Simon Hall writes...
I took a gamble this week and it paid off handsomely.
When I have a presentation to give, one of the first things I start thinking about is the slides.
It’s taken awhile, but I’ve realised, at last…
That’s the wrong approach.
The first thing to start thinking about is your story.
Why? Well, this is what convinced me:
I was giving a lecture as part of my Cambridge University communication course.
The subject this week was advanced public speaking and presentations.
I duly began preparing slides to illustrate some of the points I would cover…
And then thought there might be a better way.
I wanted to explore the importance of body language.
I could have created a slide with a couple of pictures, one of good body language, the other bad.
I could also have included bullet points about what to consider, from posture, to eye contact, to roaming the stage, and so much more.
But!
How much better to check the group had understood the learning they'd worked through that week in a far more interesting way?
So rather than the standard approach of playing a slide deck, at the beginning of the lecture I asked for a couple of volunteers…
And requested they give a brief weather report from their location...
With the first demonstrating good body language, the second bad.
I’m delighted to say the trick worked a treat.
The rest of the group pitched in with their analysis and comments of the body language in question.
We all got a great deal out of the exercise in terms of reinforcing the learning…
And it was great fun, a terrific icebreaker too.
Next, I wanted to talk about the art of turning an ordinary presentation into an excellent one.
That requires interactions, signposting, magic moments, and other cunning tricks.
(If you want to know more about what I mean, you'll have to sign up for one of my courses!)
Again, I could’ve just put together a slide to run through this.
But! Instead!
I wrote the words for a brief presentation in a bland, unimaginative style, lacking any form of signposting, interactions, or magic moments…
Sent it out to the group in advance…
And then challenged them, in a team exercise, to turn it into a far more effective presentation.
Once again, they slammed it and came up with some outstanding work.
And again, it reinforced the learning and was fun, as well as being educational.
Overall, the lecture went down a storm and I got some lovely feedback.
And here’s the punchline.
How many slides did I use?
For an hour of teaching?
It’s a round number.
Very round, in fact.
0
The lesson being:
Sure, you sometimes need slides.
Like when you've got data to work through, or images to show.
But you don't always need them.
In fact, they can get in the way.
So think about what you're trying to achieve, have confidence, and remember...
You don’t need slides if you’ve got a great story to tell.
