WAS THE SPEECH EFFECTIVE?
The test of whether your new speech had any impact will be the contacts you receive after the conference, such as e-mails, invitations to join colleagues on LinkedIn, invitations to collaborate, invitations to present workshops or consult, and invitations to parties and elevator rides. Sometimes these invitations may occur months later. Usually there’s a flurry of activity immediately after you get back to your institution. Then it just trickles for 20 years. You never know what relationship seeds you planted with your spiel and cards. Your ROI (Return On Investment) in relationships will usually exceed your effort expended in those one-minute bites.
BOTTOM LINE
I suspect some you may find the elevator speech blogs a total waste. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of preparing a speech, as described in the preceding 27 blogs, and you prefer to continue to just “wing it,” at least, at minimum, give some thought to what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. You just might be able to help a colleague at another institution and, maybe, you’ll benefit from that contribution or collaboration.
Building professional contacts at every opportunity can have lots of advantages. I see relationships as the most important experiences in my career journey. Eventually, you might even want to consult, speak, or collaborate. The elevator speech is just one way to initiate that process. Happy spieling!
Let me know your thoughts and reactions to any of these suggestions.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
EXAMPLE RECAP
To recap, here are the 2 examples from the previous blogs, plus a bonus:
EXAMPLE 1: Professor of TV Production
“Hi, I’m Clarissa, but you can call me Rissa. I think inside the box, because I teach TV production. I also work with IT staff on campuses to help them connect with their faculty on media techniques in the classroom. I’ll be doing a session here tomorrow on that topic at 1:30. Here’s my card. May I have your card? I’ll contact you about joining my network on LinkedIn so we can stay in touch. I hope to see you at my session tomorrow.” (84 words)
EXAMPLE 2: Researcher on Cheating
“Hi, I’m Bucko. I do research on cheating. I present a dozen techniques for faculty to use to detect and eliminate cheating in their classrooms. I’m doing a workshop on a few of them on Thurs. at 10AM. Here’s my card. Do you have a card? Let me know if I can help your faculty. Here’s an invitation to my university’s reception tonight. See you there.” (66 words)
BONUS EXAMPLE 3: Professor of Film and Media
“Hi, I’m Jim from Pandora University. I create Oscar-winning movies, just not this year. I’m working on the sequel to my 2009 release. It’s called Avatar 2. I’m casting for parts now, especially blue people. No, not smurfs. Would you be interested in auditioning? Here’s my card with audition information. I hope to see you there." (56)
Any questions? Is this helping at all? Each example provides buckets of critical information in only 56–84 words. Notice the shift in emphasis from the traditional intro of “what I do” to “what I can do for you with follow-up.”
WHAT ABOUT DELIVERY?
How do you say it? With style and pizzazz! Whatever you say in your version of the above spiels, say it with passion and enthusiasm. Convey energy, excitement, and professionalism about what you do. If you’re not excited about what you do, why should anyone else be? Are you forgettable or unforgettable with a positive image?
The final blog in this long, overdrawn, bloated series will suggest how you can determine whether your spiel was effective. There will also be some bottom-line advice. See you tomorrow.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Here’s the final ingredient in your recipe for an effective elevator spiel:
3. FOLLOW-UP (How can you follow-up and maintain contact?): Most first-time encounters are superficial how-do-you-do events with no follow-up. You probably will see them again only in your dreams. Here we’re trying to build relationships. You need to go one step further to continue the initial contact. Make an effort to follow-up. At the end, don’t forget to
a. ask for a business card, e-mail address, or info on the session he or she is presenting so you can attend,
b. give an invitation to join your LinkedIn professional network, your session at the conference, a reception your institution is sponsoring, or to collaborate on something, and/or
c. schedule a follow-up meeting at the conference, preferably over a beverage or food.
Example 1: “I’ll be doing a session here tomorrow on that topic at 1:30. Here’s my card. May I have your card? I’ll contact you about joining my network on LinkedIn so we can stay in touch. I hope to see you at my session tomorrow.” (Note follow-ups with session invite, card, LinkedIn, and session reminder.)
Example 2: “I’m doing a workshop on a few of them on Thurs. at 10AM. Here’s my card. Do you have a card? Let me know if I can help your faculty. Here’s an invitation to my university’s reception tonight. See you there.” (Note card and invites to session, to help, and to reception.)
What do you think? Are the examples and focus of the spiel any different than what you’re already doing? Let me know your thoughts.
The next blog in this series will tie these examples together and address the delivery of the speech. There will also be a bonus example suggested. See you Mon. It’s time for a snack.
Have a blast this weekend! Also, don’t forget to set your watches and clocks to daylight savings time, if that applies; otherwise, you’ll be an hour late to my blog. Buhbye!
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Given that the concept of the elevator speech originated in the fields of business and marketing, my approach has been to extract “best practices” from those fields and spin their practices for academicians. The concept is transferable to different applications.
ACADEMIC ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
Obviously, anyone can read your formal name, title, and institution off your boldface printed plastic badge. That’s a starting point. But you haven’t said a word yet.
Here are 3 ingredients to consider:
1.HOOK (What are your first words?): Please do not repeat the obvious. What’s NOT on your badge? Think of something new that breaks the ice or smashes it? Maybe a nickname, word play, or humor. Try to avoid trite and boring.
