Have you ever witnessed a presentation so boring that you thought, “Shoot me now!” There is a reason that they call them “bullet points.” Have you strained to read a slide packed with 12 point text, and then realized that the presenter was reading it to you word by word? Then you my friend, have been subjected to BAD Presentations! Today we will discuss why people give bad presentations and what can be done to make them better.
Lessons Learned
Dennis – The best choice is not always the safe choice.
Chris – Consistency is key. Whether we’re talking about push-ups or podcasts, do what is good, do what you love, do it consistently.
Notes & Links
Life After Death by PowerPoint (A comedy bit by Don McMillan) – https://youtu.be/MjcO2ExtHso
7 Ways To Unleash Your Presentation Genius
http://www.lifehack.org/407550/7-ways-to-unleash-your-presentation-genius
- Think like a “tweet”
- Billboards are best
- Contrast is King
- Take 7 steps
- Set the scene – What’s so important that you couldn’t send an email?
- Begin the journey – What’s the message, where are you taking them?
- Encounter the obstacle – Why do they really need to go there?
- Overcome the obstacle – How are you going to get them there?
- Resolve the story – Now they are here, what does it look and feel like?
- Make the point – Why is it so important?
- Call to action – What do you want them to do now?
- Give them their 3 F’s
Your listeners only want 3 things from you, so make sure you include them on your billboards.
- Facts
- Feeling
- Future
- Shout, sing, scream, and sigh
- Focus on their SHIFT
- Success
- Happiness
- Insight
- Freedom
- Time
How do I know if my presentation sucks?
http://slidebean.com/blog/design/how-do-i-know-if-my-presentation-sucks
- 100+ slides?
- Tons of text?
- Background music?
- Flashy text entries and exists?
- Clipart of figures solving a problem?
- Blue background with white text?
- Recycled presentations without proper editing?
Then, my friend, your presentation probably sucks.
Slide design: Dennis’ Pet Peeves
- If you have an image don’t put it in a small box on your background. Make it fill the whole slide.
- Same for an embedded video clip. You don’t have to “frame” it.
- The best slide transition is NO transition – unless the transition or animation is necessary to illustrate a point or support your content.
- Comic Sans.
- Long URL’s on slides
- A printed copy of your slides – Instead, give people a link to a resource page for your presentation. But make it a SHORT URL. (See previous Pet Peeve.)
Chris’s criterium: You should know why every element in your presentation is in your presentation.