The Business Presentation Structure – “Explosions Ruin Lives”

Dave Hill - Business Presentation Structure

In 2010 I was invited to speak at a technical conference on hazard analysis relating to chemical plant explosions. The audience size was about 50 technical people. I was one of three speakers lined up to speak that morning and we had strict instructions to start and finish on time, and to provide technical content that would interest, inspire, and educate the audience.

This information describes how to structure a business presentation, make sure the content flows in a logical format, and that you finish within the allotted time. The starting point is making sure you have a clear understanding of what you are going to speak about. You should not proceed with the development of your presentation until you have written down a clear description of your specific objectives. Have you ever witnessed a presentation where after 5 or even 10 minutes you have no idea where the presenter is going with the information? This is typically a sign of someone who put together a presentation with no clear objective in mind.

The following structure can be used in many different presentation types, but you first need to write down the objective of your presentation clearly and concisely.

Opening:
1. Grab attention (anecdote, quotation, rhetorical question, shock statement etc.)
2. Describe why the information is important for the audience – “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM)
3. Review the points briefly
4. Rules for questions are described

Body
1. Point
2. supporting information
3. transition to next point

Closing
1. Grab attention or reinforce WIIFM
2. Points review
3. Question time
4. Call to action

The conference presentation:
The specific objective of my presentation was to convince people to evaluate the effects of chemical plant explosion hazards on buildings, and to take action if safety issues are identified.

At the conference, my presentation started with someone reading my introduction. Since this was a serious technical presentation, I developed it with the intent to build my credibility on the subject.

Note: As I was being introduced, I stood out of view at the back of the room so the focus would be on the person delivering my introduction rather than on me. When the applause started, I moved energetically to the front of the room to shake my introducer’s hand. As the applause died down, I used my remote control to blank out the first slide on the screen before I started speaking (most remote controls have a button that blacks out the projector image). The reason you might black out the projector image is when you are delivering an anecdote (or other opening technique) and you want to make sure that the audience is focused on you rather that an image behind you (particularly when the slide image does not illuminate or relate to what you are talking about).

After my formal introduction, this is how I opened up my presentation:

1) Get their attention as soon as possible and gain interest in your presentation.
“Imagine it is April 23rd, 2004, at the Formosa Chemical Plant in Iliopoulos, Illinois, and you are a worker walking through the factory that day. An event is about to unfold that will change your life forever.”

Note: At this point, I pressed the button on the remote to activate the projector slide image and move to the next slide. I glanced at the screen (or subtly point my arm in that direction) to draw the audiences attention there. The slide showed a picture of the accident site following the explosion, and included a headline statement “Explosions ruin lives”. I then continued speaking.

Photo From CSB Website

“On this day, a horrific explosion will occur, a total of 4 people will be killed, and two will be seriously injured. For the rest of your life, you will ask yourself the question, “Could I have done something, or said something, to prevent this horrific accident?”

2) Identify the “What is in it for me?” (WIIFM). Why should they listen to you?”
“Today, we are going to talk about the means to make sure that your workers are protected from explosions that can cause buildings to catastrophically fail.

“We should not lose sight of the fact that the Formosa chemical plant not only resulted in fatalities and injuries, it was never rebuilt and many people were left unemployed.

“As engineers, contractors, and chemical plant workers, you never want to have to deal with an accident like this. Explosions ruin lives.”

Note: If at this stage, your presentation has not gotten their undivided attention, you are potentially boring them.

3) Provide a brief overview of the points you will cover – this will helps the audience process the information that you will give them.
Note: At this point, I glanced at the screen and simultaneously used the remote to advance to the next slide with the bullet points. By glancing at the screen, I can verify that I am on the correct slide and it prompts the audience to look at the screen. I can also prompt the audience to look at the screen by subtly pointing my arm in that direction.

“The three options I am going to cover today are:
a. Do nothing
b. Train people to evacuate buildings
c. Evaluate and manage the explosion hazards”

4) Explain the rules for asking questions (Can they ask questions at any time or will there be a Q & A session towards the end of the presentation?)
“This subject typically evokes a lot of questions. Given the time limitation I have for this presentation, I ask you to hold your questions until the question and answer segment towards the end of the presentation.”

5) Now I move into the body of my presentation where I provide detailed pros & cons discussion of each of the three points, support the information with specific references, and use transition statements to move from point to point.
Note: It is important to have transition statements between presentation sections and points to help the audience follow along. The following is a brief excerpt of the three points along with transitions. In the actual presentation, I supported the points with additional PowerPoint slide photos and charts.

