You can handle the truth, which is that most briefings won’t be made into Hollywood movies. While selling tickets may not be an enterprise's goal, comparing presentations to a film can help improve presentations.

Specifically, view the graphics and fonts as supporting cast members, key points as the actors, and tell a gripping story to the audience! The image on the left reworks a movie title and actors' names, such as using "Story Crews" instead of "Tom Cruise" to get your attention.

To build to a climax, I won't put improving PowerPoint slides as a main character on center stage, though the accompanying picture includes a few tips. Instead, I'll share an example that shows how I make presentations memorable.

Earlier this year, I got to present Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) refresher training, an annual DoD requirement that many dread, in large part, due to dull packaging of content. Fort Leonard Wood's Equal Employment Opportunity Office had provided me with slides that would do better marketed as tranquilizers than as providing training. Also, that poor, design-challenged slide producer was likely responsible for keeping several clip art companies afloat, not to mention that Word Art was used to render some text as rainbows.

Have a look at the slides by clicking this link if you don't believe me.

Excuse me! Was the goal to have the audience join hands and sing, "The Rainbow Connection?"

No, instead, notice the first syllable of the word "briefing." Yes, that’s right: brief, which is a four-letter word no one would curse any of us for using more often.

Therefore, I converted what could be compared to a Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) deck of slides down to more of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a more engaging storyline. Since this was a "refresher" session where the audience was familiar with much of the content, I made a "Workplace Jeopardy" game, which amused the audience into participation, built on their prior knowledge, and generated spontaneous discussion on required topics. That's what made this training exciting and a UAV; I only had to moderate as a game show host instead of serving as a tedious lecturer.

You can launch this revised training or UAV by clicking this link or the image above and to the left.

Referring back to the "A Few Good Slides" picture, your name may not be Jack, but I can help you to also, "Make it fun!" and sell your points. Speaking of "Story Crews," whether delivering on-stage or producing content behind the scenes, I am a valuable crew member who can make presentations or other types of instruction in your department more riveting.

Resolving Performance Problems

The graphic at left is modifed from a blog about Questionmark Perception^TM, a evaluative testing application that I relied on for test item analysis while working for Regence as an eLearning Developer in 2005. The problem I discovered in working for the Army, however, is that the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) did not produce an Item Analysis Report that could be used to easily determine which questions needed revision (no phi coefficient or index of discrimination are provided).

However, educational theorist, Dr. Andy Gibbons of Brigham Young University, one of my design heroes, always advocates “design within constraints.” What he means, and what I accomplished in this case, was to excel and accomplish objectives despite having limited assets.

In this case, I plugged statistics available from Blackboard into psychometric testing evaluation formulas that I designed as a reusable spreadsheet tool to perform test item analysis (based on index of discrimination, distractor performance, and item difficulty). Then, based on this tool, I provided recommendations to decision makers regarding why specific test items, in the words of Greg Pope from Questionmark Perception^TM, need to "be improved (sent back to development), discarded, or left as they are because they meet all the criteria for being included in an assessment."

Clicking the image at the left on this link will capture my spreadsheet tool, which has data and test item analysis recommendations applied to post tests from the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) School Reserve Component Captains Career Course Phase 2.

Revamping and Rebranding to Improve ROI

Yes, I realize that Dreamweaver is the name of Adobe’s web development application, not a company logo on a van for free-loving flower children. However, my remixed graphic depicts how, where needed, I challenge common assumptions and revamp workplace processes in order to improve ROI.

CBRN Soldiers depend on scientific instruments, which are often commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment, to assess hazardous situations. As such, training for the CBRN School must address whether to purchase training for COTS equipment, develop this training internally, or combine in-house with externally-developed training. When I arrived at the CBRN School, I found that decision-makers lacked tools to quickly and logically analyze whether to purchase COTS training from contractors or stay within DoD, which was costing time and resources.

Therefore, after interviewing SMEs, I helped develop an analytical “Quick Look” tool that compares costs of training for DoD in-house versus contract courses for COTS equipment. To enable comparison, this tool graphs and sums up costs for initial training, estimated costs for the first year and subsequent years up to five years, for contractor- versus DoD-produced training. Built-in assessment criteria also account for factors like equipment complexity and density of fielding.

While I have not produced an application or solution as widely implemented as Adobe Dreamweaver or a Volkswagen van, the tool described has enabled the CBRN School to become more aware of ROI performance metrics and achieve cost savings. Further, this example shows how I ask crucial questions and organize complex information concisely, which makes me an asset to cross-functional teams. I have the ability to revamp current processes and devise retrofitted, or even entirely new approaches in order to improve ROI.

Defending HazMat Training From Being "AKO’ed"

Army Knowledge Online (AKO), apparently, is the best-of-breed content management system (CMS) among DoD contenders. While I haven’t examined each DoD service’s CMS solutions individually to pick a winner in this enterprise bout, I can say that SharePoint, another CMS that the Army has available, could be a more powerful delivery vehicle. It has more easily integrated Web 2.0 document tracking, sharing, and even social features to drive knowledge management under its hood. For example, with plugins that are not free, it could become a learning as well as content management solution.

However, while I evangelize optimal solutions, such as the open source Drupal, which I used to build this web site, I can find solutions with or without technology that use accepted doctrine and systems.

Beyond my control and in spite of AKO's limitations, DoD has crowned AKO to become Defense Knowledge Online (DKO). I have prepared for this transition and become skilled at using AKO/DKO effectively to disseminate needed information.

For example, CBRN Soldiers are receiving nationally recognized certifications in Hazardous Materials in various CBRN School courses. However, these certifications have annual renewal requirements, and I incorporated a site using CSS that interested individuals can find either by searching within AKO or from within the CBRN Knowledge Online, a frequently accessed CBRN knowledge center in AKO. The site I implemented has become a widely used training resource.