Use a statement to grab the attention of your contact; one that will pique the his or her interest. (WARNING: No, it’s not a lame pick-up line. Don’t even think about it.) Choose your words carefully.
Example 1: "Hi, I'm Clarissa, but you can call me Rissa. I think inside the box, because I teach TV production." (Note formal first name to nickname intro and wordplay on popular expression with humor linked to job.)
Example 2: “Hi, I’m Bucko. I do research on cheating.” (Note nickname and simple attention-grabbing topic. Most sins and crimes work well.)
2. BENEFIT (What service or benefit do you provide?): What do you do that can help the contact or contribute to what he or she does? What problem can you solve—cheating, low test scores, poor attendance, high drop-out rate, PC/iPhone distractions in class, losing football team, or burglaries? What benefits could your contact derive from what you do?
Example 1: “I also work with IT staff on campuses to help them connect with their faculty on media techniques in the classroom.” (Note benefit for IT staff.)
Example 2: “I present a dozen techniques for faculty to use to detect and eliminate cheating in their classrooms.” (Note benefit for faculty.)
I will continue with the third ingredient tomorrow with examples. Can you guess what it is? It’s probably the one most often overlooked, but critical to relationships. See you then.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
My previous blog examined a few of the characteristics of the elevator speech. But you already knew that. Now the question is: (I can't find my question. I seem to have misp... oh here it is under my jar of peanuts. Sorry.) What is the role of the elevator?
TRANSPORTING YOUR SPIEL
You have a few transport options:
THE ELEVATOR: With regard to vertical transportation, most people on elevators seem to prefer to rivet their eyeballs on the changing floor numbers or framed inspection certificate dated 1953 rather than striking up an eye-contact conversation with any human on board. The elevator speech can best grab the attention of your target in an uncrowded elevator. At conferences, however, when the elevator is a sardine can full of excited professors away from home with a few who have elevated blood-alcohol levels, inhibitions are thrown out of the hotel window if you could open it. There’s probably no “funner” group under those conditions.
OTHER TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS: Although these baby spiels about you were originally intended to prepare you for those chance encounters in an elevator, they can also be used on other forms of transportation, including escalators, moving walkways (aka “travelators”), taxis, conveyer belts, runaway buses like in Speed, NASCAR speedways, and most models of Toyota. (Sidebar: You should know that studies have shown that airport travelators actually slow people down from reaching their gates, especially if they wear bifocals or are drunk. In some cases, these delays may be due to business people clogging the walkways like plaque in your arteries as they speed-speak their “elevator speeches” while trying to walk. End of Slightly Inebriated Bar.)
NONMOBILE OPPORTUNITIES: You can field test your spiel with strangers at the grocery store, bank, curb-side airport check-in, airport security, pharmacy, doctor’s office, vet, and Royal Gala events involving the Queen of England, or the pizza delivery guy to observe reactions and polish your words. Then you’ll be ready to take your sound-byte into the air on your flight and on the road. It can also be used at all of the conference situations listed in my March 8 blog (You did read that blog, right?) when you are sitting next to professors like John Nash or Russell Crowe.
Now you know where to use the speech, but you don’t know what’s in it yet. What constitutes an appropriate elevator speech? What are the key ingredients that will make a lasting first impression and showcase you as a professional? The recipe will be provided in tomorrow’s blog. In the meantime, let’s be careful out there on those travelators.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Ivory tower-wise, what is an elevator speech? Let’s first examine its purposes in higher education and then its salient characteristics.
ACADEMIC PURPOSES
In higher education, professors are not selling a product. Instead, they are promoting, to some degree, themselves as teachers, researchers, or clinicians, their scholarship, and their institutions. They’re selling their professionalism.
As an academician, the primary purposes of the elevator speech are to build professional relationships in:
1. your teaching strategies or discipline
2. your research area
3. your clinical specialty
4. anything I forgot
Got it? Certainly, those of you who are in recruit mode may use that opportunity to entice faculty, administrators, or students to your institutional lair.
WHAT IS AN ELEVATOR SPEECH?
So what is this speech all about compared to what you’re already doing?
DEFINITION: It is a concise, carefully-crafted, and well-rehearsed description about “Who you are” and “What you can do for the contact” that your mother would understand, delivered in the time it would take to ride up or down to your hotel floor in an elevator. (Note: If your room is on a low level floor, you’ll have to talk really fast.)
It shifts the emphasis away from you and your credentials, which are already visible on your nametag, to what you can do for the person to whom you’re talking. Rather than promoting you and describing what you do, it’s about spinning what you do for the benefit of that person. And, certainly, who is in a better position to write and deliver that speech than you? Well, maybe your mommy.
CHARACTERISTICS: It’s just a short, mini-spiel, sound-bite of 30–60 seconds to succinctly and memorably introduce you to people or livestock you don’t know. Granted, for professors to speak less than a minute can be an excruciatingly painful, restrictive, and nearly impossible task, especially when they’re talking about their fave subject. It’s like a 100-word abstract (5–8 sentences) of YOU to spotlight your uniqueness and how you can help the contact. Is there any characteristic worth mentioning that distinguishes you from the rest of the pack?
