Why presentations by librarians often stink...

While preparing for a workshop with other librarians in my area, we've been discussing how much material to cover in our allotted time period (3 hours). I've been arguing that "less is more," to quote Mies van der Rohe, when it comes to how much material to present and suggesting that we seriously curtail the number of topics to cover.

Audience members are not empty vessels waiting to be filled up during a presentation--they want to learn something, and attempting to cram anything and everything into a short time period is not going to be successful for either the audience or for the presenters.

One of the librarians indicated that they only needed thirty minutes for a particular topic since they could "...talk really fast." Sigh. How much do you think the audience is going to learn if the presenter is speaking rapid-fire and not giving the audience time to process the information presented? (The answer is: pretty much next to nothing.).

Our workshops and conferences are not going to improve if we don't start putting the needs of our audience first, instead of our needs or the "needs" of the material.

Presenters and instructors need to vigorously edit their presented content, and I mean vigorously. Edit, edit and then edit some more. Present only the most important information during the presentation, then provide additional detail in handouts for the audience to take away and read at their leisure. Believe me, you will be doing your audience and yourself a favor.

You can read Chapter 1 of my book for more information about how people learn (and I mean really learn), or you can read Cliff Atkinson's excellent book on PowerPoint presentations, now in its second edition. (Honestly, if you read nothing else, read Atkinson's book - it will change your presentation style forever.)

Bottom line: a presentation or a workshop is not an opportunity for you to "talk really fast" and slam the audience with reams of content. It is an opportunity for you to help your audience learn the basics of your presented content, and to inspire them to seek out more information on it, either through handouts, a post-presentation website, or a blog.

Now, go forth and present!

Lee

Found in the blogosphere...

I recently set up a "subscription" in del.icio.us to track entries with the tag 'presentation.' As the semester winds down here and our students bury their heads in their books and notes for their final exams, I started looking at some of the entries.

Scott Elias posted an entry on his blog about presentating and included a superb annotated PDF of his presentation. I don't know the guy, but I'd like to thank him for his contribution to improving presentations for educators.

It'll take you about 5-10 minutes to go through the presentation. It will be time well-spent.

The blog post is here: http://blog.scottjelias.net/2007/11/presenting_about_presenting.html
and the PDF itself is here: http://blog.scottjelias.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/slides.pdf

Have a great weekend!

Peace out,

Lee

del.icio.us list for Presentations

Good afternoon!

I've been using del.icio.us for a while and have built up a group of bookmarks related to presentations. You can find it at: http://del.icio.us/lhilyer/presentations.

I'm getting ready to update it with links from my upcoming book, but it's got a few goodies in it already. Likewise, feel free to add me to your del.icio.us network (click the network link in your del.icio.us account, then type "lhilyer" and click Add. Then, whenever I add some new links on presentations, you'll get them also.

Have a great day!

Lee

P.S. Found this great blog post about color palettes based on "Old Masters:" http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/06/20/color-inspiration-from-the-masters-of-painting/. I've mentioned Colourlovers.com before - it's a fantastic site.

Presentations for Librarians - Coming Soon!

After months of writing and more months of editing, adjusting images, and working hard to make everything as best it can be, my book, Presentations for Librarians, is soon on its way to the printers and then to a store/website/library near you!

Unlike the usual how-to-do-a-presentation book, I have attempted to give you some background into how people learn, and how to use that information to craft more effective, learner-centered presentations. The book brings together aspects of cognitive information processing (CIP) theory, cognitive load theory, Mayer's theory of multimedia learning, and instructional design theory into a theory-based approach to creating and delivering presentations. View the table of contents or visit my website for more presentation ideas.

Lee

Are your presentations "sticky?"

Readers of the new book by the Heath brothers, Made to Stick, will know what I mean by a "sticky" idea: one that people remember. Think of all the advertising slogans and urban legends you hear/see once and never forget.

Ask yourself the same question:
Was my presentation "sticky?" Will people who attended my presentation remember what I told/showed them?

Are you sure about that?

Food for thought on a Friday afternoon...

Peace out,

Lee

Visual Selling, by LeRoux and Corwin

Scanned an interesting book this past week: Visual Selling: Capture the Eye and the Customer Will Follow by Paul LeRoux and Peg Corwin.

I especially enjoyed reading Chapter 3, "Q&A: Thinking Visually and Verbally in Non-Pitch Situations" as it deals with a difficult topic for presenters: how to elegantly handle the Q&A portion of the presentation. It provides a wealth of details and strategies for a successful conversation with the audience post-presentation.

The recommendations found in Chapter 5, "Eliminating Decks and Delaying Handouts," echo the multimedia principles developed by Dr. Richard Mayer on multimedia learning, and the research on cognitive load conducted by Dr. John Sweller.* While the focus is on business situations, the principles easily fit many common instructional presentation situations.

The book provides ample images demonstrating effective use of visuals and includes some sample presentation scenarios to help you more readily see how their recommendations can be incorporated into your own presentations.

Visual Selling, LeRoux and Corwin
ISBN-10: 0471793612
ISBN-13: 978-0471793618

Best,

Lee

I Love My Presentation Remote

If you are in the market for a presentation remote, I suggest Logitech's Presenter model. It has a built-in LCD screen and timer functions to keep you on track (set a reminder for yourself at 10 minutes before your time is up), a laser pointer (sigh - don't use it - they're annoying), and a button that does the equivalent of the B key function when running a slide show (i.e., darkening the screen).

Its USB receiver fits neatly into a slot on the back of the remote itself, and it all fits into a nice carrying case. In informal tests in the classroom where I teach most, the range was about 30-40 feet, good enough for most small- to mid-sized presentation venues. No software installation is required, and it worked without intervention from our IT staff - a bonus.

It only works with Windows, but Mac users needn't be jealous - they can use their Apple Remotes to control Keynote presentations.

In today's earlier post, I raved about a presentation I attended. The only minor drawback (not their fault at all) was that the presenter needed to stay close to the podium to advance their slides - with a remote, they would have been completely untethered and free to roam about the room during the presentation.

If you're going on multiple job interviews where you will have to present, why not invest in a presentation remote? If spending a few bucks on a remote helps you make a better impression and land the job, isn't it worth it? Plus you can use it when you deliver presentations at conferences, workshops and in training sessions.

And if you must point at the screen, consider a telescoping pointer. They're cheap, effective, and don't usually annoy your audience.

Now go practice your presentation.

~Lee