Comedian Tim Lee is a fantastic example of how to use PowerPoint to great effect.
He uses very simple visual information to enhance his humour and create a more complex story than would be possible using just words, as in traditional stand-up.
Presenting is all about playing to your strengths:
* You are great at talking, describing, body language, gestures.
* PowerPoint is great at diagrams, photos, graphs, visualising complex data.
So when you are thinking about what to put on your slides - let PowerPoint do the things you cannot do!
Friday, 26 June 2009
Using PowerPoint for Comedy
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #10
Thine presentation is not about you, tis about thine audience - how will they benefit from what you are saying?
Firstly, let's cover nerves. Nerves are vanity. If you are feeling nervous then where is your focus? Your focus is probably on making an idiot of yourself, or your mouth drying up, or you forgetting something.
If you focus on your audience, on how you can help them, or make their lives better then your nerves will calm down significantly.
This brings us to the What Is In It For Me (WIIFM)? factor.
Every speech, every presentation, every workshop you deliver should explain how it will benefit your audience. Speak about how their lives will improve and watch them sit up and pay attention!
However interesting your life story, or your battle to succeed in business, or your ten minutes of fame on Big Brother, your story needs to connect with people, to tell them something new, even change their minds or inspire them to action.
WIIFM might include:
* reducing some pain (costs, bills, time, hassle, junk mail...)
* increase some gain (money, clients, leisure, happiness)
* creating more good feelings (pleasure, joy, energy, inspiration)
* reducing less pleasurable feelings (sadness, frustration, anger)
So how does what you say improve the lives of those listening to you?
What Is In It For Me if I listen to you?
Firstly, let's cover nerves. Nerves are vanity. If you are feeling nervous then where is your focus? Your focus is probably on making an idiot of yourself, or your mouth drying up, or you forgetting something.
If you focus on your audience, on how you can help them, or make their lives better then your nerves will calm down significantly.
This brings us to the What Is In It For Me (WIIFM)? factor.
Every speech, every presentation, every workshop you deliver should explain how it will benefit your audience. Speak about how their lives will improve and watch them sit up and pay attention!
However interesting your life story, or your battle to succeed in business, or your ten minutes of fame on Big Brother, your story needs to connect with people, to tell them something new, even change their minds or inspire them to action.
WIIFM might include:
* reducing some pain (costs, bills, time, hassle, junk mail...)
* increase some gain (money, clients, leisure, happiness)
* creating more good feelings (pleasure, joy, energy, inspiration)
* reducing less pleasurable feelings (sadness, frustration, anger)
So how does what you say improve the lives of those listening to you?
What Is In It For Me if I listen to you?
Monday, 8 June 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #9
Thou shalt do something more than just entertain thine audience when thou speakest - thine audience should learn.
Don't get me wrong - people relax and learn when they are enjoying themselves. But your speech or workshop should do more than just leave your audience with a warm fuzzy feeling.
If you're an "after dinner" speaker, then ramp up the jokes and anecdotes and feel free to aim for entertainment or inspiration, or whatever your audience has hired you for.
But in many other situations, people want and deserve more than just being entertained. They want some value, some purpose, some new information or skills.
If you have read commandment #6, you should be clear on what your audience really NEEDS TO KNOW. Structure your talk (off the computer if you can) around that information. Follow commandment #2 and avoid long dreary elements. Mix it up. Make it fun, make it enjoyable, and make sure they get it (follow commandment #4 and include plenty of variety in your session to ensure everyone gets a chance to learn at their best).
If your speech is there to challenge behaviours or entrenched attitudes, then having your audience feel uncomfortable for a while might be a much better solution to jolt them out of their status quo than warm fuzziness.
Don't get me wrong - people relax and learn when they are enjoying themselves. But your speech or workshop should do more than just leave your audience with a warm fuzzy feeling.
If you're an "after dinner" speaker, then ramp up the jokes and anecdotes and feel free to aim for entertainment or inspiration, or whatever your audience has hired you for.
But in many other situations, people want and deserve more than just being entertained. They want some value, some purpose, some new information or skills.