What is the role of the elevator as well other modes of transportation? What constitutes an appropriate elevator speech? What are the key ingredients that will make a lasting first impression and showcase you as a professional? Stay tuned.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE NONBUDDY KIND
When you attend your professional conferences with your buddies, you will undoubtedly face encounters of the nonbuddy kind. You will run into peers from other institutions or planets whom you have not met and don’t know you from Stephen Hawking. These run-ins may occur in the following settings:
• Receptions
• Meals
• Bars and other evil hangouts
• Annual Banquet (traditional rubber-chicken dinner)
• Conference sessions
• Elevator/escalator
Typically, you may be standing or sitting next to someone you don’t know for an extended time period (30-sec. elevator ride to 2-hr. dinner). Wow, is that uncomfortable! So far, does any of this seem familiar? “NO!” Then what do you do at conferences? Stay locked in your room playing video games or tweeting your students? What’s that all about?
Any way, for those of you who can relate, what do you usually do in those situations? Do you ignore the person on either side or do you start up a conversation? If you're sitting at a round table, do you ignore the person on each side and strike up a conversation with a buddy across the table? If you initiate a conversation, keep reading. This blog’s for you. If you ignore everybody, buhbye!
THE INTRODUCTION
What do you say? How do you introduce yourself? I know you think you already know how to introduce yourself because you have a PhD or MD and you’re thinking: “Like how hard could that possibly be? I’m not a moron. Look at all of the ribbons with my titles dripping down below my nametag, you ninny.” Calm down. Don’t call me a ninny. You called yourself a moron. Don’t get upset. This is just a blog.
ORIGIN OF “ELEVATOR SPEECH”
Business-type people created an introduction to moi called the elevator speech (aka “lift speech” in UK), named after the familiar mode of transportation in most hotels,“Amtrak.” They have been using it for thousands of years to promote their businesses even before elevators were invented, when it used to be called a “stone stairs speech.” It was originally intended as a quick pitch about their business and what services or benefits it could offer a potential client.
That being said, what are the academic purposes of an elevator speech? How can you use it in professional conferences to network with other professors? Great questions. Unfortunately, I’m blogged out for today. Tomorrow I’ll answer those questions and, maybe, just maybe, define the characteristics of the speech. Stick around. This week is elevator week.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
INTRO: To get back on track and to refresh this blog series that began circa 1959, here again are my TOP 10 BREAK-THE–MOLD POWERPOINT TECHNIQUES:
10. Color
9. Slide Movement
8. Letter and Word Movement
7. Simple Visuals
6. Complex Visuals
5. Sound Effects
4. Music Clips
3. Video Clips
2. Engagement Activities
And the Number 1 Technique
1. Humor
If you missed any of these topics, go back to my previous blogs. Yesterday, I finished up #3 on Video Clips, but I’d like to refer you to 1 more excellent video reference by a colleague, Michael Miller, at University of Texas, San Antonio:
Miller, M. V. (2009). Integrating online multimedia into college course and classroom: With applications to the social sciences. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 395–423. (http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no2/miller_0609.pdf)
Now we move onto #2 in the list:
2. ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
How do you incorporate engagement in a PowerPoint presentation? If you don't engage them, they'll be comatose in no time. It’s a MUST in presentations and in teaching to keep your audience involved in learning what you have to deliver. The work here is creating meaningful exercises for your audience. Everyone should have a handout of ALL of your content slides so they are not scrambling to write down what you are saying; they can jot down additional points you make.
Below are 10 suggestions and the PowerPoint solution:
1. Classic Fill-in-the-Blank Trick—Leave blanks for REEEAALLY IMPORTANT words on a few key slides the audience will be required to complete. (REMEMBER: The blanks are in the handout; the PowerPoint slide reveals the words for those blanks.) Don’t overdo it. I typically have blanks on 5 slides out of 100.
2. Questions to Be Answered by Hand-Raises—Ask your audience questions throughout your presentation to check if they’re still alive.
3. Survey with a Rating Scale or Checklist—Include 1 or 2 surveys in the handout for the audience to complete related to the topic--1 at the beginning and another later in the presentation. The scale may or may not be on the screen while they are completing it. I have the name of the scale on the screen and then play the Jeopardy! theme as they’re answering the items. That produces laughter every time.
4. Audience Reads Content on Slides—On particular slides, let the audience read some of the lines instead of reading to them.
5. Exercise on the Slide—Describe an exercise on the slide for a think-pair-share or other small group activity. Tell them how much time they have. Give them a 1 minute warning before drawing them back.
6. Audience Provides Answers—After an individual or group activity, ask the audience to shout out answers (if a mike isn’t available). Slide info may prompt answers.
7. Open Q & A—Have an open discussion with the audience at any time you deem it appropriate. Use a black slide so audience focuses on you.
8. Skit or Demonstration—Request members of your audience to participate in a skit to illustrate a concept, to stimulate an individual or group activity, or elicit responses to a problem. Parodies of TV programs, popular movies, and Broadway shows can be unforgettable. Prep the participants in advance. You may have content on the slide or a black slide.
9. Music or Video Clip Reaction—After a clip, ask the audience to circle their answers to multiple-choice questions in the handout or write their answers. They can also discuss answers with others.
10. Answers with Clickers—If your audience has clickers, design questions throughout the presentation and a multiple-choice quiz summary at the end to elicit their reactions and responses. They can see their summary responses in graphic form instantaneously.
