While reading this article I thought of the climax of the movie 13 Going on 30: the main character has a presentation of her idea for the revamp of the fashion magazine she works at; her rival uses images projected on a screen with music accompaniment whereas she has pictures cut out of other magazines pasted onto foam board. This scene is a perfect example of how presentations have changed because of PowerPoint.
Now, I love PowerPoint as much as the next college student, but this article helped me think about why I love it and how it really isn't always the best choice for a speech or presentation. I took communication my freshman year at Kennesaw State, and we had to give a speech. We could chose any topic we wanted to speak about and were encouraged to use PowerPoint, however, we were not allowed to read straight off the slides (because "no one likes to be read to after fourth grade"), and had to include at least one image per slide, and up to three. I think these are the best instructions I have ever gotten for PowerPoint including when I learned how to use it in 5th grade! I try to not include text as much as possible on my presentations now because I find that it makes for an overall better effect.
Have you gotten any good advice on presentations? I'd really like to hear it!
My favorite thing said in this article is "I think that we as a people have become unaccustomed to having conversations with each other, where we actually give and take to arrive at a new answer." I think this quotation is amazing! It might not have been in the articles we have read on digital media, but it is definitely something everyone should think about. I know that I am incredibly bad about speaking to people, and sometimes get nervous when I have to talk to someone on the phone; if I have to say something bad, I prefer to text or email because I want that extra time it takes the person to respond to cool down and really think about what they are going to say.
2 comments:
I like that quote too. it's so true.
On PowerPoint -- use it whenever you can. It is a critical and powerful tool if you enter into the business world. If you can you use it quickly and efficiently you can make your life easy and make your managers think you are the next best thing since sliced bread. Always proof read the presentation carefully and look for symmetry between slides (do the titles all look the same, are the bullet points done the same way, etc). Sometimes it can be the little things in the presentations that distract from the overall message you are trying to convey. Highlight all relevant points and know that bullet points are your friends. A PowerPoint really should be a presentation with supporting information, but be aware that sometimes people will see the presentation without anyone speaking them through it so you want make sure you are presenting a cohesive train of thought via the slides.
That quote is a bit ironic in the context of this blog, simply because we are questioning and answering each other. I see it as redefining the meaning of conversation – allowing for time to pass between trains of thought. I think people get so caught up in everyone not talking face to face that they miss all the great things about digital mediums such as blogs, email, message boards, etc. May ways allow the person to really think about what they want to say (before they say it), and other ways allow users to meet each other when they otherwise would have never had the opportunity.
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