

Presentation Hacks: Remove Crutches - rafaelc
http://blog.rafaelcorrales.com/2010/04/presentation-hacks-remove-crutches.html

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techiferous
About "reading from the screen": it's tempting to make your slides text-heavy.
I've noticed that many presenters compete with their slides: they have a text-
heavy slide and they are talking about it so that you either miss what the
presenter is saying or you miss what the slide is saying.

I like to keep slides visual: an appropriate picture or diagram.

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pguerin
Yep, the book "Presentation Zen" says pretty much all there is to know about
this approach. And while it is not a silver bullet, it's great! I also find
not using a power point at all easier too. You can connect more easily with
the audience, make it more personnal, and do crazy body language movements
because they will look at you instead of your slides. Sure, a good
presentation can improve the message, but it's harder (chance of de-sync your
speech and slides).

As for not using notes, it can be hard but possible. If you practice enough to
master your speech, then yes you can go without notes. Anyway, it's no big
deal when you speak about something you are passionnate about! You just need
to speak at a correct speed (as for me, I need to slow down! a lot!).

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rafaelc
And you're awesome too. The speed part is a whole separate post and I address
it as part of a large point. That post is the last in the series... I already
wrote 6-7 of these but just have to pace myself

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carbocation
When I give a presentation, I like to display my slides in such a way that you
can't really pay more attention to my slides than to me. Most of my slides are
images or simple graphs, merely acting as a visual representation of my speech
. When there is text (to reinforce a critical point), I usually don't display
what I am going to say before I say it.

If I use colors, the colors are consistent throughout and always mean the same
thing.

Before I talk, I will know my talk well enough to give it blindfolded. I am
telling you a story, not struggling through a slide deck.

Also, every talk is a job talk, no matter how unimportant it may seem at
first.