There has to be at least 1 of the above techniques you can include in your next PowerPoint. Just Do It. Your audience will love it.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
3. VIDEO CLIPS (CONTINUED)
SOURCES OF VIDEOS: There are three principal sources from which to obtain the videos: original DVD, the Internet, CD clips with book. There are several factors to consider in using these sources. If the video segment needs to be extracted and converted to a format compatible with Microsoft’s PowerPoint® (PP) for PCs, you will have to do the extracting and conversion with specific software.
SOFTWARE ISSUES: Here are a few key questions that you should be asking me:
a. Why do you need software? The videos from the above sources are in the form of complete tracks and typically NOT in a format compatible with PowerPoint. You may need only a tiny clip. The software allows you to extract that clip and convert it to an appropriate format.
b. How expensive is the software? Ones I’ve used range from free to $100. The cost is minimal.
c. Once you pick the video, how long does it take to extract the clip, convert it to MPEG, WMV, or AVI, and insert it into your PowerPoint slide? Once you learn the process, it can take 15 min.
d. Not all software work with all videos. The “blocks” on the DVDs to prevent piracy can prevent the software from functioning. The software are inconsistent also because the different manufacturers of DVDs use different blocks. Sometimes you may need to try several pieces of software to do 1 extract and conversion. Check with your IT experts or computer services for their assistance and recommendations.
SOFTWARE OPTIONS: (NOTE: Mac users may not need the software described below.) As a nontechie, I taught myself how to use some of the software programs 4 years ago and have been using them ever since, although they have been inconsistent. Here are a few to try. There are many others.
Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Version 7 or 8 (~$100)
DVD Shrink 3.2 (FREE—for extracting clips only)
Cucusoft Pro Version 7.07 (~$30—for converting clips to MPEG only)
MPEG Streamclip 1.2 (FREE, requires Quicktime Player)
Jingproject.com (FREE)
Zamzar.com (FREE—for YouTube conversion)
Tubesock (~$30--for YouTube conversion)
JibJab ($4 and JibJab will sent you version for use in PowerPoint)
RECOMMENDATION: Just as with the music software, I strongly suggest soliciting HELP from personnel in your IT department, a computer science student, one of your students, or your own kid to walk you through the above software.
Once you have completed your 1st video clip insert, you will enter another new world. Your conference audience or students will be very appreciative of your video clips. What a way to start 2010 and your spring semester. Have a blast.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
3. VIDEO CLIPS (CONTINUED)
As promised, this blog will list types of videos to consider and a dozen generic techniques you can include in your PowerPoints. Details with examples are provided in my 2009 article mentioned previously.
TYPES OF VIDEOS: There is a wide range of video categories that can be used in professional presentations and the classroom. The actual choice will depend on the instructional purpose or outcome and the characteristics of your audience and their interests. In the mean time, here is a shopping list to keep in mind: (1) drama, (2) action, (3) romantic, (4) comedy, (5) romantic comedy, (6) documentary, (7) TV programs, (8) commercials, (9) college music videos (mtvU), and (10) faculty or student made videos.
12 GENERIC TECHNIQUES: Over the past decade, I have accumulated the BERKO Collection of video techniques that have been tested with undergraduate and graduate students and faculty in teaching and learning conferences. Are you ready? Here they are:
1. Provide Content and Information
2. Illustrate a Concept or Principle
3. Present Alternative Viewpoints
4. Apply the Content to Real-World Applications
5. Serve as a Stimulus for Learning Activities
6. Provide a Good or Bad Application to Critique
7. Exaggerate a Particular Point
8. Snap Students to Attention
9. Insert into Collaborative Learning Exercises
10. Motivate and Inspire
11. Provide a Commercial Break
12. Class Brake at Break
The impact of these techniques in your presentation or classroom to attain specific learning outcomes can change your entire learning environment and atmosphere.
My next blog will suggest specific software for extracting your video clips and inserting them into your PowerPoint. Start picking your videos. Don't pack up your PC just yet. You have 1 more day!
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
3. VIDEO CLIPS
In our Top 10 countdown of techniques you can use to pump-up your PowerPoint, we’re down to the final 3. These are duzzies. They can make or break your presentation. I think I may have said that before. Sorry. Anyway, let’s leap into videos before the new year arrives.
BACKGROUND: Videos permeate every aspect of our lives. “Why?” you ask. Perhaps it’s because they have such a powerful and memorable impact. Once we have seen a particular clip from a movie or TV program, YouTube video, student-created video, or one that we wrote, directed, choreographed, or starred in, it may be deeply etched in our noggins.
Using videos in conference presentations or teaching can have a similar effect on our audience. Of course, some of you have incorporated videos into your presentations for centuries. They date back to prehistoric times when cave instructors used 16mm projectors to show cave students examples of insurance company marketing commercials in business courses. Now even DVD players are history.
SO WHAT’S NEW? There are changes in four areas: (a) the variety of video formats, (b) the ease with which the technology can facilitate their application in most any venue, from classroom to coliseum, (c) the number of video techniques a presenter can use, and (d) the research on multimedia learning that provides the theoretical and empirical support for their use as an effective teaching tool. A PC or Mac and LCD projector with speakers can easily embed video clips for a PowerPoint® presentation on virtually any topic.
When I have seen video clips in national and international conference presentations, I walk away with those images and they stick over time. Sometimes I can't unstick them. I want my presentations to be just as memorable.
My upcoming blogs will list the (1) types of videos you could use, (2) generic techniques for infusing music into any presentation, and (3) available software for importing video clips into your PowerPoint. Before proceeding with those topics, check out the source below.
