Another Say No To PowerPoint Week almost over. For a few years now, the week before Valentine’s Day goes slideless. Everyone should go slideless, now and then.
As will you.
When you attend one of my presentation classes or workshops next term, as every term, we will start from scratch.
No slides. Just you. And the audience.
Learning how to present well is like making risotto, I find. Quite a stirring process, and you add the ingredients one by one. Slides are the parmigiano on top. Added last. Or left away altogether. Why don’t you try some fresh herbs instead?
Phil Waknell from Ideas on stage is one of the more recent active voices in Presenting Land, and one that is not easily overheard. As he says himself: His aim is to be the Number One presenting agency within five years. He may actually achieve that, using social media to the full. I find, it is one hell of a very clear goal.
He is also very generous with advice and ideas on his web site and has helped stage the TedEX Paris 2011.
Recently he provided a full 90 minute taped talk on presenting for free.
Now I may not agree with everything Phil says or does—e.g. I always need to hear more about the whys behind the you musts, and my own business goals are quite different—but different is good, and in presenting different is essential.
We all are different, and so are our audiences, and we need to bear that in mind, when preparing a talk.
From the video, there is much to learn for budding entrepreneurs or anyone interested in what makes a talk a better talk and so far does not really know much about it:
Good visuals, good stories, and—I am happy to see it included—oratory.
But then that is where I come from: If you cannot present without slides, you cannot present at all. Words are available light.
So have fun watching, and to Phil: Good luck with your goals.
Interaction-Design.org have just launched an Encyclopedia, which, as they say is »free, …includes videos, commentaries, and lots more. All chapters are written by leading figures within each subject. As such, it’s the opposite of the Wikipedia.«
This new Encyclopedia for Interactive Design, Usability and User Experience is part of Danish Interaction-Design’s ongoing efforts for Open Content and Democratization of Knowledge.
This looks very exciting. Follow them on Twitter to keep up-to-date and learn when new content is being published. So far there are seven chapters that should last you a while.
You might want to start with »V« as in Visual Representation by Alan Blackwell, which covers typography as well as Hans Rosling’s Gapminder software, metaphors, schematic drawings, and icons.
TEACH & TRAIN 