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Contents contributed and discussions participated by medidiigo

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Articles: Design - 2 views

moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/...view.php
shared by tvalline on 24 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • You can use video clips within PowerPoint without ever leaving the application or tuning on a VCR. Using a video clip not only will illustrate your point better, it will also serve as a change of pace thereby increasing the interest of your audience. You can use audio clips (such as interviews) as well.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      I have never tried to use video or sound bites in my presentations. I would like to figure out how to do this
  • Even worse is to take a free comp from a photo website and stretch it out. This introduces distracting visual noise (and says you are either cheap, lazy, or both). If you cannot afford images (or do not have a camera, etc.), then it's better to use none at all
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      This author "makes no bones about it" when expressing his opinions. His adjectives are a bit harsh..here, and elsewhere....but point taken.
  • Sometimes the image is actually a pretty good one but it just needs a bit of editing so that the text will pop out more. The slide on the left below is not horrible but the balance is off and the text does not pop out as much as it could. For the slide on the right below, the image is cropped for better balance, giving more space for the text to breath (and a transparent box is added to help the text pop out a bit more, though there are other ways to do this).
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      I have been experimenting with creating a transparent box to help the text show up when there is a picture with background that interferes. I am still not happy with the effect that I got. I'm thinking there is probably a better way.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • White space is the open space surrounding items of interest. Presenters are often tempted to fill it up with additional content that competes for attention. But including a healthy amount of white space sharpens viewers’ focus by isolating elements. In this example, if we’d paired the text with a larger or more detailed image, your eye wouldn’t know where to begin, and the quote would have lost its power:
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      Here, I'm wondering why they didn't enlarget he picture to cover the full screen as suggested earlier, and put that transparent box behind the text. Maybe they tried that and preferred this look. I find myself trying different things versions of my slides now as I am working on my current presentation project.
  • Presentation software gives us many shiny, seductive elements to work with. But there’s beauty and clarity in restraint. Use simple visuals that support your message, and you’ll free people up to really hear — and adopt — your ideas.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      This is well stated. It's a good point to take from the article and remember as I create my presentations.
  • It can be challenging to reduce and simplify
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      True. More so than I thought it would be
  • Follow these steps to reduce and simplify your text-heavy bullet points — your audience will thank you. Live long and prosper.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      This is a good strategy for recreating old text-heavy PowerPoint presentations that need a fresh look.
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Articles: Delivery - 8 views

moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/...view.php
shared by tvalline on 27 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Too many presenters stick to the PowerPoint template, Gallo says, then cram as much information into bullets as humanly possible—making it exceedingly hard for people to read the slides. And then the audience gets bored. And people start checking their BlackBerrys. (To see eight of the worst PowerPoint slides ever created, see "8 PowerPoint Train Wrecks.")
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      This is so true. And I am just as guilty as the next presenter for using this standard technique. Somehow we thought that a spash of color here or there would make it more interesting. These kinds of "Death by PowerPoint" presentations are going to be even more difficult to endure as an audience member, now that we know Presentation Zen.
  • If you press the “B” key while your PowerPoint or Keynote slide is showing, the screen will go blank.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      Simple, yet effective. I didn't know about this
  • Anticipating resistance forces you to really think about the people you’re presenting to, and that makes it easier to influence them. If you’ve made a sincere effort to look at the world through their eyes, it will show when you speak. You’ll feel more warmly toward them, so you’ll take on a conversational tone. You’ll sound — and be — authentic when you address their concerns. As a result, you’ll disarm them, and they’ll be more likely to accept your message
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      Empathy. Understanding the issues from the audience perspective. This is a very proactive approach to changing the minds and hearts of others. I will consider this when I review the slides for my project.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • He has internalized the content, and he's very fluid and smooth. And that's because he rehearses.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      Honestly, I have never done this. I understand the need to internalize the content but practice 10 hours? Who has that kind of time for practice?
  • Practice 10 hours
  • Grab your digital video recorder, deliver your presentation and watch yourself, he says. Watch for these key factors: eye contact (you should be making eye contact 90 percent of the time); posture (don't slouch, stand up straight and natural, and avoid putting your hands in your pocket); voice (don't speak in a monotone voice). "You don't need an expert coach to be there to find these things," Gallo says. "You'll pick out one hundred things on your own that are annoying or maybe are some bad habits that you never knew you did."
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      This is a great tip for those who want to become better presenters. If we're going to rehearse for 10 hours, we might as well video tape ourselves and then watch that as part of the practice time so we can critique ourselves in action.
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Articles: Preparation - 8 views

moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/...view.php
shared by medidiigo on 21 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • Find out everything you can about the location and logistics of the venue.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 21 Sep 14
       