BERK SOURCE: I recommend you download my most recent article on videos from my Website (see link in right margin) which reviews the research and describes the techniques in depth with loads of examples (click Publications, then Articles):
Berk, R. A. (2009d). Multimedia teaching with video clips: TV, movies, YouTube, and mtvU in the college classroom. International Journal on Technology in Teaching and Learning, 5(1), 1–21.
My next blog will cover types of videos and a dozen generic techniques. See you then. Let me know if you have experimented with video clips.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
4. MUSIC SOFTWARE
SOURCES OF MUSIC: There are 2 major sources of music: an original CD and everywhere else, which is the Internet. The latter source has become extremely popular in recent years. Once a piece of music is downloaded into your file or you stick a CD into your PC, you can extract the 8.79 sec or 1.34 min clip you need for your animated title on your PowerPoint slide.
SOFTWARE ISSUES: Here are a few key questions that you should be asking me:
a. Why do you need software? The music from the above sources is in the form of complete tracks and may not be in a format compatible with PowerPoint. You may need only a tiny clip. The software allows you to extract that clip and convert it to wav or another appropriate format.
b. How expensive is the software? Ones I’ve used range from free to $50. The cost is minimal.
c. Once you pick the music, how long does it take to extract the clip, convert it (if necessary), and insert it into your PowerPoint slide? Once you learn the process, it can take 5 min.
SOFTWARE OPTIONS: (NOTE: Mac users may not need the software described below.) As a nontechie, I taught myself how to use one software program 4 years ago and have been using it ever since. It is (drum roll, please):
Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 8 or 9
It is fairly easy to use, extremely dependable, and cheap. I recommend the cheapest and simplest version available now.
Other options that are free include:
Audacity
AVS Audio Editor
These programs are similar to the Sony program and have been recommended by several IT colleagues. However, I could not locate manuals for these freebies.
In order to learn how to use these programs, I suggest cornering someone in your IT department, a computer science student, one of your students, or your own kid. I can also walk you through the Sony program.
Once you have completed your 1st music clip insert, you will enter a whole new world. Your animated slides will be changed forever and your conference audience or students will be very appreciative. Go for it.
My next blog will up the ante to video clips.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
4. MUSIC CLIPS (CONTINUED)
As promised, this blog will list types of music to consider and a dozen generic techniques you can apply in the classroom. Details with examples are provided in my 2008 article mentioned previously.
TYPES OF MUSIC: There are a variety of music types that can be used in the classroom. The actual choice will depend on the characteristics of the students and their interests., Here is a shopping list of 8 categories to keep in mind: (1) classical, (2) early romantic, (3) late romantic, (4) 20th century, (5) TV, movie, and Broadway soundtracks, (6) pop (e.g., top 40, country, easy listening, rap, hip-hop, rock, rhythm and blues), (7) jazz , and (8) new age. Your choices should be based on your students’ interests initially and effect you want to create.
12 GENERIC TECHNIQUES: Over the past 20 years, I have accumulated the BERKO Collection of music techniques that have been tested with thousands of undergraduate and graduate students in various statistics courses and research surveying students’ assessment in learning the content. Hold on to your keyboard. Here they are:
1. Prelude to Class
2. Class Opening Tune-ups
3. Special Occasion Blockbusters
4. Topic Introductions
5. Content Grabbers
6. Introductions to Class Demonstrations
7. Collaborative Learning Productions
8. Class Activity Interludes
9. Class Breakers
10. Test Reviews with Games
11. Postreview Pep Rally
12. Posttest Pick-Me-Ups
The impact of these techniques in your classroom to attain specific learning outcomes can change your entire learning environment and atmosphere.
My next blog will suggest specific software for extracting your music clips and inserting them into your PowerPoint. Start picking your music.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
4. MUSIC CLIPS
BACKGROUND: Using music as a tool for presentations and teaching across all disciplines is not new. However, the technology has made it so easy to execute that music has become a powerful add-on to increase the impact of PowerPoints.
I started including music clips in the form of cassette tapes (Remember them?) before PowerPoint in my statistics courses 20 years. They were used to accompany classroom demonstrations, parodies and skits, and introductions to new topics.
In 2005 I converted over to PowerPoint, but the trip was painful. No one in my academic circle knew how to extract a clip, convert it to wav format, and insert it into PowerPoint. Neither PowerPoint instructors nor IT experts knew the mechanics of that process. Certainly, there was no faculty demand for music, so IT support didn’t bother to address it.
After many hours of trial and error as a nontechy, I finally learned to do the conversion in spring 2006 with 1 piece of software. Almost 4 years later, music has become an integral part and, in fact, trademark of every PowerPoint presentation I make on every “serious” topic. It contributes an emotional dimension to each presentation that sets the tone throughout and engages my audience. I have conducted numerous workshops in the past 2 years to faculty audiences at conferences and institutions on the mechanics because they too don’t receive the support they need.
To start the musical ball rolling, I would like to identify a few key sources on music below. My future blogs will list the (1) types of music you could use, (2) generic techniques for infusing music into any presentation, and (3) available software for importing music into your PowerPoint.
