Total Oil PowerPoint Presentation No Gusher

The 9th Annual ASPO Conference for the study of peak oil and gas reserves was the scene of a potentially riveting presentation about the world’s oil reserves. The presenter was Pierre Mauriaud, TOTAL Exploration Training and Technical Image Manager. For several years now, TOTAL is the only oil company that’s suggested the industry can’t meet the world’s demand for oil. So this Total PowerPoint presentation was a big-seller.

It’s certainly some claim that the industry can’t meet demand. But it’s a claim made on hard analysis of geological data.

Therefore this presentation by Pierre Mauriaud aimed to explain more.

But, the presentation didn’t start well. He introduced a safe harbor disclaimer at the beginning of his Total presentation. Now, the legal team at TOTAL undoubtedly advised the use of safe harbor. But, it’s a terrible way to begin a presentation.

A Diffident Total PowerPoint Presentation

Pierre took time to recover from that imposition. So, as he mumbled his way through his detailed PowerPoint slides one sensed that there was more to come. But we had to wait.

Despite knowing a huge amount on the subject, he’s a diffident presenter:

I’m sorry if you know that.

I’m sorry if there are any geologists in the room…

As an audience, we really don’t get a fix on the apologies of the presenter. It makes us uneasy. Should we really be spending time with someone who’s diffident or lacks confidence?

He made sure that his PowerPoint slides were detailed and full. Thus, line graphs detailed oil output, oil reserves and price points. In explaining them he reverted to looking at the slides on the screen, turning his back to his audience.

This presentation had the potential to be very interesting. It’s true that it wasn’t death by PowerPoint. But it proved a dry hole. Without an overarching purpose or mission he struggled to get his message out to his audience.

Of course you can always aim to boost your presentation skills with a face to face presentation training course, an online skills course, Alternatively, a one-to-one presentation coaching session might be best for your confidence. Whatever your needs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.