Unit Plan: Enhancing Presentation Techniques
GOALS
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Facing fact, a solid majority of client-facing presentations—whether for thought leadership at a
conference, a consultation regarding needs and strategy, or a more sales-oriented
conversation—are driven by the Almighty PowerPoint. This unit aims to provide training and
guidance for teams within the Strategic Customer Engagement team of Pearson.
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Learners will produce and present three presentations that use slideware (PowerPoint,
Keynote, etc.) as a support, and that incorporate a reliance on appropriately selected,
designed, and/or positioned visuals, as opposed to chunks of text (bullet-lists, etc.) that are
merely read from the screen.
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Long-term goals relate to:
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Stronger presentation planning and outlining
o
More concrete understanding of the narrative of the presentation
o
Creative selection of graphics and images to support thematic points
o
More effective use of the functionality of slideware programs
CORPORATE POLICY ALIGNMENT
As a company, Pearson is committed to efficacy in all things, providing evidence that our services and
solutions have a meaningful impact on the learner. To that end, since all people are always learning,
this is not restricted to the traditional concept of the “classroom learner.” Our audience, whether in a
conference room or a board room, needs to be considered our learners, and our presentations should
follow practices that best help learners engage with the concepts and that have a positive impact on
them—regardless of the goal for the presentation.
While the company’s initiative is documented, interdepartmental goals are not necessarily yet codified
in a similar manner, due to the reorganization the company, as a whole, has been undertaking. Moving
into 2015, the interdepartmental goals include:

A stronger understanding of the why behind certain educational solutions, and recommended
services offerings.
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A more effective, consultative approach to presentations; one that is adaptive and organic, as
opposed to the educational equivalent of “sage on the stage.”
Related to the goals of this unit, reinforcing planning and outlining skills, providing instruction around
crafting a narrative, and allowing the person to be the focus and the slideware the well-designed
support will help meet both the company-wide and interdepartmental goals.
LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS
Unit Plan: Enhancing Presentation Techniques
This unit is intended for adult learners within the same departmental team. Most team members work
remotely, and live in various cities across the U.S., while some are based in, or near, corporate offices in
Denver, CO and Boston, MA. Most are comfortable with digital technology, and all are in client-facing
roles. Most are comfortable with public speaking, though most also default back to a more ineffective
style of using slideware.
LEARNER’S PRESENT LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE AND KNOWLEDGE
To complete the unit successfully, the learners will need the following prerequisite skills:
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To keep it consistent, we will focus on PowerPoint as the slideware of emphasis.
o Learners will need to know the basic functionality of PowerPoint
Learners will need to be able to research image repositories and be cognizant of Creative
Commons and image usage rights.
Learners will need to frame their presentations topically and thematically, and deeply
understand their content.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT LAYOUT

Due to the large base of learners being remote employees, the learning will need to take place
via web conferencing tools, or standalone web-based modules. Either WebEx or Google
Hangouts will be sufficient, and all participants will have to enable their webcams so that the
facilitator can better gauge attention and engagement.

The first lesson will be whole group, the second will be small groups, and the third will be whole
group.
INTRODUCTORY PROCEDURES

The unit and the goals will be introduced during a weekly team meeting.
o
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This also allows for initial feedback and thoughts to further hear from the participants
in order to adjust the unit accordingly to ensure that relevance is being met.
The overview will be provided at that time, followed by an invitation to the scheduled lessons.
MATERIALS & MEDIA
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Laptops – each learner has a company laptop with the requisite software installed
o For virtual attendance of the lessons within the unit
o For research and development of assignments
WebEx or Hangouts – for conducting the virtual lessons within the unit, for screensharing and
whiteboarding, and for recording the sessions. Also for individual presentations of final
products.
Google Drive – for sharing, collaboration, and submission of assignments.
Unit Plan: Enhancing Presentation Techniques

