Some ways in which you can use handouts as a speaker:

1. To present background information on your company, organization, problem, issue, etc.; to establish your history and/or credibility; and to present basic background information that you may want the audience to know as you present. When presenting, you may want to refer to this information from the podium to draw their attention to its existence or importance.
2. To lay out a starting point for your discussion: “here are the facts–this is what we need to know–let’s build our discussion from here.”
3. To establish an agenda for your talk. “Here is what we are going to talk about.” This can be a two-way discussion — “here are some topics we can cover–where do you (the audience) want to go today?”
4. To provide the data set that you are using for your presentation. This information may be visually identical to what you will present on screen and you can subsequently discuss it as you “drill down” into specific details.
5. To offer additional data, sources, or references that may be useful to an audience member who wishes to dig deeper into the subject.
6. To list your contact information. Consider contact information for every page.  If appropriate, a marketing or positioning statement could also be included. A word of caution though–beware of over-branding. Your audience wants to know your message, and they want to know your contact information, but they don’t want it to be over-bearing. It is a point of information not a hard-sell.
7. To present a questionnaire or exercises that can either be filled out during the presentation or completed later.

A few additional ideas for your handout:

• Consider making your handout visually engaging and worth keeping after your presentation. Think of it as a “leave behind” or “takeaway.” The handout should be looked at as a way of leaving a favorable impression, restating your message, and encouraging continued communication with your audience.  Dress it up in a “nice suit and tie” — your handout represents you after you have left the room.
• When should you distribute your handout? If it is a component of your presentation, hand it out before or during your meeting. It is often very helpful to have your audience “primed” with background information. If it is filled with follow-up details, think of distributing it after your talk. Sometimes handouts can be distracting. Let the audience’s needs and the needs of your presentation determine when to distribute.
• Carefully consider providing printed copies of your slideset. For the audience it may be a useful resource to which they can add contextual notes, although it can also be highly distracting as the audience counts down to the last slide so that they can get to their lunch break.

o o o   Copyright © 2012 Tom Nixon Design   o o o

Tom Nixon, works with people who want to use visual business presentations (like PowerPoint) to connect with and motivate their audience. He has over 30 years experience as a graphic designer, writer and photographer working with clients of all sizes, ranging from 1-person entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 corporations.

Tom speaks and coaches about all aspects of presentation skills with a special emphasis on the combination of verbal delivery plus visuals (PowerPoint and Keynote). Contact Tom at tom@tomnixondesign.com or 770.289.0752.