If you have read commandment #6, you should be clear on what your audience really NEEDS TO KNOW. Structure your talk (off the computer if you can) around that information. Follow commandment #2 and avoid long dreary elements. Mix it up. Make it fun, make it enjoyable, and make sure they get it (follow commandment #4 and include plenty of variety in your session to ensure everyone gets a chance to learn at their best).
If your speech is there to challenge behaviours or entrenched attitudes, then having your audience feel uncomfortable for a while might be a much better solution to jolt them out of their status quo than warm fuzziness.
Friday, 29 May 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #8
Neither shalt thou get thine audience jumping around after lunch, nor shalt thou put on a long video in the dark
As a facilitator or presenter, one of your core jobs is the manage the energy of both the group and yourself.
To do this well, you need to be able to assess energy levels: to know when your audience are bouncing and when they are slumping. Here are a few signs to look out for:
1) Body language - are they slumped, doodling, eyes vacant? Or are they alert, engaged and following your movements with their eyes?
2) Level of interaction and engagement - what happens when you ask a question or set a task?
3) Your own energy levels - if the room has low energy you might find your own levels are drained as you try to raise theirs.... Conversely when their energy is full-on it tends to make you feel great too!
There is always a balance to be struck, as reflected in the title. After lunch there can be a significant lull in energy levels, as blood moves to the digestive system (if you can, choose a lunch with less stodge). Don't put the lights out and show a video unless you want them to have a snooze. After lunch is a great time to get them working on a case study or interactive exercise.
What signs and evidence can you find or have you noticed that reflects the energy levels of your audience when you are presenting? Post your comments here....
As a facilitator or presenter, one of your core jobs is the manage the energy of both the group and yourself.
To do this well, you need to be able to assess energy levels: to know when your audience are bouncing and when they are slumping. Here are a few signs to look out for:
1) Body language - are they slumped, doodling, eyes vacant? Or are they alert, engaged and following your movements with their eyes?
2) Level of interaction and engagement - what happens when you ask a question or set a task?
3) Your own energy levels - if the room has low energy you might find your own levels are drained as you try to raise theirs.... Conversely when their energy is full-on it tends to make you feel great too!
There is always a balance to be struck, as reflected in the title. After lunch there can be a significant lull in energy levels, as blood moves to the digestive system (if you can, choose a lunch with less stodge). Don't put the lights out and show a video unless you want them to have a snooze. After lunch is a great time to get them working on a case study or interactive exercise.
What signs and evidence can you find or have you noticed that reflects the energy levels of your audience when you are presenting? Post your comments here....
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #7
Thou shalt not show thine audience how much thou knowest.
No-one likes a show off. Not since school days.
There's a saying that seems appropriate here...
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Really, I couldn't care less what celebrities you have coached, until you have shown me a simple tip that will make my life better.
I don't want to know how many qualifications you have, or letters after your name, unless you can give me a piece of sage advice that I can use straight away.
An expert knows alot.
A teacher knows how to break down something complex into simple steps that anyone can master. A teacher can take something other people find hard and make it easy.
Be both an expert in your topic and a great teacher - so that your audience can benefit from your years of experience in a way that will transform their life.
No-one likes a show off. Not since school days.
There's a saying that seems appropriate here...
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Really, I couldn't care less what celebrities you have coached, until you have shown me a simple tip that will make my life better.
I don't want to know how many qualifications you have, or letters after your name, unless you can give me a piece of sage advice that I can use straight away.
An expert knows alot.
A teacher knows how to break down something complex into simple steps that anyone can master. A teacher can take something other people find hard and make it easy.
Be both an expert in your topic and a great teacher - so that your audience can benefit from your years of experience in a way that will transform their life.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #6
Thou shalt not bore thine audience with irrelevant fluff - thou shalt concentrate on the real NEED TO KNOW data.
This commandment is easily demonstrated using an example - let's use Swine Flu as the topic of your presentation.
Think about what your audience really needs to know about this potential pandemic.
If your audience is the general public, then what they really NEED TO KNOW must be about the symptoms, treatment and what to do if you think you have it.
