Comments on: Five Predictions for Presentations in 2009

By: Rahul

Rahul — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:47:09 +0000

I know, I’m two years late to the party, but I wanted to chime in. First off, great site.

Secondly, have you ever addressed what’s the best way to teach using presentations? I’m a physician who teaches medical students and have read yours, G Reynold’s, Cliff Atkinson’s, E Tufte’s and now Abela’s book.

Most new knowledge in medicine (and medical school) is initially presented in text (books or journals) but disseminated then through presentations. Yet we are horrible at this.

Often times we need to show relationships, processes, or even info without context which needs rote memorization.

How would your approach to an informative presentation differ from a persuasive one?

Thanks again!

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:24:15 +0000

I’ve found, as a scientist, that the big pictures and quotes translates into most of my slides consisting only of large plots or schematics, well labeled, which I talk about verbally without explicit bullet points in most cases. One could compare this to the way people skim papers by looking at the intro, figures, conclusion. I think scientists and engineers need to work on good data visualization and make that the core of the slides, rather than bullet points.

By: Nancy Duarte

Nancy Duarte — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:31:22 +0000

Hi there, nice banter going here. I do agree that big pics are laughable when presenting analysis and data. To me, the best practices for analytical content wouldn’t be to find a photo, it’d be to develop clear hierarchy and eye flow for the info. I adore Andrew Abela http://extremepresentation.typepad.com/blog/ and have been working on a post that would do his book justice. There are wonderful fundamentals in Stephen Few’s work too. http://perceptualedge.com/ Both are making progress in this space. This type of content is VERY important. The #1 question I get from audiences is to address these data-driven-analysis issues. We’ve been collecting content (if you guys have any, send them on over) so we can study the nuances that will make the content project and flow better. Not become simple or stripped of relevance but create new aspirational baselines. We create many solutions for this audience and it’s smart content that’s clear for projection (and when printed). Great stuff.

By: Consultant Ninja

Consultant Ninja — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:51:50 +0000

Physicists, scientists, and engineers (add management consultants) is not just the next step on the path. It’s a fundamentally different problem. Many of the rules that apply for Duarte-like presentations are flat out wrong for the rest of us that do with data-driven-analysis for a living.

To wit, our company has spent well into seven figures in the last year on PowerPoint template modifications. That means
a) templates that are brand consistent and empower effective data visualization
b) chart objects with effective data utilization attributes
c) custom graphing solutions (aka Think-Cell)
d) extensive training on how to think through effective data visualization.

All of that money and effort has been focused on a completely different type of communication. We would NEVER, NEVER show single slides with a big picture and an inspirational quote. Our decks go in front of senior management (VPs, CEOs, boards, and yes, even marketing directors), and we would be laughed out of the room if we included one of those types of slides.

One anecdote; we had a marketing firm do a marketing/branding survey for us. Their deck was one of these “big photos with quotes” deals. Every person in my organization who saw the deck thought those guys were morons, and laughed at the lack of data and insight that they delivered.

It’s far less “fun” inspirational decks, which is why I don’t think it is receiving nearly the traction that Duarte, Reynolds, or Godin receives. But it’s far more influential in the business world than those types of decks.

By: Jan Schultink

Jan Schultink — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:25:28 +0000

Physicians, scientists and engineers, exactly the next challenge. I am struggling with this daily as I prepare fund raising presentations for technology startups with complex technologies.

My equivalent to big pictures and few words is to abstract a technology diagram to the absolute bare bone essential. Out with sophisticated illustrator icons (servers, clouds, etc.). Out with sophisticated gradients. Out with too much reflection, shadows.

Instead a completely clean and almost “childish” simple diagram that explains what you need to explain, and nothing more.

By: Christophe Harrer

Christophe Harrer — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:28:08 +0000

Thank you Nancy for recommending the Palm Pre Keynote. I watched the full 1 hour presentation and was very impressed upon the result. The format was quite similar to an Apple Keynote, but it also has its own personality, which I think is great.

I wrote about it on EYP and put up a gallery of 112 pictures to allow glimpse of Palm slide design. http://www.empoweryourpoint.com/2009/01/is-palm-going-to-beat-out-apple-for-the-best-keynote-award/

By: Karen Bennett

Karen Bennett — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:36:19 +0000

An answer to #1, for physicians, scientists, and engineers, may actually have been published in 2008! It’s called Advanced Presentations by Design: Creating Communication that Drives Action, by Andrew Abela. I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve found a lot of good ideas on his blog and website. He distinguishes between ballroom presentations, like keynotes, and conference room presentations, which are the more work-a-day ones. If I understand correctly, for these, he recommends paper handouts with the details, which might fall into your “slideument” category. But he insists these must pass the “squint test” and provides some templates, where the arrangement of information on the page tells part of the story. See http://extremepresentation.typepad.com/blog/2008/07/advanced-presentation-by-design-a-new-book-about-the-extreme-presentation-method.html

By: Ray Taylor

Ray Taylor — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:56:12 +0000

Nice post!
Underline the point that Palm planned, rehearsed and staged for flawless execution. The reason some many poor presentations are done is too many leaders are checking their PDA instead of committing dedicated time to rehearse.

If you change just one of us think how many audience members will have a better experience.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:09:49 +0000

Sorry, but Obama is not going to use PowerPoint.
I wouldn’t be surprised, however, to see him use Keynote!

By: Dalin

Dalin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:34:44 +0000

Shoot, it doesn’t have to be a powerpoint for Obama. Any visual aid would make an immense difference in presidency. Why can’t presidents have visual presentations that look cool? It would actually make us listen for a change!