Michael Lopp with a great article on presentation, though he goes off the deep end, imo, in the final paragraph:
This presentation is only partially about you and what you think. Yes, you are the guiding force, but the goal is to present an idea with space around it. In this space, your audience is going to pour their own experience and their opinions; they’re going to make your idea their own.
Related: How to Not Throw Up
Updated: The quoted paragraph is not the lunatic passage. The quoted passage is right on. The lunatic passage is this one:
Could you give your entire presentation from a single slide. 50 minutes, a room full of people, and you with your single slide with six bullet points?
That’s your goal, and you can have a wildly successful presentation without achieving it, but a one-slide presentation represents the ultimate commitment to your audience. It says, “This isn’t about slides. This about me telling you a great story… out loud.”
3 Comments
Benjamin Baxter
February 17, 2008 - 2:10 pm -As a matter of fact, this presentation is all about me and what I think. Students don’t know this stuff — that’s why they’re students.
Now, that would be my response if I were certain he were talking about teaching. It looks like this is just general presentation advice, though.
http://awaitingtenure.wordpress.com/
Mr. Chase
February 18, 2008 - 6:45 pm -Two Things:
1) Maybe it’s because you think it’s lunacy. Maybe it’s because it’s an awesome challenge. I want to try a single-slide class. Six bullets points? No problem.
2) Baxter – Really? I think I’m taking issue with your wording and not your argument. Still, wording’s important. I have to assume my students know about my content before I start teaching. Not all of them know the same things. Not all of them know as much as I think I should. Some of them already know what I’m about to talk about. The difference between them and me is I know what I don’t know. I think.
Jason Dyer
February 20, 2008 - 8:06 am -I’ve never been a big fan of bullet points.
Could we try a 50 minute presentation off a single rich image instead?