If that is the NEED TO KNOW information, how do the recent news reports stack up:
* Information on the genetic make-up of swine flu
* That swine flu is a variation of the H1N1 virus
* How the disease spread from pigs into the human population and why
* What the difference is between an epidemic and a pandemic
Lots of this is fluff. It's not offensive, but it's not NEED TO KNOW either.
It confuses the issue and overloads us with facts that are not going to save us.
For everything you are thinking of saying in a presentation put it through the NEED TO KNOW filter.
It doesn't matter how interesting the story is, or how funny your statistics are, or how much research it took some lab rat to discover the origins of the theory. If your audience, in this situation do not NEED TO KNOW, then leave it out. Please.
This commandment is easily demonstrated using an example - let's use Swine Flu as the topic of your presentation.
Think about what your audience really needs to know about this potential pandemic.
If your audience is the general public, then what they really NEED TO KNOW must be about the symptoms, treatment and what to do if you think you have it.
If that is the NEED TO KNOW information, how do the recent news reports stack up:
* Information on the genetic make-up of swine flu
* That swine flu is a variation of the H1N1 virus
* How the disease spread from pigs into the human population and why
* What the difference is between an epidemic and a pandemic
Lots of this is fluff. It's not offensive, but it's not NEED TO KNOW either.
It confuses the issue and overloads us with facts that are not going to save us.
For everything you are thinking of saying in a presentation put it through the NEED TO KNOW filter.
It doesn't matter how interesting the story is, or how funny your statistics are, or how much research it took some lab rat to discover the origins of the theory. If your audience, in this situation do not NEED TO KNOW, then leave it out. Please.
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #5
Thou shalt prepare for (nearly) every eventuality and be flexible in thine approach to thine event.
It doesn't well you have laid your plans for your presentation, or workshop - the law of sod will sometimes intervene.
As a presenter, it pays to be adaptable. To be flexible. To go with the flow.
The more you consider and even plan for such changes, the better you are likely to react when at the last moment:
* swine-flu puts half your audience into quarantine the night before your event
* the electricity fails five seconds before you power up an incredible video clip (or more likely the bulb blows in the projector)
* the person before you overruns and your time is cut in half and what's more they nearly killed your audience with PowerPoint and they are now semi-comatose
* you find out that your delegates have just been given 30 days consultation before the organisation closes for good
The key to being a great presenter is to be able to think on your feet, and change your direction.
For each of the elements you have planned in your session - your chunks of talking, discussions, interactive exercises, planning or coaching sessions - consider the "what if" options.
What if I have twice or half as long to do this - what would I do?
What if I have more or fewer people at the event - what would I do?
What if the technology fails - what would I do?
By thinking through these options, and having an answer in most cases, then you will be a whole lot better prepared and able to respond if (not when) something does change.
If you have designed your session around core NEED TO KNOW information or skills, then making these changes is much much easier than if you have a long script that rambles. But more of that in commandment #6.
It doesn't well you have laid your plans for your presentation, or workshop - the law of sod will sometimes intervene.
As a presenter, it pays to be adaptable. To be flexible. To go with the flow.
The more you consider and even plan for such changes, the better you are likely to react when at the last moment:
* swine-flu puts half your audience into quarantine the night before your event
* the electricity fails five seconds before you power up an incredible video clip (or more likely the bulb blows in the projector)
* the person before you overruns and your time is cut in half and what's more they nearly killed your audience with PowerPoint and they are now semi-comatose
* you find out that your delegates have just been given 30 days consultation before the organisation closes for good
The key to being a great presenter is to be able to think on your feet, and change your direction.
For each of the elements you have planned in your session - your chunks of talking, discussions, interactive exercises, planning or coaching sessions - consider the "what if" options.
What if I have twice or half as long to do this - what would I do?
What if I have more or fewer people at the event - what would I do?
What if the technology fails - what would I do?
By thinking through these options, and having an answer in most cases, then you will be a whole lot better prepared and able to respond if (not when) something does change.
If you have designed your session around core NEED TO KNOW information or skills, then making these changes is much much easier than if you have a long script that rambles. But more of that in commandment #6.
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