Comments on FORTIFY YOUR OASIS: PowerPoint - Dodging Bullets

Eric - spot-on as always. I agree 100% - the only ...

2008-03-11T10:26:00.000Z

Eric - spot-on as always. I agree 100% - the only litmus test that matters is "Did I communicate my points effectively?"

Did the audience (a) take the information on board and (b) take the appropriate action as a result of your presentation? Far too few presenters think this way, as the resulting internal dialogue is rarely a comfortable one ...

We continued the conversation on this topic here - http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2008/01/dodging-bullets-follow-up.html - which I hope you enjoy.

R

Isn't it ironic that we complain about bad present...

2008-03-11T05:57:00.000Z

Isn't it ironic that we complain about bad presentations and yet refuse to accept a new approach of presentation, one that is beyond bullet point, one that Rowan has painstakingly demonstrated.

Personally I think it is the audience that needs to be educated on a new way of presenting. Some conditioning is required.

So say you are in corporate world, add in a couple of slides that are beyond bullet point, test them out, and check in with your audience. At the end of the day, the acid test is in effective communication.

Cheers from Singapore!

Pawel - very interesting, if a little depressing. ...

2008-01-16T13:16:00.000Z

Pawel - very interesting, if a little depressing. Perhaps people have become conditioned by so many years of bullet points ...

Sarah - a common problem. Try writing your presentation out in long form - literally every word you are going to say. Then read that out loud to yourself a few times and see if any images pop into your head. If not, I'm sure you have a tolerant friend in your circle who has that 'visual' wiring. Entice him/her with coffee and Jaffa Cakes ...

Declan - love your presentation!

Scot - You are so right. It is all about the audience. The difficulty I encounter with clients is that they are required (house style or whatever) to present using the ineffective approach and then don't gain approval because they essentially have one hand tied behind their back. The 'evolutionary' approach bears fruit in this situation - gradual shifts toward a more impactful, persuasive style. A couple of slides in your first effort. Add in another in your next. Stick with that level for your next couple of outings, then add in something else for the one after that ...

I have a suspicion, Robo, that some of the people ...

2008-01-13T15:42:00.000Z

I have a suspicion, Robo, that some of the people above have missed the point. Either that, or I have.

It may well be that many managers expect bullet points, but my understanding is that you are trying to educate not just the presenter but the audience. In any case, I'd challenge the "many, if not most" notion above. Where is the study that indicates that?

It may also be that a scientific lecture cannot be encapsulated in a few images, but an academic lecture is not the same as a business presentation. The fact that the presenter in each case might choose to use the dreaded Powerpoint doesn't make them the same.

As for reporting fincancial results, there is still no escaping the fact that people read to themselves faster than you can read to them. One can present the key points of a financial report with a few relevant visuals (graphs, charts, etc) without reading off a list of figures.

And yes, PP is often a better medium than Word, so e-mail the PPT to people so they can read it in their own time.

Lovely, Rowan!If the commenters are skeptical abou...

2008-01-13T00:50:00.000Z

Lovely, Rowan!

If the commenters are skeptical about producing a scientific or technical PowerPoint that's image-based, check out the book "Beyond Bullet Points" by Cliff Atkinson. Not only can it be done, it can be done very well.

Handouts can do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of charts, graphs, and data. Most of the time, this kind of information presented on screen is too small or detailed for the audience to read or comprehend, precisely because of its complexity.

But here's the thing: most presenters of data try to present TOO MUCH INFORMATION.

There's only so much the human brain can process in a given amount of time. It's not really necessary, or even effective, to present everything you know in the world.

It's better to present key information and enhance it with simple visuals, and give the rest as handouts (or in a follow-up presentation), than try to cram every piece of knowledge you have on a subject into a PowerPoint.

There is a differentiation between giving presenta...

2008-01-12T19:15:00.000Z

There is a differentiation between giving presentations to groups of people about a subject and small groups of people who will approve a proposal (i.e., higher management).

Giving a presentation to a larger group about a subject should have the work laid out as described (and described very well!).

But many, if not most, managers expect bullet points and their idea of excitement is a chart with bullet points explaining it.

I would suspect that a PP is a better summary than a Word document proposal and that provides the popularity of the presentations.

It's still the audience -- and identifying the audience is still a great challenge for presenters.

As Pawel said it can depend on the audience. At m...

2008-01-12T18:23:00.000Z

As Pawel said it can depend on the audience.

At my company if you step outside the box too much there can be a danger of being seen as too different or showboating.

At the risk of looking like an Apple fanboy I watched Steve Jobs' presentation to MacWorld last year and was very very impressed.

I usually distribute handouts of the presentation and notes but try not to present from them. That way the audience can make their own annotation to the handout and capture what THEY saw and felt during the presentation.

My comment is here Robo:http://www.slideshare.net/...

2008-01-12T12:41:00.000Z

My comment is here Robo:
http://www.slideshare.net/tgnobby/a-reply-to-dodging-bullets/

What a delightful post, the core of which is " Thi...

2008-01-11T21:53:00.000Z

What a delightful post, the core of which is " Think of it this way - it is your duty as a presenter to be relevant.."

Excellent presentation Rowan, thank you! You've ex...

2008-01-11T20:46:00.000Z

Excellent presentation Rowan, thank you! You've expressed it beautifully, and re-enforced something I've been trying to put into practice for some time now. My only problem is that I tend to struggle to come up with visual ways to present the information in my head... :( Mind maps are also a no-go for me because of this! Any tips?

Best wishes for 2008

Sarah

Nice slide shown Rowan! Do you think tho that this...

2008-01-11T20:32:00.000Z

Nice slide shown Rowan! Do you think tho that this applies to presentations in which the content is rather complicated?
to use a strong example we can take my dads lectures in plant molecular biology (over the top maybe but you get the point) which are strong on scientific terms and mumbo jumbo that cannot be expressed through pictures and sparse wording as the content is quite complex. Granted he does include pictures wherever possible, but could it be possibkle that some topics are going to be much less conducive to nice looking presentations than others? Reporting financial results to shareholders, presenting detailed action plans etc, are they as easy to visualise?

When I read the post I'd like to agree. I don't bu...

2008-01-11T19:05:00.000Z

When I read the post I'd like to agree. I don't buy bullet-point presentation. I stop to care about presenter when he just reads the slides. But...

We've done a little experiment lately with my friend and colleague - we've delivered the presentation in a very different way - slides were just a background switching automatically (no interaction from presenters here) while we were talking about merits.

To my surprise we've been rated on average level. Like bullet-point zealots.

I think it still depends on audience. You can meet people who actually expect you to read your bullets and are not prepared to see something untypical.