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!
9. SLIDE MOVEMENT
Dead words projected on a screen are almost like seeing them on a piece of paper. They don’t move; they just lie there like a piece of salami. Our goal is to create movement. “Why?” you ask. Because movement stimulates our eyeballs and brain. We’re not sure where the movement is going. That anticipation engages us, keeps us interested, at least, temporarily until we figure out what’s happening.
The 1st technique to create movement is to use Slide Transitions. They’re listed under the Slide Show dropdown. The transitions allow you to have your slides enter from different directions and speeds, plus have accompanying sound effects if you like. The choices are based on your artistic preferences. Experiment with all of the different effects and pick the ones you like best. Think of the effect each transition will have on your audience. Don’t overdo it. Too many transitions can make you dizzy. Try out your picks on a few colleagues or students. They’ll usually be brutally frank about your slides. That brutality is useful feedback before trying the slides at a conference.
BERK’S TRANSITION PICKS: I frequently use cover and uncover choices from different directions on slow speed so my audience can see the movement. I want to create the sensation of constant movement on the screen and with me (I am a moving target). If you pick "fast," the transition just flies by too fast. I’m also planning on continuing the movement with the heading and content on the slide. That’s the main focus for my audience. (Note: This strategy removes your audience from the image of the stereotypic talking head glued to a lectern with print-infested, immobile slides.)
The next blog will continue with techniques to add movement to words and letters. Are you having fun yet? This is the best part. You know your content. Playing with all of these options permits you to put your indelible mark and unique style on your presentation. I love trying all of the custom features available.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
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