1. “Doing nothing is a cheap option, but it is not a good option. A review of the explosion accident history on the US Government Chemical Safety Board (CSB) website shows that significant explosions occur every year.”

Transition Statement: “Let me move onto the second option which at first glance seems simple and effective, but has huge limitations.”

2. “Training people to evacuate buildings is also an option, but its effectiveness is limited. One reason is that people such as chemical plant operators need to stay in the control room to shut down the chemical plant quickly and safely during a leak of a flammable. Another reason is that vapor cloud explosions can happen quickly, before people are even aware that there is a hazardous condition that could lead to an explosion.”

Transition Statement: “The first two options are not considered appropriate by peer groups. The third option is used extensively in our industry, and done properly, can enhance the safety of employees.”

3. “The final option I am covering in this presentation relates to performing extensive explosion and building structural analysis evaluations. This is a process that is fully described and supported in the Industry recommended practice API 752.”

Transition statement: “To put this into a real life perspective, let me bring you back to the Formosa chemical plant accident site.”

6) Following the body of the presentation I now aim to reenergize the attentiveness of the audience by revisiting the attention grabber and/or the WIIFM content at the beginning.

Note: At this point I glanced at the screen and simultaneously used the remote to advance to the next slide back to the accident scene.

Photo From CSB Website

“I work with someone who used to sit in his Formosa chemical plant office in the forefront of the picture. A few years before the explosion, he dusted off his resume and decided to go work for another company. It turned out to be a life saving decision. Luck should not be the basis we rely on to keep people safe.”

7) Review the three options briefly
“The three options we have discussed include doing nothing, training people to evacuate, and evaluating and managing the explosion hazards.”

Transition Statement: “Before I get to my final comments I will take a few questions. I will also be available after the conference if anyone has additional questions.”

8) Conduct the Q & A session
Note: Since there were about 50 people in the audience and it was a fairly large room, I summarized the question back to the questioner. I spoke loud enough for everyone to be able to understand what was asked. While answering the question, I made eye contact with other members of the audience to make sure everyone felt involved.

Transition Statement: “My allocated time is nearly up and I will leave you with some final thoughts on this important subject.”

9) Call to action
“The hazards at chemical plants do not change until we take action. The handout contains contact information for explosion and structural engineers who can guide you through the process of hazard evaluation and hazard management. Explosions ruin lives; your actions can save them.”

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on developing the structure of a presentation. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let us help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave Hill – Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, Video clips, Articles, Contact Info, etc.)
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Copyright © 2011 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Great Workplaces Train People To Be Safe – The Company Training Agenda Said; “Burn Them, Humiliate Them, And Scare Them To Death”

Dave Hill – Fire Fighting Training

I spent 14 years of my life working on cargo and passenger ships as an engineering officer. During this time, I was involved in 4 major engine room fires and one explosion. A fire on a ship is a very frightening experience; there is nowhere to run to and the last resort of taking to the lifeboats does not always provide much assurance of survival. There are no professional fire fighters, and there is no phoning for help. When there are accidents, you are forced to deal with them. Ships officers undergo three day fire fighting courses every few years.

In this article, I want to tell you about the fire fighting training that my fellow engineer officers and I received in Leith, Scotland, that helped us get through these incidents. During these courses, the firemen try to teach you the reality of firefighting. They teach you that a real fire situation is nothing like the Hollywood movies. They teach the realities by putting you in situations where you are scared to death, and everyone gets some form of burns.

The course starts off with some classroom training where they teach you the mechanics of a fire. At this stage of the training, everyone is pretty jovial; put a group of ship engineering officers together, and you have a lot of jokes and story swapping about the unusual life at sea. After a day of classroom training, we progressed to running up the nine story tower with self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) on. By the time we got to the top, we were fighting for our breath. My brain was telling me to take the mask off as I could not seem to suck in an adequate supply of air. A few people took their masks off and were forced to repeat this part of the training.

Next, the firemen took us into the lower floor of the six-story building, which was a simulation of a large metal ship’s engine room. The firemen were dressed up in their fire suits and had their SCBA’s on. A group of about 15 of us trainees stood in the room without any SCBA protection. In the middle of the room, there was a big pile of wood. The firemen lit it with a jar of kerosene and the doors were slammed shut trapping us. The flames grew quickly. At first we were joking with each other, but soon the smoke and the heat started filling the room pushing down and down from the ceiling. We became totally focused on our breathing, adrenalin pumping, and brains getting focused on survival. One of the firemen in the room wearing his SCBA sarcastically shouted out, “You all have gone very quiet – what’s the matter?” Soon we were all lying flat on the ground – our mouths in the dirt sucking for air, our ears stinging with the heat. After a while, one of the firemen told us to keep our heads low on the ground. We heard a fire hose belch out and water was going on the fire. The superheated steam produced by the water hitting the hot fire immediately hit us like a wave, and finished cooking our ears. The ears are one of the primary indicators that tell a fireman that it is getting too hot. The firemen kicked open the doors and we ran out coughing, spitting and retching – smoke coming out of our mouths for the first few breaths.

