A phenomenal slide deck – showing just how important slides design is. Tell me (a) how long it took for you to flip the slide deck through, and (b) how many times you wondered when is this going to end (like every other ppt). I am sure the answers would be (a) very soon and (b) Not even once.
Category: presentation
The Girl-Effect
No, it is not a cheesy title to get search engines to get here. I just saw this fantastic presentation at Garr Reynolds’ PresentationZen.com. Just mind blowing. It is a self-running two and halfminute presentation. Just blows your mind away. You just stare at the presentation. The message seeps into you without any effort. And it sticks. Wow.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvmE4_KMNw&w=480&h=385]
The best presentation ever .. (so far!)
Ok, Garr Reynolds was my presentation guru until recently. But move over Garr, I have a new hero. I bow on my knee to the new presentation guru, who stands on a mile high pedestal now — Richard St. John. Check out his 3 minute presentation below. Yes, three minutes it is. And a brilliantly funny 3 minutes. You cannot take your eyes off. This is a TED presentation, and so the video also is super clear. Enjoy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECyxad1rwW0]
Inner peace – The Dalai Lama speaks …
(pic courtesy: zenhabits.net)
I have always been very impressed with the way his Holiness Dalai Lama speaks. He is an excellent public speaker. I have seen several of his speeches (in videos, online etc). A zenhabits reader, Noah Weil, recently got a rare opportunity to listen to his holiness live, and captured notes for the rest of us. I am going to let you read the contents of the talk for yourself. But I quote Noah on his impression of the Dalai Lamas speech. Read the full post here.
I mentioned he spoke excellent English, and it is true. A few points during his speech or Q&A, there was a word he wanted to use but did not know the English translation. He would give his line, and on the gap with the unknown word, would ask his interpreter, receive the translation, and continue. I was very impressed with the way he never actually misspoke; any opportunity that would be error was deftly handled so his words proceeded apace. His awareness of his skills and limitations were such that the audience knew of the gaps of his knowledge without being affected by them.
Besides his clear public speaking skills, one got the impression he was having fun up there. Serious topics sure, but nothing so heavy that he couldn’t crack wise when the situation came up. His wisdom, gratitude, and simple joy made the entire presentation eminently approachable and persuasive. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be said to this group, but I recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to listen to him speak. You will be glad you made the trip.
And I totally agree. You should hear him speak. He is extremely witty. And to think, that he has been so witty and unassuming in this speech, when his mind could have been so much in turmoil, considering what he is going through right now, with regard to Tibet and the Chinese government, is remarkable.
Excellent set of sample slides from Garr Reynolds
Found a great set of sample slides by my hero presenter Garr Reynolds (of presentationzen.com fame). The slides by themselves show the essence of making great slides. Enjoy.
[slideshare id=295996&doc=sample-slides-by-garr-reynolds-1204852162670051-5&w=425]
Presentation and Jazz
(Image courtesy: presentationzen.com)
Garr has a brilliant review of the presentation techniques that Sir Ken Robinson uses, in his brilliant presentations. Garr claims that Sir Ken is his inspiration. Well, Garr is my inspiration ; so by default, Sir Ken now becomes my inspiration as well. Some of the points in quick summary are:
- Remember you are speaking to induviduals and not to an abstract group
- Be as relaxed as possible
- Be conversational and make a connection with the room
- Know your material
- Prepare, but dont rehearse
- Leave room for improvisation
Read the whole post here at presentationzen.
Great presenters spar
(Pic courtesy: screenshotted from youtube video)
This reminds me of scenes in old tamil movies like Thiruvilayadal, where two learned scholars quiz each other on philosophy. Each pulavar (or learner scholar) tries to one-up the other.
Guy Kawasaki, a very good writer of personal finance books, and a good presenter himself, asks a few questions to Garr Reynolds (of presentationzen fame), one of my favorite presenters. Garr just released a book by the same name Presentation Zen. Makes very interesting reading.
Read the full article here.
Be a master presenter
(Image courtesy: presentationzen.com)
By now, Steve Jobs (of Apple) is probably the role model of presenting, for almost the entire world. I have seen some of his macworld keynote videos, and they are amazing. What it takes, practice, practice, and more practice. Businessweek has a nice write up on how to present like Jobs. The article dissects the show, and lays the key foundations on the table. They are:
- set the theme
- demonstrate enthusiasm
- provide an outline
- make numbers meaningful
- try for an unforgettable moment
- create visual slides
- Give ’em a show
- Don’t sweat the small stuff
- Sell the benefit
- Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
I love Steve’s slides. They just help him. They do not do the talking. HE does the talking.
Read the full article here.
The computer is a Moron
.. so said a genius — Peter Drukker. I happened to read the above statement in presentationzen.com (one of my favourite blogs). The first thought that hits you, in this age of information and technology is, ‘what !’. Well, delving a little deeper into it, however much cognitive sciences and natural language processing (NLP) has improved, the computer still is a ‘processing machine’. It cannot ‘think’ of ideas for you. In some ways, it can even inhibit ideas. Garr Reynolds of presentationzen says it best, when he refers to the task of planning. When say, you want to plan a presentation, sitting in front of power point, draws only a blank line. Try sitting down with a pencil and a pad, ideas start flowing. Before you know it, you have the agenda sketched out. Then you start jotting down, your story line framework. You have the ending – where you decide what the listener needs to take-away.