4 Effective Presentation Techniques
Every once in a while, we are entrusted with the task of presentation. It may be to demo a new product, to present a plan or to explain a new process that you’ve helped create. Whatever the reason and however many presentations you’ve given before, it’s something that not everyone is comfortable doing. Here are some of the presentation techniques that I’ve learnt in my experience to help you conduct an effective presentation. Setting the stage Always start with an intro. Do a brief intro on the subject of the demo. Reserve a minute to explain the structure of your presentation. Setting the stage should take you around 5 to 10 mins, depending on the number of people attending. Force a pause When you dive into the meat of your presentation, do not talk away as if there is no end. In the beginning, I know it will be tough to implement this but trust me: you will get used to it. Don’t do all the talking Make it interactive. Ice-breakers
Need a Little More Personality in That Presentation? SlideShare&
For many, the ability to share presentations online has changed the way they design their slides, present material, and interact with their audience long after the presentation has passed. But when it comes right down to it, a presentation - regardless of the artistic rendering of the materials - is only as good as the presenter. SlideShare, the largest presentation-sharing community on the Web, has continued to introduce functionality that helps bring presentations to life. But they've never allowed a presenter to embed themselves. Why would a SlideShare user want to embed a YouTube video within a presentation? Voiceover helps, but seeing the presenter is the key. To try the feature for yourself, visit SlideShare and upload your presentation as you would normally. The embedding feature is still in beta, so you may encounter some issues. Testing SlideShare View more presentations or upload your own.
How To: Become a Linux Netbook Power User
So, the season of giving has just come and gone, and you’ve received a Linux-based netbook—the popular new class of ultra-cheap, ultra-portable computer. By definition, netbooks are very limited in what they can do; they’re primary meant for accessing the web as well as some moderate office and multimedia use. Their low-speed processor and minimal memory means that they’re just not suited for more intensive applications like gaming or video editing. However, there are things you can do to get the most out of your little machine. Before we get started, there’re two things you’re going to need to have. Note: If you’re using an Asus EeePC, you can save yourself a lot of headache by using the Eeebuntu distribution instead, which is preconfigured to solve a lot of hardware problems that EeePCs face when using Ubuntu. Additional Note: The Samsung NC10 has some major issues with Ubuntu. Creating an Ubuntu Thumb Drive From a Live CD Creating an Ubuntu Thumb Drive Manually
The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint
I suffer from something called Ménière’s disease—don’t worry, you cannot get it from reading my blog. The symptoms of Ménière’s include hearing loss, tinnitus (a constant ringing sound), and vertigo. There are many medical theories about its cause: too much salt, caffeine, or alcohol in one’s diet, too much stress, and allergies. Thus, I’ve worked to limit control all these factors. However, I have another theory. As a venture capitalist, I have to listen to hundreds of entrepreneurs pitch their companies. To prevent an epidemic of Ménière’s in the venture capital community, I am evangelizing the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint. Ten slides. So please observe the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint.
What is good PowerPoint design?
Occasionally, I'm asked by colleagues or clients to send samples of "great slides" or "good PowerPoint." I usually hesitate to send examples of slides since my answer to the question, "what does a great PowerPoint slide look like?" is "...it depends." Context mattersHowever, as far as design is concerned, it is useful not to think (judge) in terms of right or wrong, but rather in terms of what is appropriate or inappropriate. Simple but not simplisticIf there is one important precept worth following, it is the idea of simplicity. Simplicity is often used as a means to greater clarity. (Click for larger view of this slide) In Living Zen, author Robert Linsen (in speaking on the simplification of needs in everyday life) says that a "simplification of existence" is a consequence of an "effective experience of Zen." "No one can define them or draw up a system around them. BEFORE. The slide on the right (above) was an effort to display the same information in a pie chart. Before After
Really Bad Powerpoint
I wrote this about four years ago, originally as an ebook. I figured the idea might spread and then the problem would go away--we'd no longer see thousands of hours wasted, every single day, by boring PowerPoint presentations filled with bullets. Not only has it not gone away, it's gotten a lot worse. Last week I got a template from a conference organizer. So, for posterity, and in the vain hope it might work, here we go again: Really Bad Powerpoint It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to champion at a church or a school or a Fortune 100 company, you’re probably going to use PowerPoint. Powerpoint was developed by engineers as a tool to help them communicate with the marketing department—and vice versa. Powerpoint could be the most powerful tool on your computer. Communication is the transfer of emotion. Our brains have two sides. You can wreck a communication process with lousy logic or unsupported facts, but you can’t complete it without emotion. If you believe in your idea, sell it.