The next part of the training was search, rescue, and fire fighting using protective clothing, SCBA air tanks, and facemasks. This was to be a disaster from start to finish. The idea was that the engine room would have a large fire on the bottom floor – we would enter the top of the six-story engine room in a group of five wearing our SCBA. We had to manage a fire hose and a rescue rope to rescue a hidden dummy as well as put out the fire. Firemen were hidden throughout the building, so that if anyone got injured or ran out of air they would throw the doors open and drag us out. When we entered the engine room, one by one holding the fire hose, it was like entering the gates of hell. Thick black smoke poured out, and the heat was already painful. You could only just see your hand if you put the flashlight on it. We were all breathing heavily with stress. The procedure was that at each level of the engine room the last person on the hose would stay at an entrance to a room while the other four did a search for the dummy. The person at the entrance would sit with the hose clapping his hands shouting “door is over here” again and again so that we could stay oriented in the pitch black smoke filled building as we did our systematic search. Changing floors, you had to walk down backwards for safety, this is where we had our first mishap – someone’s breathing air bottle got stuck on something and in his panic to free it, he managed to rip the bottle from its screwed fitting. The 3000-PSI of air in the bottle caused it to literally fly like a balloon with its end untied with the sound of an airplane taking off. The firemen quickly opened the doors and pulled us out. We had to start again.

The next incident involved me. I was on the end of the fire hose and we were preparing to go down a floor. The 4 people in front of me went down and I then let go of the fire hose, turned around and went down the stairway. At the bottom of the stairway I groped around for the hose but I couldn’t find it, not only that, I also could not find my teammates. I couldn’t understand it. What I did not know was that there were two stairways near each other. When I let go of the hose I had turned around and climbed down the wrong stairway. I was lost. I came across a hidden fireman; I tapped him on his shoulder and muttered through my SCBA mask, “I have lost my friends”. The curses that came out of his Scottish mouth shouldn’t be repeated!

We eventually made it to the bottom floor with no sign of the dummy yet. We were all standing near a closed door in a line – hose in hand. Behind the door was a huge fire. I was just about to open it when a hidden fireman grabbed my hand and shouted out, “THINK BEFORE YOU OPEN THAT DOOR.” I had forgotten to get everyone to lie on the ground. They would have been badly burnt by the heat coming out the door. We lay down, opened the door, and started fighting the fire. While groping around the room trying to locate the dummy, someone shouted out, “I have found the dummy”, and we headed towards the voice. We were just ready to tie the rope around the dummy, when it shouted out in a Scottish accent, “Get off me you bastards!” We had mistaken a hidden fireman for the dummy. By the time we found the dummy, the whistles on our air tanks were blowing telling us that we had only a few minutes of air left. We had six stories to climb to get out with the dummy, and we panicked. We brought the dummy out with the rescue rope tied… around its neck. The fireman gave us hell again.

I consider this training the best I have ever done in my life. It gave me a great respect for the difficulty of fire fighting, the danger of fire, and the complexity of rescue. The fire fighters at Leith Fire Fighting School in Scotland scared us, burnt us and humiliated us, but I have no doubt that they have saved many people from the horror of fire through their training. Over 20 years later, the training they gave me is still ingrained in my mind.

If you have any advice, thoughts, or comments on exceptional workplace training, please feel free to respond to this blog or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

The Exceptional Workplace – Preventing Accidents During an Economic Downturn – “All Fired Up by a Washing Machine”

