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
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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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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