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PowerPoint – for use in developing supporting slides for presentations.
Associated visuals to reinforce topics and content.
VISUALS
Visuals (although this is part of the materials and media, I want this to be a specific part of your plan).
Identify at least EIGHT static graphic visuals (NOT links to video clips or websites, please) that you will
be creating and use, their purpose, and design.
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Two graphic examples of how to relate an important statistic, to generate thought around how
to not just dump a lot of data or a chart, etc. on a slide
o One graphic that shows a side-by-side (or sequenced evolution) comparison of
displaying a lot of statistical information, and another that pulls relevant numbers out
and illustrates demographic (or other pertinent information) visually, such as images of
people.
o One graphic that discusses different types of charts/graphs, when each is appropriate,
and when each is most effective, as it relates to the narrative (what is needing to be
discussed).
Two graphic examples of how to incorporate minimal text, to generate thought around how to
use relevant text minimally
o One graphic that incorporates images of people or of objects that connote the
fundamental concept in a given message, and that displays very minimal text if
necessary; text that is relevant and supportive, but that is not what is being said
verbatim, and that doesn’t distract the audience from the verbal message, nor create
cognitive processing overload.
o One graphic that explicitly relates to the concept of using minimal text, that is textbased with graphic design principles, to introduce and reinforce the message of
utilizing minimal text within supportive slides.
Two graphic examples of how to emphasize juxtaposition and audience focus, specifically, how
viewers follow the line of sight of images of people, and one wants to create a flow between
people and text within an image, eliminating viewers scanning in an “unnatural” way.
o One graphic that utilizes texture and figure/ground relationships, and that directly
relates to the specific concept as it is being introduced.
o One graphic that incorporates minimal text, images of people, and the use of direction
(line of sight) to help guide the audience’s eyes and create flow; a graphic that is an
application of the concept (whereas the first is an introductory support).
Two graphic examples of well-balanced images in terms of appropriateness to content as well
as to audience, to reinforce that something too humorous, for example, can detract from the
message of the story, if not balanced correctly.
o One graphic that leverages these concepts (appropriate image choice, minimal text,
etc.), yet is abstract or humorous in such a way that it negatively distracts the audience
from the spoken message/presentation.
o One graphic, as described above, yet that has a positive, reinforcing effect on the
audience, as it relates to the spoken message/presentation.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF UNDERSTANDING
Because this is a corporate training, in essence, it will not be graded along traditional letter or gradepoint methods, as these methods carry a different weight. To that end, learners in this program will be
Unit Plan: Enhancing Presentation Techniques
scored as either proficient or developing. Each opportunity for learners to demonstrate understanding
will be measured with a guiding rubric.
Assessments:
 Pre-assessment by:
o
Learners present one five-minute presentation with accompanying slides, prior to any
instruction.
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Formative assessments by:
o
o
o
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These will be rated against the goals of the course, informally, assessing use of
the slides, how the presentation is given, presence of narrative, use of
supporting images, and text use within the slides. This will be used as a
baseline.
Learners will begin with selecting a topic and composing one appropriately constructed
slide and then speaking to it. Learners will also provide their outline of thought behind
the slide.
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The presentation of the content and the constructed supporting slide will be
assessed against the baseline, however the focus will be on the delivery of the
presentation as it relates to the outline on which the presentation should be
based. Is the outline organized, concise; is it tied to a narrative thread; did this
planning work come through / influence the actual delivery?
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Peer and instructor feedback to provide suggestions
Later artifacts will expand this to statistics, minimal text usage, appropriate
juxtaposition, and balance, along with accompanying outlines.
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Outlines will be assessed against previous outlines and the effect of the
planning on the presentation to measure growth in proficiency.
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Each artifact will be assessed for its application of the concept (statistics,
minimal text usage, etc.) to measure proficiency in demonstrating concepts.
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Peer and instructor feedback to provide guidance for growth
Later, expanding this into a full presentation with supporting graphics-based slides,
with accompanying drafted outlines.
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This will be assessed holistically against each of the components learners have
been working with and demonstrating their proficiency level, measuring
growth in each area to determine proficiency in synthesizing the concepts.
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Peer and instructor feedback to provide suggestions for final presentation
Summative assessment:
Unit Plan: Enhancing Presentation Techniques
o
A second full presentation with supporting graphics-based slides, with accompanying
drafted outlines.
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This is to be assessed in the same manner as the final formative assessment,
additionally taking into consideration:
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Has growth been demonstrated in each of the goal areas?
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Has feedback been incorporated into the final presentation?
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When compared against the pre-assessment, has demonstrable
progress been made?
These assessments tie directly to the stated goals, allowing learners to demonstrate that they:
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Have strengthened their presentation planning and outlining
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Have a more concrete understanding of the narrative of the presentation
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Know how to creatively select graphics and images to support thematic points
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Are able to more effectively use of the functionality of slideware programs
All learner work, as well as the scored rubrics and feedback, can be housed digitally into what will serve
as an ePortfolio, which can serve as evidence of the learner’s level of growth, and to justify a
designation of proficient.