How to Overcome Information Bias When Preparing a Presentation

We’ve all been there before. We’ve been given that responsibility – to create that company presentation or other written material. And what happens? We end up spending a majority of the time we have allotted to complete the project researching and information-gathering. Don’t get me wrong. Ensuring that you’ve covered all of your bases through research is a positive behavior, however, when it is taken to the extreme, it can be dangerous to your presentation. The act of continually searching for more and more information is what psychologists call “information bias.” When we are under stress, we tend to explore every avenue of a decision or issue. But, we do this out of a fear of making a wrong choice. Sometimes, presenters have to snap themselves out of the information bias loop. Here’s how they can do just that:

e3_Blog_Information Bias_Draft1

Plan Ahead

Once you have been tasked with producing a presentation, do not immediately open a PowerPoint file. That would a colossal mistake. Instead, open up a Word, Pages, or Evernote document and devise a presentation plan for yourself. List out the tasks you foresee having to complete during the presentation creation process on one side of the page. On the other side, carve out a specific period of time to finish each task. As you move from one part of your presentation plan to the next, make sure that you are being flexible about the time allotments, but avoid extending them by too much of an increment. Find a happy medium.

Take a Stance

The most vital step to take in overcoming information bias is to be decisive. You’ve got to assume a position on the topic you plan to present about in front of an audience. Even if you’re opinions and thoughts are highly controversial or if they are unlike what members of your audience are used to hearing, you’ve got to stand firm in your stance. While it may be a concept that your audience disagrees with, they will be much more likely to respect you as a presenter and as a person if you are confident in your beliefs. Don’t be lukewarm about your subject matter. Once you take a stance, you can hone in on those specific details and aspects of the topic that should be the focus of your research.

Organize Your Thoughts

After you’ve established your position on your presentation topic, you need to combine all of the information you’ve gathered and organize it in a comprehensible manner. Below, I’ve outlined the 6 most important components of any compelling presentation:

Opening Story

Introduction

Details

Review

Closing Story

Call-to-Action

Review all of the information you compiled and insert it into the format described above. Check out this presentation outline template we created to guide you through this portion of the process!

Information bias does not have to control the creation of your presentation. Gain control over your narrative and your content today. Let’s avoid half-baked arguments and tepid responses together. For more information to help you form your presentation narrative, review the following resources:

New Ways to Beat Presentation Procrastination

The Narrative Structure of the Best Sales Presentations

Presentation Storytelling Tips from Steven Johnson’s TED Talk

New Call-to-action

Join our newsletter today!

© 2006-2024 Ethos3 – An Award Winning Presentation Design and Training Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Contact Us