BERK SOURCES: I recommend you download my most recent article on music from my Website (http://www.ronberk.com/; see link in right margin) which reviews the research and describes the techniques in depth with loads of examples (click Publications, then Articles):
Berk, R. A. (2008c). Music and music technology in college teaching: Classical to hip hop across the curriculum. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 4(1), 45–67.
That article extends the work in a previous article:
Berk, R. A. (2001b).Using music with demonstrations to trigger laughter and facilitate learning in multiple intelligences. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 12(1), 97–107.
and chapter in my Humor as an Instructional Defibrillator book (Stylus link in right margin).
If you are interested in using music to create parodies of TV programs, movies, and Broadway shows, parody scripts for Star Wars, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and many others are in the Defib chapter. The step-by-step procedures for developing a parody using CSI as an example are presented in the final chapter of my latest 2009 book Top Secret Tips…(see Coventry Press link in margin).
My next blog will cover types of music and a dozen generic techniques. See you then. Let me know if you have experimented with music.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
ATTENTION, POWERPOINTERS!!
I recently Googled “PowerPoint,” “Presentations,” and “Conference Presentations” to make sure I am not spewing material you could obtain elsewhere. I’m NOT. However, I encourage you to peruse Microsoft’s recommendations and those by other “experts” on communication principles with PowerPoint.
THEIR INTENT is: To present a nice, neat, semi-interesting, professional presentation of important information.
OUR HERO’S INTENT is (Watch out! Are ya ready?): To deliver the same information while connecting, engaging, exciting, entertaining, motivating, and, maybe even, inspiring your audience so that their presentation experience with you is unforgettable and the information memorable. Your audience should be on the edges of their uncomfortable seats, not relaxed and passive in a beach lounger. That’s kinda like teaching, but without the students, although I recommend the same approach in the classroom.
DISCLAIMER:
My suggestions in these blogs will blow the traditional PowerPoint recommendations to smithereens. Will I violate the rules? You bet. They will be shredded, ground into pulp, and smashed into PowerPoint road kill. (Note: I apologize for the violence in this disclaimer. Sometimes I get carried away.) For example, I tried the recommended traditional, one color slide-same font approaches. Guess what? The slides were as boring as the content on them. (Sidebar: As a former freelance photographer, I learned early on that if a picture doesn’t elicit some feeling [positive or negative] by the viewer, then it should be discarded as ineffective.)
NEW RULE FOR POWERPOINT: That rule should apply to our PowerPoint slides. Our audience should be emotionally involved in our presentation. That begins with the slides. A spiritless, unemotional reaction to our slides is totally unacceptable. If my strategy is making you nervous or you already started throwing up in this 1st paragraph, you might want to get a vomit bag or close this blog.
BERK'S GOAL: To arm you with the tools to create break-the-mold presentations, not create a moldy audience as they drift into a coma.
BERK'S AUDIENCE ASSUMPTIONS: I assume every audience to whom I present has better things to do with its valuable time than attend my session. The cynics and know-it-alls are thinking: “Tell me something I DON’T already know.” The students probably have the attention span of goat cheese and mentally operate at “twitch speed.”
THE CHALLENGE: Open the presentation with a bang and sustain that bang or you’ll lose them. It’s opening night on Broadway!
4. SOUND EFFECTS (Continued)
As we continue merrily along on our sound effect journey, it’s now time to reveal for the 1st time anywhere on earth: my faves. Maybe you already picked some of the same effects from the sources suggested in my previous blog. Sound effect drum roll, please. OOPS! I forgot sound effects are illegal in blogs! Here ‘tis picks:
BERK’S PICKS:
Soda can crinkle
Drum roll
Comical descent
Comical metal gong
Film leader blip
Film take scene
Gadget sound
Frog croak
Paper wadded up
Tear paper
Tire screech
Unzip metal zipper
UFO sweep
INSERT EFFECTS INTO PP: As noted in my previous blog, click Insert and take a bite out of your sandwich. UMMM. Sorry, I got distracted. The effects that you selected should be saved in your file in a folder or somewhere hangin’ around waiting for you to pick them. They’re probably getting lonely and anxious for your attention.
Here’s the step-by-step to insert the effects:
a. On the drop down, click Sound from File
b. Pick your effect and click it
c. Click OK
d. Click Automatically
e. Drag sound effect “speaker” icon to left or right off slide
f. Under Custom Animation in right margin, to right of Start, click After Previous, With Previous, or Click, depending on how you want to control timing of effect
g. Use the effect with an animated title, line, or word
Any ideas yet on how you can create a powerhouse PP with emotional impact? I hope a few of the preceding strategies have struck a chord or your fancy. Hold on to your fancy. I’ll be adding music and videos in the next few blogs. Do any of these techniques actually work for you? Let me know.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
ATTENTION, POWERPOINTERS!!
I recently Googled “PowerPoint,” “Presentations,” and “Conference Presentations” to make sure I am not spewing material you could obtain elsewhere. I’m NOT. However, I encourage you to peruse Microsoft’s recommendations and those by other “experts” on communication principles with PowerPoint.
THEIR INTENT is: To present a nice, neat, semi-interesting, professional presentation of important information.
OUR HERO’S INTENT is (Watch out! Are ya ready?): To deliver the same information while connecting, engaging, exciting, motivating, and, maybe even, inspiring your audience so that their presentation experience with you is unforgettable and the information memorable. Your audience should be on the edges of their uncomfortable seats, not relaxed and passive in a beach lounger. That’s kinda like teaching, but without the students, although I recommend the same approach in the classroom.
