Weblog entry #141 for ajt
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I've got two talks to prepare: one on rsnapshot for my local LUG and a second is my Desktop for Dad talk for the UKUUG Linux'08" meeting.
I've done presentations before and I don't mind standing up in front of people any more giving a presentation. I think my slides work well and I care about what I talk about. I'd never claim to be a professional or seriously good at it but I think I'm good enough. I've been reading slides on SlideShare dealing with PowerPoint Poisoning, which offer up some really good tips. It's mostly common sense but there were a few things I'd not though of before.
The basics are obvious, not that anyone in our media department has read them...
- Use only a few fonts and styles
- Use large clear fonts with sensible colour schemes
- Keep the content clear and simple
There were a few observations I'd not specifically thought of but they are obvious:
- Clip art looks cr*p use photographs
- People read faster than you can speak
- Default templates are not very good and your slides end up looking like everyone elses
- Don't send people the presentation, a presentation should be presented, if you need to send them something send them proper document
Comments on this Entry
You are of course correct, that you should have a start, middle & end and it is important to get the actual message across.
I don't like short talks that include a summary that wastes time but in a longer talk it often helps to have a summary and structure.
--
"It's Not Magic, It's Work"
Adam
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One way of helping the message reach is the old army maxim of "Tell 'em what you're going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you've told them".
Ie: Start with a summary about what you'll cover. Then do the main part of the talk going into details etc. End with conclusion/summary.
PJ
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