{"id":117106,"date":"2015-03-19T18:51:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T23:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/if-your-campaigns-are-performing-but-you-cant-communicate-results-did-they-really-perform\/"},"modified":"2024-12-31T05:50:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T10:50:47","slug":"if-your-campaigns-are-performing-but-you-cant-communicate-results-did-they-really-perform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-ca\/insights\/blog\/paid-media\/if-your-campaigns-are-performing-but-you-cant-communicate-results-did-they-really-perform\/","title":{"rendered":"If your campaigns are performing but you can\u2019t communicate results, did they really perform?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A blog post on Barry Inc. training.<\/p>\n

\"barry<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the biggest challenges we have as digital marketers is communicating. The work that we do is technical, the platforms where we deploy our tactics are complex, and the data that we collect can be overwhelming upon first glance. Learning how to communicate in the digital space is the key to our success \u2013 it allows us to collaborate with and show value to our clients, it helps to build our credibility in the marketing industry, and it ultimately helps us to celebrate the amazing work we do each day because the people around us can understand and appreciate it.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the importance of effective communication, DAC recently invested in communication training with Barry Snetsinger of Barry Inc. to deliver a two day workshop to a group of employees who are most likely to be involved in business presentations. The mix of participants included Manager and Director-level staff from all departments including Account Services, Business Development, Paid Media<\/a> and Organic Search<\/a>, Operations, and Human Resources.<\/p>\n

If at this point you\u2019re feeling fidgety thinking about corporate training and the often long and boring hours where you get lost thinking about how little you\u2019re learning, how cheesy the exercises are, and how many emails you must be missing during this torture that your company has forced you into\u2026stop right there. Barry Inc. training is anything but that; this training is the exact opposite of any awful corporate training experience you\u2019ve had. From the moment the training started and Barry started speaking, I knew this was going to be different.<\/p>\n

For starters, there was homework. There was homework before we even started the training. Barry required that participants form small groups and develop a short 5-10 minute presentation on any topic of their choice. So on Day 1, after the introductions, agenda and housekeeping formalities were out of the way, each group had to dive right in to give their presentations in front of their colleagues, who were instructed to deliver one piece of positive and one piece of constructive feedback following their performance.<\/p>\n

From that point on, those presentations would serve as our reference points. As Barry went on to teach us the way to make presentations interesting, entertaining and inspiring, we could all think back to this exercise we had just gone through and immediately understand how to apply our learnings. And in his training booklet, Barry asked us to \u201clook at a presentation, not as a presentation, but rather as an exercise in engaging people rationally and emotionally.\u201d His point was that presentations aren\u2019t just a chore where we dump information onto PowerPoint slides; we need to understand the human side of it.<\/p>\n

Without giving away too much of the secret sauce, the key areas that Barry focused on, or what he referred to as the \u201cWorkshop Highlights,\u201d included Prepare, Structure, Visualize, Tailor and Perform.<\/p>\n

PREPARE IT<\/h2>\n

Barry revealed an overall approach on how to plan the message or the key takeaway, organize the information we want to convey and deliver the presentation with confidence. He offered a great checklist that we could use each and every time we developed a high-stakes presentation. This included:<\/p>\n

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  • Audience Analysis<\/li>\n
  • Goals & Objectives<\/li>\n
  • Build your case<\/li>\n
  • Structure & Story<\/li>\n
  • Create the visuals<\/li>\n
  • Edit it<\/li>\n
  • Rehearse it<\/li>\n
  • Perform It<\/li>\n
  • Review It<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    STRUCTURE IT<\/h2>\n

    For me, this was one of the most valuable areas of Barry\u2019s training. I\u2019ve been in sales and account management roles my entire career so I have a wealth of experience in giving high-stakes presentations. But that doesn\u2019t always mean that my presentations have been effective or successful. I recognized the need to understand how to properly structure a presentation and this was the specific goal or area I wanted to improve through Barry\u2019s training. In the past, I would just structure a PowerPoint presentation based on topics but there wasn\u2019t a strategic plan as to what message I wanted to get across. The overview of how to properly structure a presentation included:<\/p>\n

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    • Opening Remarks & Subject<\/li>\n
    • Agenda<\/li>\n
    • Body \u2013 Context, Concept, Form<\/li>\n
    • Summary<\/li>\n
    • Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      VISUALIZE IT<\/h2>\n

      It\u2019s likely impossible that you\u2019ll see or give any high-stakes presentation that doesn\u2019t involve visuals. And the visual component is usually done through PowerPoint. Ahhh, PowerPoint \u2013 you either love it or loathe it. Regardless of how you feel about it, it\u2019s important you do it right. Luckily Barry gave us an easy checklist to follow when putting together our visuals:<\/p>\n

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      • See & Say — the content on your slides should align with the words you are saying. The words you are saying should align with the content on your slides. Boom, it\u2019s that easy.<\/li>\n
      • Don\u2019t mix themes\/ideas — remember when we talked about structure? Stick to your plan and keep different topics or points separate.<\/li>\n
      • 5×5 & 50% \u2018rules\u2019 — this has to do with the content that you show you on your slides. As a general rule, don\u2019t have more than 5 bullets and keep each bullet around 5 words. The end result should be 50% of your page as content or visuals and 50% as \u201cwhite space\u201d.<\/li>\n
      • Font & Wording — be consistent. Duh.<\/li>\n
      • Animation \u2013 Build — this is basically where you get to control your audience\u2019s minds. Use the animation tool to build to your point. This allows your audience to focus on one point at a time rather than overwhelming them with one static page of content and their brains get confused on where to look and when.<\/li>\n
      • Circle Underline Hi-lite — still interested in mind control? These easy little tricks can help your audience focus on the areas you want them to.<\/li>\n
      • Format & Colour — again, be consistent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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