DISCLAIMER:
My suggestions in these blogs will blow the traditional PowerPoint recommendations to smithereens. Will I violate the rules? You bet. They will be shredded, ground into pulp, and smashed into PowerPoint road kill. (Note: I apologize for the violence in this disclaimer. Sometimes I get carried away.) For example, I tried the recommended traditional, one color slide-same font approaches. Guess what? The slides were as boring as the content on them. (Sidebar: As a former freelance photographer, I learned early on that if a picture doesn’t elicit some feeling [positive or negative] by the viewer, then it should be discarded as ineffective.)
NEW RULE FOR POWERPOINT: That rule should apply to our PowerPoint slides. Our audience should be emotionally involved in our presentation. That begins with the slides. A spiritless, unemotional reaction to our slides is totally unacceptable. If my strategy is making you nervous or you already started throwing up in this 1st paragraph, you might want to get a vomit bag or close this blog.
BERK'S GOAL: To arm you with the tools to create break-the-mold presentations, not create a moldy audience as they drift into a coma.
BERK'S AUDIENCE ASSUMPTIONS: I assume every audience to whom I present has better things to do with its valuable time than attend my session. The cynics and know-it-alls are thinking: “Tell me something I DON’T already know.” The students probably have the attention span of goat cheese and mentally operate at “twitch speed.”
THE CHALLENGE: Open the presentation with a bang and sustain that bang or you’ll lose them. It’s opening night on Broadway!
6. COMPLEX VISUALS
Beyond the various types of “still images” described in my previous blog, there are also other visuals to consider:
a. Clip Art with Movement—Among the bazillion clip art images, some have animation built in. Use every opportunity to create movement in your slides.
b. Add Music to Any Image—If the picture or cartoon brings to mind a song, add it to the image. It can heighten the impact of the slide and add humor that wasn’t in the image alone. Music will be covered in a later blog, but keep this option open.
c. Create Your Own Graphics—Artistic-wise, PowerPoint provides a wide array of options to build your own graphs, tables, charts, and diagrams with animation. Putting your personal touch on these graphics with color and animation can produce memorable slides with content that will pop off the screen. (WARNING: You’ve seen BAD graphics with too much data and too small a font. Be careful not to violate the basic principles in presenting your graphics. If your audience is squinting or pulling out binoculars or telescopes to read your slides, your graphics are probably BAAAAAD! And I don’t mean Michael Jackson’s Good BAD.)
Once these images are saved in your file, they can be inserted into your PowerPoint slides following the procedures described previously for simple images. Have you tried any of these images in your presentations? Let me know your ideas or additions to my suggestions above.
My next blog will cover SOUND EFFECTS. Is that going to be fun? You bet!
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
ATTENTION, POWERPOINTERS!!
I recently Googled “PowerPoint,” “Presentations,” and “Conference Presentations” to make sure I am not spewing material you could obtain elsewhere. I’m NOT. However, I encourage you to peruse Microsoft’s recommendations and those by other “experts” on communication principles with PowerPoint.
THEIR INTENT is: To present a nice, neat, semi-interesting, professional presentation of important information.
OUR HERO’S INTENT is (Watch out! Are ya ready?): To deliver the same information while connecting, engaging, exciting, entertaining, motivating, and, maybe even, inspiring your audience so that their presentation experience with you is unforgettable and the information memorable. Your audience should be on the edges of their uncomfortable seats, not relaxed and passive in a beach lounger. That’s kinda like teaching, but without the students, although I recommend the same approach in the classroom.
DISCLAIMER:
My suggestions in these blogs will blow the traditional PowerPoint recommendations to smithereens. Will I violate the rules? You bet. They will be shredded, ground into pulp, and smashed into PowerPoint road kill. (Note: I apologize for the violence in this disclaimer. Sometimes I get carried away.) For example, I tried the recommended traditional, one color slide-same font approaches. Guess what? The slides were as boring as the content on them. (Sidebar: As a former freelance photographer, I learned early on that if a picture doesn’t elicit some feeling [positive or negative] by the viewer, then it should be discarded as ineffective.)
NEW RULE FOR POWERPOINT: That rule should apply to our PowerPoint slides. Our audience should be emotionally involved in our presentation. That begins with the slides. A spiritless, unemotional reaction to our slides is totally unacceptable. If my strategy is making you nervous or you already started throwing up in this 1st paragraph, you might want to get a vomit bag or close this blog.
BERK'S GOAL: To arm you with the tools to create break-the-mold presentations, not create a moldy audience as they drift into a coma.
BERK'S AUDIENCE ASSUMPTIONS: I assume every audience to whom I present has better things to do with its valuable time than attend my session. The cynics and know-it-alls are thinking: “Tell me something I DON’T already know.” The students probably have the attention span of goat cheese and mentally operate at “twitch speed.”
THE CHALLENGE: Open the presentation with a bang and sustain that bang or you’ll lose them. It’s opening night on Broadway!
7. SIMPLE VISUALS (Continued)
Now that you have images hanging around your PC/Mac, it’s time to stick them into your presentation. This blog will take you step-by-step through that process, plus a final editing of your images.
