Life Imitates Art. The Result? Some Dandy Slide Backgrounds
02/11/09 18:41 Filed in: Presentations
While strolling through an art museum one day I overheard a guide commenting on the work of old Dutch masters. She said they tended to place the scene in the lower third of the canvas and then fill the upper two-thirds with sky. Looking at the results, it struck me that their paintings would make great slide backgrounds.
However, rather than purchase a painting by a Dutch master (a bit beyond my budget), I decided to test the idea with my camera. Now, whenever I travel, I compose some of my photos to include mostly sky with the scenery or activity confined in a narrow band along the bottom of the frame. The result? A photo that makes a great slide background.
Read More...
However, rather than purchase a painting by a Dutch master (a bit beyond my budget), I decided to test the idea with my camera. Now, whenever I travel, I compose some of my photos to include mostly sky with the scenery or activity confined in a narrow band along the bottom of the frame. The result? A photo that makes a great slide background.
Read More...
Coping with Poorly Designed Meeting Spaces
07/08/09 21:05 Filed in: Presentations
Here is one of the mysteries of the universe: why are so many meeting rooms so badly designed? It often seems as if no one really had any idea how the room was going to be used.
Let’s start with the one of the most common problems: too few electrical outlets. To plug in a computer, a projector and a set of speakers, you need three plugs. Yet so often there is only a single two-plug outlet available. Then there is the placement of the screen. More often than not it’s plunked down in the middle of the room, restricting the space available for the presenter to move around. And, why is it so often a struggle to find surface space for both the projector and a computer? Read More...
Let’s start with the one of the most common problems: too few electrical outlets. To plug in a computer, a projector and a set of speakers, you need three plugs. Yet so often there is only a single two-plug outlet available. Then there is the placement of the screen. More often than not it’s plunked down in the middle of the room, restricting the space available for the presenter to move around. And, why is it so often a struggle to find surface space for both the projector and a computer? Read More...
Ace Your Speech with Q&As
07/08/09 20:59 Filed in: Speeches
No one ever said speechwriting is easy; but sometimes it’s harder than it has to be. Consider this scenario: you start on a speech and quickly find yourself spinning your wheels. You simply don't have a good enough grasp of the subject to make any headway. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking…
You could wait for elves to come by in the night to finish the job. Then again, you could avoid this situation altogether. Before you begin a major speech, take the time to put together together a solid set of questions and answers (Q&As).
Preparing a Q&A package is worth the effort for a number of reasons. The exercise lets you concentrate on and become familiar with each topic in isolation. When you really know your material well, it’s much easier to weave the ideas together in a narrative. And, if you run the Q&As by the client, you could get approval for much of your content long before your first speech draft is a fait accompli. Read More...
You could wait for elves to come by in the night to finish the job. Then again, you could avoid this situation altogether. Before you begin a major speech, take the time to put together together a solid set of questions and answers (Q&As).
Preparing a Q&A package is worth the effort for a number of reasons. The exercise lets you concentrate on and become familiar with each topic in isolation. When you really know your material well, it’s much easier to weave the ideas together in a narrative. And, if you run the Q&As by the client, you could get approval for much of your content long before your first speech draft is a fait accompli. Read More...
Pause & Let the Music Sink In
07/09/09 17:08 Filed in: Speeches
As practiced musicians point out: some of the music is between the notes. The same idea applies to speeches. Saying nothing here and there actually engages listener attention. It follows, then, that if you want your listeners to really hear your ideas and enjoy the experience, you should make it a habit to work in pauses.
Both speaker and listener benefit from pauses. The speaker gets a chance to rest and to look around the room to gauge attention and interest. The audience gets a chance to rest too, as well as a moment to reflect on and absorb what the speaker has to say.
Speakers who try to cram every second with words risk coming across as anxious. That anxiety can be a distraction for listeners who may start to focus more on the speaker’s discomfort than on their ideas and opinions. Read More...
Both speaker and listener benefit from pauses. The speaker gets a chance to rest and to look around the room to gauge attention and interest. The audience gets a chance to rest too, as well as a moment to reflect on and absorb what the speaker has to say.
Speakers who try to cram every second with words risk coming across as anxious. That anxiety can be a distraction for listeners who may start to focus more on the speaker’s discomfort than on their ideas and opinions. Read More...
Limit Your Points to What People can Handle
07/09/09 17:05 Filed in: Presentations
People have a limited capacity for listening to and absorbing information presented orally, even with the help of visual support. Keep this fact in mind when you choose the arguments to highlight in the middle of your presentation. As a rule, plan to support your main argument with three to five major points. (Never go beyond seven points. After that number, research shows that all listeners hear is blah, blah, blah...) Read More...
Let the Rule of Thirds Be Your Guide
04/12/08 15:16 Filed in: Presentations
Graphic designers and photographers rely on a lot more than raw talent to compose their work. They make use of the rule of thirds. Actually it isn’t really a rule. It’s a guideline based on the idea that compositions are most pleasing to the human eye when the main elements fall on or near the four crossing points of a nine box grid.
The only tool you need to apply the rule is a grid. You can make one in PowerPoint or Keynote by arranging lines and circles until you have nine rectangles on a slide. As digital photo expert Lesa King says, divide your slide up so that it resembles a tic–tac-toe board. My slides look a lot better since I discovered the rule. Now, whenever I begin working on a new presentation, I include a grid slide. Read More...
The only tool you need to apply the rule is a grid. You can make one in PowerPoint or Keynote by arranging lines and circles until you have nine rectangles on a slide. As digital photo expert Lesa King says, divide your slide up so that it resembles a tic–tac-toe board. My slides look a lot better since I discovered the rule. Now, whenever I begin working on a new presentation, I include a grid slide. Read More...
Design Simple Slides
15/09/08 20:24 Filed in: Presentations
Nothing drains the life out of a presentation faster than a steady stream of slides filled to overflowing with text. At the very least the slides are boring to look at. But presenters often make things worse by talking over them, ignoring the fact that audiences can’t read and listen at the same time.
The solution is to design slides that are so simple people can absorb them quickly and return to listening to the presenter. After all, the presenter should be the focus of attention. What he or she has to say is the point of the presentation. The visuals are merely meant to serve as illustrations.
Nancy Duarte, whose company created the presentation slides that Al Gore used in his film An Inconvenient Truth, says that good slide design should follow the principles reflected in billboard ads. Take a look next time you drive along the highway and notice how billboards display a combination of bold graphics and simple text. It doesn’t take much time or effort to get the message as you zoom by. Read More...
The solution is to design slides that are so simple people can absorb them quickly and return to listening to the presenter. After all, the presenter should be the focus of attention. What he or she has to say is the point of the presentation. The visuals are merely meant to serve as illustrations.
Nancy Duarte, whose company created the presentation slides that Al Gore used in his film An Inconvenient Truth, says that good slide design should follow the principles reflected in billboard ads. Take a look next time you drive along the highway and notice how billboards display a combination of bold graphics and simple text. It doesn’t take much time or effort to get the message as you zoom by. Read More...
Interactive Speeches
10/10/07 17:09 Filed in: Speeches
I was speaking about speechwriting to staffers on Parliament Hill in Ottawa recently when someone asked: How do you make a speech interactive? It was the kind of question one dreams of hearing from the podium. But, honestly, I don’t remember planting it. Happily, though, I had an answer at the ready. Read More...