Preparing and Executing Successful Peak Oil Presentations

1
Preparing and ExecutingSuccessful Peak
OilPresentations

• Presented by
• Megan E. Quinn
• Outreach Director
• Community Service, Inc.
• Peak Oil Workshop for Community Leaders
• December 2, 2005

2
Presentation Overview

• Preparing and organizing local presentations
• Host / venue
• Media and publicity
• Guidelines for giving a successful presentation
• Presentation formats
• Public speaking training and tools
• Strategies
• Q A

3
Finding an Audience

• Friends / Family
• General public
• Environmental groups
• Sierra Club, land trusts, advocacy groups,
  grassroots groups
• Civic groups
• Rotary, Kiwanis
• Local government
• Public and private meetings
• Professional organizations
• Planning associations

4
Finding an Audience

• Social Justice organizations
• Peace groups, Civil liberties, racial justice,
  etc.
• Renewable energy advocates
• Green Energy Ohio, Midwest Renewable Energy
  Assoc.
• Local food / Organic food
• Foodshed Projects, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm
  Association, Organic Consumers Assoc.
• Schools (Primary, Universities)
• Classes
• Organizations
• Administration

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Setting Up a Location

• Centrally located, accessible, equipped,
  facilitates a presentation and discussion
• Public
• Libraries, churches, community centers,
  classrooms
• Private
• Homes, office buildings

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Presentations at Events

• Fairs
• Conferences
• Workshops
• Public meetings
• Organizational meetings

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Publicity

• Community announcements in newspapers radio/TV
• Letter-to-the-editor in local paper
• Contact local media for an article
• Post flyers locally
• Use of bulletin boards, websites/listservs that
  reach a local audience
• Friends and family

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Inviting Key People

• Use targeted mailings and direct phone calls to
  invite
• Local organizations
• Business leaders
• Elected and appointed government officials
• Reporters from alternative and mainstream media

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Presentation Formats

• Dependent upon
• Equipment availability, level of experience, time
  constraints, degree of depth
• Possible Formats
• Powerpoint
• Flipchart (personal)/ Overhead / Chalkboard /
  Whiteboard
• Handouts (to follow during presentation)
• No visual aids

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Evaluating Formats

• Powerpoint
• Pros Well-organized, prepared ahead of time,
  uses scientific charts and data, written
  words/pictures supplement speaking, professional
  appearance, legibility
• Cons Less emotional affect, can create
  dependence, expensive equipment necessary,
  learning curve, can distract
• Flipchart / Overhead / Chalkboard / Whiteboard
• Pros Cheap and available, live writing and
  drawing, simple to use, can be prepared ahead of
  time
• Cons Unprofessional, illegibility, more
  attention to structure needed, can distract

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Evaluating Formats

• Handouts (to follow during presentation)
• Pros Prepared ahead of time, professional, can
  be reviewed/duplicated by audience,
• Cons Can distract, unprofessional
• No visual aids
• Pros Audience focuses on words, more emotional
  affect, no equipment needed, can be professional,
  more structure/ practice needed
• Cons More structure/practice needed, data/graphs
  cannot supplement message or appeal to different
  learning styles
• Conclusion Treat visual aids as a tool of the
  presentation, not the presentation itself.

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Time Constraints

• 3- to 5-minute rap
• Informal discussions
• Telephone conversations
• 15-minute briefing
• Government / Organizational meetings
• Forums / Panels
• Impromptu speeches
• 30-minute short presentation
• Forums / Panels
• Presentations for organizations
• 45- to 60-minute in-depth presentation

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Five Presentation Tips

• Practice, practice, practice
• Use tools effectively
• Speak to your audience
• Provide handouts with contact information
• Engage audience in QA or discussion

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Presentation Stategies

• Incorporating personal stories / anecdotes
• Helps to connect with audience on an emotional
  level
• Long human history of learning from stories
• Can lead them through the discovery process
• Use of meaningful Peak Oil statistics
• Our dependence upon oil is shocking
• Key is to make it meaningful to their lives

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Presentation Strategies

• The Peak Oil Story
• Hubbert and the U.S. peak, Campbell and ASPO
• Chronological approach is easy to follow
• Creates connection with characters
• Provides evidence and credibility
• Gives a sense of the movement
• Painting the Big Picture
• Shows the role of oil and fossil fuels and the
  industrial era
• Important to see context of our actions on future
  generations
• Consequences of the end of oil, geopolitics,
  inequity issues become clear
• Pre-empts token responses

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Presentation Strategies

• Address the alternatives
• Shows the unique role of oil and the seriousness
  of the crisis
• Pre-empts audience questions
• Balance crisis with opportunity
• Discuss the stark consequences as well as the
  possibilities for action
• Explain the opportunity for a better world
• Important not to sugar coat or answer all their
  questions
• Important not to scare them away
• Keep it positive

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Presentation Strategies

• Encourage them to do more research
• Personal discovery process is important
• Empowers them
• Taking ownership of the problem

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QA

• Always end a presentation with questions
• 5-10 minutes ideal for QA, longer (30 minutes
  minimum) for discussion
• Practice responses to common questions ahead of
  time
• Do not debate or argue
• Valuable phrases Great question, and Ill
  look into that.

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Conclusion

• Important to move from End of Suburbia screenings
  to formal presentations
• Choose the appropriate presentation strategy and
  format for the audience and circumstances
• Use tools effectively
• Always provide handouts with more information and
  pass around a sign up sheet
• Practice and entertain questions at the end