INSERT IMAGES INTO SLIDES: Most images are in jpeg or other formats compatible with PowerPoint. Once you have downloaded the images, each image can be inserted into a slide using the following steps:
a. Click Insert at top of PowerPoint page, click Picture from dropdown, then click From File, if you imported the image, or Clip Art, if you are using an image already in the program.
b. Identify the image, click it, then click Image and it will land on your slide.
c. Drag the dots around the image to the top, bottom, and sides to fill the slide with the image.
d. Adjust the size so there is minimal distortion of the image, but try to make the image as large as possible. People’s faces, in particular, can look weird. If they are colleagues or family members and they see those images on the screen, they will hurt you badly. (Note: With multipanel cartoons, insert 1 panel per slide.) The size can significantly affect the impact of the image, particularly if there are also words in a bubble over someone’s head in a cartoon.
e. Click Design and pick a solid color background for the slide that picks up a color in the pic or just use black.
FINAL EDIT OF IMAGES IN PRESENTATION: Once all of the images are inserted, give the presentation a dry run to see how the images fit with the content slides. If any image doesn’t seem to fit or appear forced, cut it as necessary, but retain it for future presentations. Please give credit to the artist or source of the image, either on the image as a signature or verbally.
Are any ideas popping in your noggin right now? I hope your imagination is beginning to fly with images you could use. Your creativity and artistic skills are on the line. Tap them to the max. The next blog will suggest a few complex images to consider.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
ATTENTION, POWERPOINTERS!!
I recently Googled “PowerPoint,” “Presentations,” and “Conference Presentations” to make sure I am not spewing material you could obtain elsewhere. I’m NOT. However, I encourage you to peruse Microsoft’s recommendations and those by other “experts” on communication principles with PowerPoint.
THEIR INTENT is: To present a nice, neat, semi-interesting, professional presentation of important information.
OUR HERO’S INTENT is (Watch out! Are ya ready?): To deliver the same information while connecting, engaging, exciting, motivating, and, maybe even, inspiring your audience so that their presentation experience with you is unforgettable and the information memorable. Your audience should be on the edges of their uncomfortable seats, not relaxed and passive in a beach lounger. That’s kinda like teaching, but without the students, although I recommend the same approach in the classroom.
DISCLAIMER:
My suggestions in these blogs will blow the traditional PowerPoint recommendations to smithereens. Will I violate the rules? You bet. They will be shredded, ground into pulp, and smashed into PowerPoint road kill. (Note: I apologize for the violence in this disclaimer. Sometimes I get carried away.) For example, I tried the recommended traditional, one color slide-same font approaches. Guess what? The slides were as boring as the content on them. (Sidebar: As a former freelance photographer, I learned early on that if a picture doesn’t elicit some feeling [positive or negative] by the viewer, then it should be discarded as ineffective.)
NEW RULE FOR POWERPOINT: That rule should apply to our PowerPoint slides. Our audience should be emotionally involved in our presentation. That begins with the slides. A spiritless, unemotional reaction to our slides is totally unacceptable. If my strategy is making you nervous or you already started throwing up in this 1st paragraph, you might want to get a vomit bag or close this blog.
BERK'S GOAL: To arm you with the tools to create break-the-mold presentations, not create a moldy audience as they drift into a coma.
BERK'S AUDIENCE ASSUMPTIONS: I assume every audience to whom I present has better things to do with its valuable time than attend my session. The cynics and know-it-alls are thinking: “Tell me something I DON’T already know.” The students probably have the attention span of goat cheese and mentally operate at “twitch speed.”
THE CHALLENGE: Open the presentation with a bang and sustain that bang or you’ll lose them. It’s opening night on Broadway!
7. SIMPLE VISUALS
The research evidence to support the power of images and the value of tapping visual/spatial intelligence has been well documented. Images stick in people’s memories. They can also have a profound emotional impact. Adding visual images to your PowerPoint can radically change the meaning of the content and how much your audience learns and remembers.
Your strategy for considering images should be to review each content slide and answer this question: WHAT IMAGE COULD BE USED TO MAKE THE POINT OF THIS CONTENT CLEAR AND MEMORABLE?
CREATE A POOL OF IMAGES: There are at least 3 categories of simple images available for use: (1) pictures, (2) cartoons, and (3) graphics.
a. Pictures—Begin with personal and professional pictures related to the content. Then Google free pictures floating in cyberspace.
b. Cartoons—If you want to infuse a little jocularity into your presentation, here’s your first opportunity. Consider both single panel and multipanel cartoons.
c. Graphics—There are buckets of clip-art/artwork in a variety of forms that can be used to illustrate different content.
EDIT THE IMAGES: Once you’ve assembled a pool of possible images to include in your presentation, you need to EDIT according to specific criteria:
(1) Emotional Impact—If the image doesn’t elicit a feeling by the viewer, it can be just as boring as dead words on the screen. What affect do you want to the image to elicit? What's its emotional outcome?
(2) Intellectual Impact—What does the image contribute beyond the content already presented? What increment in information does it provide? What’s its unique purpose?
(3) Offensiveness—Make sure there is nothing about the image that can offend anyone in your audience. Test it out on several colleagues or students. If you have any doubts, DON’T USE IT!
Pick only the BEST images for the final cut. Colleagues can be very helpful in providing impartial, first impression reactions to the images. Images do not require explanations; they should have immediate in-your-face positive impact if they’re doing their job.
My next blog will cover how to insert your picks into PowerPoint and test their effectiveness.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