It was July 27th 1989 and I was the chief engineer officer on a cargo ship hundreds of miles from shore. We were travelling between Morocco and France with a full load of oranges. I was sitting in my cabin when the shout of “Fire!” came booming down the corridor – followed by the piercing fire alarm. With my heart racing and my engineer mind going through ingrained emergency procedures “Shut down the air conditioning fans, shut the ventilation dampers, slow down the engine, start up the fire pump….” I ran and turned the corner into a wall of smoke with orange flames flickering in the background. Less than an hour later the fire was out, adrenalin was easing itself from my bloodstream, and I was looking at the melted mass of a burnt out washing machine and a room and corridor with smoke, water and heat damage. This was a time when the cargo shipping industry was in a lengthy economic downturn, and doing things cheaply had become the norm. Accidents were so routine that I slept with my working coveralls laid out beside my bed so I could dress and hurry to the emergency. When I would go home on vacation from a six month voyage, I would look gaunt and sick from stress.
The washing machine had caught fire because it had a water heater that would stay on whether there was water or not. The last person using the washing machine had switched on the heater to wash his oily working clothes, but had forgotten to turn the manual heater switch off after the wash cycle. The washing machine had no safety devices to prevent this kind of accident. It heated up to a critical point then exploded into flames. I informed the ship owners in London of the cause, and requested a better washing machine with safety controls. It was to my amazement when we arrived in port in Marseilles, France to see a brand new washing machine awaiting us, of exactly the same make and model. The economic downturn had reduced the safety culture to a tattered safety poster on the wall.

Twenty years and two careers later as I sit pondering some of the major challenges to engineers in my “circle”, an alert e-mail popped up from the US Government Chemical Safety Board (CSB). The e-mail pointed directly towards challenges that engineers face as companies go through tough financial times and cycles of cost cutting, re-engineering, or a declaration of “survival mode”. These are times where decisions are made that can lead to accidents, the accidents probably do not happen immediately (which helps justify the thought process), the things that cause accidents tend to fester in the background until circumstances line up to allow bad things to happen. After the accident engineers and others get to look in the mirror and ask the questions, “How did we get here?”, “Is there something I could have done to prevent this?” “What if I had spoken up at the cost-cutting meetings?” These are tough times for engineers we enter our careers; with passion, and in the blink of an eyelid, we can be put in a box where we feel our ethics getting eroded and our attention to detail getting watered down.

Chemical Safety Board Bulletin:
“My safety message for oil and chemical companies is clear: even during economic downturns, spending for needed process safety measures must be maintained,” Chairman Bresland stated. He noted that the CSB investigation of the 2005 Texas City refinery disaster linked the accident to corporate spending decisions in the 1990s, when low oil prices triggered cutbacks in maintenance, training, and operator positions at the plant. A total of 15 people were killed and 170 injures. Costs to the company were in the billions of dollars.

Anyone who has had a serious accident at work knows the devastative effect on workers. In my first career where I spent 14 years as an engineering officer on cargo ships, I was involved in three major fires- one explosion and the fatality of a friend. I got the opportunity to look in the mirror and ask if I could have done something differently. So what are some of the potential results of an accident?
• Morale gets eroded
• Workers lose focus and more accidents can start lining up
• The “blame game” can start and relationships get broken
• Worker energy levels are impacted
• Trust levels are impacted
• Work loads can increase due to investigating accidents and taking corrective action
• The company image can be impacted
• People get hurt, equipment gets damaged and the company finances are strained even further.

Ten Ways Exceptional Workplaces Stay Focused During Economic Downturns
1. Generate a strong safety culture and “transparency” from the board of directors all the way down to the front line.
2. Develop workers so they are not afraid to speak openly
3. Establish open communication channels at all levels of the organization
4. Incorporate a culture where senior management interact with employees and solicit ideas for safe cost reduction
5. Produce systems where employee ideas are considered. Employees receive recognition and rewards for ideas that are implemented
6. Recognize and reward employees so they feel invested in the solution and bring ideas to the table
7. Employ experts who get down to the detail, challenge ideas, come up with alternatives and have exceptional communication skills
8. Invest in employee career development including communication skills.
9. Develop employees so they have the expertise, confidence, communication skills and ethics to convince people of adverse consequences of actions and are also able to convince people of alternative approaches
10. Incorporate a culture where the senior management lead by example and are respected. A culture where employees will do anything to help each other and advance the company. They evoke a self-sustaining workplace of creativity, employee empowerment and energy.

How can you help me communicate more information on this important subject?
1) Share stories pertaining to safety in the workplace during the economic downturn, whether they are positive or negative.
2) Find other points you would advise people on.
3) Do you have any unique methods for increasing the effectiveness of any of the 10 points above?

Final Note
The day I got married was the day I quit this career. The history of accidents that I had been immersed in played a big part in my decision. After 14 years as an engineering officer, I had reached the top of my career in qualifications and rank, was earning an excellent salary, and was travelling the world- but it was not a journey I wanted to continue. The change in career took me off in a different direction, and allowed me to pursue my passion to prevent accidents.

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC All rights reserved.