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How I made my presentations a little better
43folders.com — "Since my Google Tech Talk (previously) caught fire last month (it ’s gotten over 100,000 views so far), I’ve been receiving a lot of really nice email, comments, and questions about how I put my presentations together. I’m happy to oblige."
thinkingserious- 1084 diggs
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- fu86, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8He makes great presentations!! Simple but powerful!
- lancefisher, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1like tp.
- mgkwho, on 10/10/2007, -5/+13I think a large part of it is that powerpoint is inferior to keynote.
-=|Mgkwho
- iceoofaapl, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4This is totally what Merlin is so good at! I was at the Inbox Zero talk and it was fantastic!
- mgkwho, on 10/10/2007, -2/+18"They are not a script to be acted-out, or a book to be printed and read aloud, word for word."
I wish everyone else realized that- I bet 999/1000 presentations are almost spoken directly from whatever is projected.
-=|Mgkwho- duccodude, on 10/10/2007, -5/+5the -=| isnt necessary. It just makes you look like a tool.
- mediaphile, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1That's probably mistake number one, the second being having slides with the exact same text as what the speaker is saying. People can read. The slides should complement what the speaker is saying, not parrot it.
Edit: In the video posted down below by Claw787, this point is #1 on the list.
- Claw787, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLpjrHzgSRM - illu45, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1Seems to be down... mirror, anyone?
- greatcaffeine, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Seems to be perfectly fine.
- digudown, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0Though author of the article recommends a story style presentation in which
you let the audience understand and appreciate the problem first and present the solution at the end, most of the times these presentations give audience
little time to think about the solution and contribute well through Q. & A.
look at this for more explanation
http://blogs.netapp.com/dave/2006/12/the_genius_dete.html
PS: this is not my blog (How I wish it was :p ) - jasonpoon, on 10/10/2007, -4/+9A simple way, use Keynote instead of PowerPoint.
- srg13, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4It's not that simple. It's possible to make great presentations in either, but many people fail no matter what they're using.
- littlebugga, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11As a Creative Director,I've been making presentations for (lots of) years. The two most important things I've learned are "Don't read the slides to the audience" and "Don't give them anything meaningful to read." I use big visuals and key words that are a bit kryptic until I explain them. Keeps attention focussed on ME and not the screen.
- Coyote566, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Another no-no is not to provide hand-outs prior to your presentation. Then nobody watches you, they just read what you gave them.
- CosmicBratt, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Agreed! As an advertising graduate whose school really emphasized the power of presentations, it was something that we had to learn quickly.
- fuzzyping, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Good presentation, but I prefer the style of Lessig and Hardt. My own presentation from NYC BSD Con borrowed heavily from their influences and was a big success. Please check out the first two, feel free to skip mine. :)
Lawrence Lessig - Free Culture
http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig/free.html
Dick Hardt - Identity 2.0
http://identity20.com/media/OSCON2005/
Jason Dixon - BSD is Dying
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7833143728685685343 - shawnblanc, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Merlin's Inbox Zero was great. "Where's the Love?"
- JerseyBro, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I really enjoy these types of presentations, largely because the focus is on the speaker and the content he/she is delivering. However, I work for a corporation where many of the presentations are posted later on an internal website for reference and/or instructional purposes. Having the tools available to record, and/or later posting as a web video or hybrid, is not always an option.
There are some presentations that do need to be able to present information without the aid of a presenter, or the ability to be used by a many different presenters. - CosmicBratt, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Similar to what he said in his blog, if you open with what I call a story, try ending it with your story as well. Ending with "that's it" or "thank you" isn't enough typically. In my area, we do a lot of pitches. My team likes to start the pitch presentation with a story and conclude with how what we proposed made it reality. Just to tie it together. Works wonderfully on profs (and clients!) :)
- Efnar, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0And it's things like this that make me realize that people are very different. People say that this is a great presentation, but it makes me want to pull out my eyes and jam them into my ear-holes.
- omikun, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0aww, HUG!
- fnaqzna, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Hey, hey! News I can use! On Digg!
Woot! - SuperJimmyJimbo, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2RATHOLE!!
- Kugo, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1Right. What we need is another fanboy talking about trivialities as if they were rocket science. SO VERY INTERESTING. Buried.
- adiqiucorp, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1you are ignorant and stupid
- Woknblues, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1@kugo ----look below about 3 inches. see mcduckov's response? that is how an adult disagrees with something.
- adiqiucorp, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1you are ignorant and stupid
- Iwantawii, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2"The word Ubuntu means "humanity to others" in several African languages, including Zulu and Xhosa. It's one of the founding principles of post-apartheid South Africa. The origin of the word 'Goobuntu' is not clear, though it does not appear in online Zulu dictionaries."
- Iwantawii, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2wrong article, bury me to hell
- mcduckov, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1The presentation was fine and I think obsessing about fine tuning can turn a good presenter into a nitpicking basketcase.
Zero Inbox, or whatever, seems silly to me. In outlook I flag things that need followup and I either skip or just read the rest. I normally have 10 flagged items that need followup at any given time. I don't let them rule my life and i get to things when I get to them. I never delete emails and I think the suggestion to do so is absurd. I cannot count the number of times i have wanted to research a subject and i start with my own HD and yahoo desktop search (the old version, not the new one that sucks ass). My emails are part of what gets searched.
Going to google and even suggesting people delete email seems crazy!- Woknblues, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1i hear what you are saying, but you would have to understand the philosophy behind 43 folders and GTD and why they suggest this kind of approach. to each his own, to be sure. i like it.
- mcduckov, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I listened to the presentation...I promise. There isn't a philosophy beyond not letting things pile up without SOME method of dealing with them. He specifically states that you need "verbs" that work for you. For me the verbs are "needs followup" and "everything else". "Everything else" requires no more thought on my part.
I really don't think you need a "philosophy" to cover this. People who are still angsting over email will probably continue to because they, for whatever reason, LIKE to angst over it. There are many simple ways to deal with email and Outlook has quite good options from the flag system to the calendar system.
- mcduckov, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I listened to the presentation...I promise. There isn't a philosophy beyond not letting things pile up without SOME method of dealing with them. He specifically states that you need "verbs" that work for you. For me the verbs are "needs followup" and "everything else". "Everything else" requires no more thought on my part.
- Woknblues, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1i hear what you are saying, but you would have to understand the philosophy behind 43 folders and GTD and why they suggest this kind of approach. to each his own, to be sure. i like it.
- Yage2006, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I got one that says " My other car is also a Ferrari"
- neovita, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Beyond Bullet Points video http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4725771577158045930
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