Uploaded byNaga Chokkanathan
Simple Presentations: A forgotten art
The document discusses the importance of creating simple presentations, emphasizing clarity and audience engagement over complexity. It provides practical tips on writing, designing, and delivering presentations effectively, including layout, text usage, and visual aids. The author encourages presenters to invest time in planning and refining their content to ensure it is accessible and useful to their audience.
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Simple Presentations: A forgotten art
- 1. Simple Presentations Aforgotten art Naga Chokkanathan November 2014 PMU Thanjavur
- 2. Agenda • Whywrite simple Presentations? • Pen and paper • Software • Text, layout, colors • Pictures • Presenting, sharing
- 3. Disclaimer • Theseare not rules, but some simple commonsense guidances • This is not the only way to make Presentations • And this doesn't focus on great presentation techniques • You may skip some of these tips once you master the art of writing presentations • But as of now, these would help you to start
- 4. Why Keep ThemSimple? • Because that's what people understand • Because that's what people like • Because that's what impresses people • Because that's what is right
- 5. It Is Difficult • It takes 5 minutes to write a complex slide • And, any idiot can do it • It takes 15 minutes to write a simple slide • And, only intelligent, caring people do it • Simple slides reach more people • It shows you care about your viewers
- 6. Don't Show Off • Complexity <> genius • In fact the reverse is true • Nobel prize is not awarded to the most complex research, it goes to the most useful research • Is your presentation useful to the listener in some way? • If not, don't present it
- 7. So How ToMake It Simple? • Invest time in thinking • Not just topic thinking, also spend time thinking about how to present it • Pen and paper or a white board • If there is no flow, rewrite until it flows • Show it to your worst enemy • And, implement his suggestions
- 8. Where To WritePresentations? • Don't worry about a fancy software • Start with Google slides or WPA office • Simple, not confusing • Write text first, you can add pictures afterwards • Write as many slides as you want, but follow the flow
- 9. Layout • Usea default layout provided by the software • Don't let your text or pictures hang in different ways • Maintain uniformity as much as possible
- 10. Text • Simplesentences • Few words, not necessarily full sentences • But avoid explicit spelling or grammar errors • Preferably 6 bullet points maximum per slide • Each bullet point short and crisp
- 11. Colors And Background • Keep it simple • Use a simple, easy to read font, large enough to read when projected • If text won't fit in single slide, create a new one • No multicolor text, except when stressing a point • Same for bold, italics, underline, super size etc.
- 12. What To WriteIn Bullets? • Don't give away everything • Just Provide most important keywords from what you are going to discuss • Presentation <> document • Add audio, video as links, if required
- 13. Pictures • Usewhen necessary • Picture rich slides = few (or zero) words • Choose pictures carefully to match your presentation theme • Try to present things visually (for example, graphs, flow diagrams, logos, maps etc.)
- 14. Where Are ThePictures? • Use your own photos, diagrams when possible • Clipart may not be appropriate in all cases • Don't stretch images too much, it's ugly
- 15. Respect Copyright •When adding images from Internet, add a slide giving proper image credits with URLs • Be aware that this may still be illegal • Don't use watermarked images, it's stealing and it's ugly • Thousands of free photos and paintings available at search.creativecommons.org • They may not be very professional, but they are legally free to use
- 16. Title • Adda simple title to each slide • It should convey theme of that slide • Presentation = novel, titles = chapters • You can ignore this rule for slides with only pictures
- 17. Notes • Addspeaker notes to slides • This can be very descriptive • Will come handy when you are presenting
- 18. After Completing TheSlides • Review • Rework • Repeat until perfect • Make sure flow is maintained and enhanced
- 19. Finally • Addthe title slide • Simple title please • You can add a descriptive subtitle • Add your name, month, year and venue of presentation • Add an agenda slide, a contact me slide
- 20. Before Presenting •Send a PDF version of the presentation to organizers, yourself by email • Carry a version in an USB drive • Keep an editable version on cloud (Example: Google drive) • Check how it plays on the meeting venue at least 15 minutes before the presentation • Inform them if you need audio (speakers), test that as well
- 21. Beginning Your Presentation • Introduce yourself: elevator pitch • Introduce your topic • Explain the agenda • Also mention what won't be covered in this • Can the audience ask questions in between or you will take questions after the slides?
- 22. During Presentation •Don't read from slides • Explain in the level appropriate for your audience • Use body language • Tell stories • Use whiteboard
- 23. After Presentation •Thank your audience • Answer their questions, or tell them you will check and get back • Provide your email ID • Publish the presentation in an online service like slideshare, tell the world (except confidential presentations) • Ask for feedback and keep learning
- 24. What Next •Watch / view best presentations • Look at how they are designed, presented • It's an art, learn how you would learn any other art!
- 25. Thank You •Naga Chokkanathan • nchokkan@gmail.com