think, Feel, Do’ model: what do you want your audience to think about, how do you want them to feel, and what do you want them to do, as a result of your presentation.

Give people some clear solutions they can use, and give them an example of where this has worked, tell them thrb example as a story, then people will remember it.

We just love acronyms, models, tools ... don't we. Many of us start by saying something like "The XYZ is the best / my favorite" all the while hoping no-one will recognise it so that we can tell them all about it. This isn't a tool, acronym or model. In preparing your content, the order of it and the what of it; make it fit this: Tell your audience what you are going to tell them. Then tell them exactly that. Then tell your audience what you have told them. In setting the scene, providing the story and confirming it, your audience will go away with a great understanding of what they have heard and have to consider. Don't cover too much, the presentation will lack focus.

Evaluate the solutions and shortlist from them is always better. being proactive is better than being reactive. Every solution will have its pros and cons. When we talk of software services, we always have this pilot phase where we are testing and trying the solution. The same can be done for other topics as well.

Among the solutions called out here. I personally believe storytelling is the most impactful way to communicate a new idea or existing idea or a new solution in all its glory. problem solving models AIDA or HOOK for marketers are also interesting. Don't forget to back your stories or models with good examples.

When implementing solutions, it is crucial to assess their effectiveness. An effective approach to ensure that your audience can successfully implement these solutions is to provide relatable examples. For instance, if your presentation focuses on vocal dynamics for a group of bank managers, you should recommend the efficacy of using a high-pitched tone during training sessions as opposed to a low-pitched tone. Most importantly, demonstrating the impact of pitch through visual or practical means, rather than just describing it, not only clarifies its significance but also equips the audience with the knowledge needed for implementation.

Just give a description of what the problem is in 1 or 2 slides. Present the problem from the perspective of people who are affected by that. Finally, relate the problem to something which the viewers could easily understand. Solution : A brief description of the solution that you are proposing…

Problem-solving skills are very useful for creating an engaging presentation. They can help you to: - Identify the main problem or goal of your presentation. - Research and analyze the relevant information and data. - Generate and evaluate different solutions or approaches. - Choose the best solution or approach based on your criteria. - Implement your solution or approach in a clear and effective way. - Evaluate the outcome and feedback of your presentation.

Regardless of what learning model you use to deliver the information, create four distinct junctures within the presentation timeline to ask questions, engage the audience, and source feedback. Think of yourself as shoulder-to-shoulder with your audience. A coach. Establishing these junctures allows for “social listening”, giving insight to understanding of material, levels of interest and capacity, and can guide you to course correct, if necessary. Hosting with a dynamic and flexible approach communicates confidence, magnetizes participants, and demonstrates an authentic interest for sharing knowledge.

Introduce Your Vision as a Solution: After presenting the problem, introduce your vision as a solution to the challenge. This is where your problem-solving skills come into play. Emphasize how your approach or idea addresses the problem effectively.

In fact ... as I have read and considered more of the discussion points ... the more I've become confused. Is this actually about Presentations, or is it about Problem Solving? My conclusion (for me) is that Problem Solving Skills are great, but they have little to do with creating a good presentation. They encourage a negative starting point. Solution provision is always good if you do have a problem. But not at all helpful if my presentation purpose is to inspire. Then, it's not about problems & solutions; it's about ideas, creativity, innovation and more. So this topic, is very specific to the creation of a certain type of Presentation and not relevant to the creation of presentationS in general.