      I found this out just this past week. I prepared my presentation, but when I got there I found no way to project my information on a screen large enough for everyone to see.
  • Simplicity takes more forethought and planning on your part because you have to think very hard about what to include and what can be left out.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      Seems like a contradiction.
  • always put yourself in the shoes of the audience and ask “so what?”
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 30 Sep 14
       
      I had a professor once who always said, "Turn to your neighbor and ask 'So what? Who cares?' It really does make you think about what's important.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points. While I’m in the venture capital business, this rule is applicable for any presentation to reach agreement: for example, raising capital, making a sale, forming a partnership, etc.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 21 Sep 14
       
      I like this concept. I have recently attempted the PechaKucha method of 20 slides, 20 seconds each. I not only had trouble coming up with 20 slides (my presentation did not need that many), I felt like I was rushing to say what I had to say in the 20 second time period. 10x20x30 seems much more presenter-friendly to me.
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Articles: Presentation "Awakening" - 5 views

moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/...view.php
shared by tvalline on 19 Sep 14 - No Cached
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 19 Sep 14
       
      And all this time I thought it was just my own inability to stay focused...No wonder we begin to "zone out" when someone reads their slides to us.
  • PowerPoint is a medium
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 19 Sep 14
       
      a very valid point. It is, afterall, only a tool. It is how we choose to use the tool that really matters. A challenging and freeing thought.
  • it is more difficult to process information if it is coming at you both verbally and in written form at the same time.
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 19 Sep 14
       
      No wonder I have felt frustrated when a presenter is reading his bullet points to the group. This explains our tendency to mentally "check out" after about the third slide full of text.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Talking about pollution in Houston? Instead of giving me four bullet points of EPA data, why not read me the stats but show me a photo of a bunch of dead birds, some smog and even a diseased lung? This is cheating! It’s unfair! It works.
  • Talking about pollution in Houston? Instead of giving me four bullet points of EPA data, why not read me the stats but show me a photo of a bunch of dead birds, some smog and even a diseased lung? This is cheating! It’s unfair! It works
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 19 Sep 14
       
      A picture is worth a thousand words. It's time we tap into the power of the emotional connection in our presentations. Students and colleagues will remember major points because they are connected to an emotionally charged visual image.
  • Once a younger worker hears the story of what happened to the poor guy who didn’t wear his hardhat on the factory floor, he never forgets the lesson (and he never forgets to wear his hardhat). Stories get our attention and are easier to remember than lists of rules
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 19 Sep 14
       
      I love this example. It does a good job of emphasizing the importance of using stories. The story in this example was much more effective than a memo because it struck a chord with the listener who was able to visualize the consequences of not heeding the warning.
  • If everything is important, then nothing is important. If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.
  • “Curse of Knowledge.” The Curse of Knowledge is essentially the condition whereby the deliverer of the message cannot imagine what it’s like not to possess his level of background knowledge on the topic. When he speaks in abstractions to the audience, it makes perfect sense to him but him alone. In his mind, it seems simple and obvious. The six principles—SUCCESs—are your weapons, then, to fight your own Curse of Knowledge (we all have it).
    • medidiigo
      medidiigo on 19 Sep 14
       
      So they are saying that we assume that our audience understands background knowledge at the same level that we do. Isn't it true that we don't want to bore people with information that they already know? Seems like a fine line...
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Time to Ditch Powerpoing? - 7 views

started by medidiigo on 19 Sep 14 no follow-up yet
  • medidiigo
    #1 medidiigo on 19 Sep 14
     
    In the article "Is it finally time to ditch PowerPoint?" written by Garr Reynolds, a very valid point is made that there is a difference between thinking of Powerpoint itself as a method verses a medium. It is, afterall, only a tool. It is how we choose to use the tool that really matters. That thought is challenging and freeing. It challenges us to take a different path, to choose another way of presenting that goes beyond typical and average. It frees us to tap into our creativity and play with our ideas outside of the bullet point modality in which we thought we were locked. Let's not "throw out the baby (and the whole bathtub for that matter) with the bathwater." Let's try a new method with our existing medium.
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