“HOW MUCH PREPARATION FOR CLASS OR PRESENTATIONS IS ENOUGH?: Part 2”

HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT PRESENTING?

How should your students or audience perceive your presentation through their eyeballs? Based on the “sidebar” in my previous blog, I think it should be reflexive and seamless. I should know my material so well that it appears to flow naturally. The PowerPoint with all of the multimedia should proceed seamlessly in terms of the content and technology.

I admit I have been completely nuts when it came to preparing for class and presentations. I make changes, practice, and rehearse over and over right up until the presentation to make sure everything works. I’m never satisfied. And then somewhere during the presentation, I commit a gaffe or there’s a technology glitch, such as a video doesn’t play or the electricity in the entire building goes out. I think that’s how God humbles me to let me know who’s in charge.

IT’S ALL IN THE PREPARATION!

What may take 8 or 30 seconds to execute could take considerable time to prepare. In retrospect, I have never regretted the preparation for my classes and any keynote or workshop. My students and professional audiences always deserve the best I can possibly deliver. The impact and value to my audiences were worth it and their appreciation and responsiveness were the pay-offs. I wanted each presentation to be better than any previous one. Each one was my best effort at that point in time.

WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE?

So what are you going to invest in your classes and presentations? Where are you going to draw the line? I have found that you find the time to do what matters most--- the highest priority. That’s the result of passion, not a job. At the end of the day, regardless of what time-management system you use, if a task was not completed, it’s because it simply wasn’t important enough.

As you wind down this semester in the next month, consider how you prepare for presentations that matter, whether classes, faculty meetings, conferences, or lectures to your kids and pets. Can you do more or give more? I know I always can. In 2012, break your preparation mold and notice the differences in your presentations. You’ll never go back.

HAVE AN INCREDIBLE HOLIDAY SEASON!

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“NEW PowerPoint® DIET!: Top 10 Steps to a More Svelte PowerPoint®”—The Rest of the Story

Are you still trying to cram, stuff, squish, or shoe horn every bit of text onto every slide? Stop it. NOW! Read the remaining 4 steps, then go back to shoe horning.

POWERPOINT® DIET (continued)
Here are the remaining steps of the diet and a few thoughts on its impact on learning, memory, and engagement:

7. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 for each slide in order to distill the essence of each slide and draw your audience into your itty-bitty text and focus their eyeballs on the main point (NOTE: Keep in mind your audience may be thinking “get to the point,” if you don’t.)

8. Your draft Presentation Deck should tell your story or convey the low-fat, meat or tofu of your message concisely

9. Edit this deck to streamline what your audience will see to grab their attention from the get-go and what you will say in the presentation; draw your audience in by highlighting key words or phrases with a contrasting color, larger font, italics, bold, etc., and inserting engagement activities

10. Edit your Handout Deck so it covers exactly the material you want in the format you want; think like your audience to determine what and how the content should be included

You now have a skinny, svelte PRESENTATION DECK for your presentation and a fat, blubbery HANDOUT DECK for your audience. You have what you need to maximize learning, memory, and engagement of your audience during the presentation; your audience has the amplified content to read and study after you’ve made your points, plus space for fill-ins, exercises, and notes during your presentation.

Now isn’t that a more efficient and effective strategy to communicate your content than trying to present 1 monster blubbery deck on the screen, which will be difficult to present and nearly impossible to comprehend and remember? Think about it. The PRESENTATION DECK is like a CliffsNotes version of the handout. Who doesn’t prefer a short, concise, right-to-the-point dose first compared to the full-blown blubbery version?

For several articles on the research and more detailed practices for PowerPoint® presentations, go to http://www.pptdoctor.net.

I hope you find these suggestions useful in your work. Let me know your thoughts.


COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“NEW PowerPoint® DIET!: Top 10 Steps to a More Svelte PowerPoint®”

CHRONIC TEXTYITUS
The answer to the multiple-choice item from the previous blog is “E.” It can be any of those reasons and many others. The problem is there is too much text. If you are afflicted with this infirmity of chronic “Textyitus,” proceed to my diet; otherwise, you can bail.

POWERPOINT® DIET
Guess what? Yup, it’s D I E T time! Those are 4 of the most hated letters in our vocabulary. You can do this. It requires only 10 simple steps. Once you implement this diet, you won’t even recognize your PowerPoint®. It will be a “PowerPoint® Makeover." You'll be cured forever of Textyitus.

In order to lop off excess text from each slide so that your audience will learn, remember, and be engaged in the content you present, follow this step by step:

1. Start with your text-bloated slides with all of the content, exercises, fill-ins, and note spaces (If you don’t have any, get some)

2. Consider these slides DECK #1, which will be a draft of the handout you will distribute to your audience; they need the details to read, study, review, take notes, and process after your presentation

3. Use this Handout Deck to create DECK #2, which is your much abbreviated, slimmed down Presentation Deck

4. Take each slide and ask yourself: “Self, isn’t this bloated blog with a stupid diet metaphor over yet?” WROOONG! “What’s the point of this slide?”

5. When you figure out the main point from all of the text, type a couple of short sentences or a FEW bullet points on your clean slide to emphasize what you want your audience to learn and remember (NOTE: 1 main point per slide, plus any relevant engagement activity, if appropriate)

6. Edit the content on the “New & Improved” slide and, even better, consider adding a visual image (still, animated, or video) to punctuate your point or replace part or all of the text


OOPS! I’ve exceeded my word limit. My next blog will finish the remaining 4 steps. You don’t want to miss the desserts on this diet.

For several articles on the research and more detailed practices for PowerPoint® presentations, go to http://www.pptdoctor.net.

I hope you find these suggestions useful in your work. Let me know your thoughts.

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“NEW PowerPoint® DIET!: A Must Try for ALL PowerPointers”

What kind of diet could this possibly be? We all know from Dr. Oz and the PBS fundraising-drive, brain-and-body guys (NOTE: So far no women docs. Why?) that diets don’t work. But we do know that all diets involve cutting back or out certain foods (aka “everything that tastes good”) and substituting other foods (aka “food that tastes bad or has no taste,” like a tofu sandwich on a Styrofoam rice cake, which is barf on a stick).

POWERPOINT PROBLEM
So how does this semi-humorous diet chit-chat relate to PowerPoint®? Great question! It has to do with the major complaint about PowerPoints®:

A June 2011 survey of the U.S. adult population (3.2% margin of error) by IBOPE Zogby International (Allen, 2011) concluded that “death by PowerPoint^®” is a national epidemic and called for a presentation revolution. Too much text and boring graphics top the list of frustrating and uninspired features. Can you relate to those findings? PowerPoint^® ranks as one of the most dreaded presentation platforms, with respondents claiming they would rather forego sex tonight (24%), do their taxes (21%), go to the dentist (20%), or work on Saturday (18%) than have a close encounter of the PowerPoint^® kind. (QUESTION: Does that mean the other 76–82% had sex, refused to do their taxes, let their teeth rot, and went sailing on Saturday?)

TOO MUCH TEXT

Why is there too much text on PPT slides?

A. The presenter slaps the whole presentation on the slides and uses the text as a crutch

B. The presenter doesn’t know the material well enough to slap only a little text on the slides

C. The presenter doesn’t prepare a separate handout with the detailed text

D. The presenter hasn’t read my latest article, which reviews the research on cognitive overload; the audience cannot possibly understand and remember a bucket of text on each slide 

E. ALL OF THE ABOVE

For the answer to the above test item and details on the PowerPoint® Diet, tune in to my next blog.

For several articles on the research and more detailed practices for PowerPoint® presentations, go to http://www.pptdoctor.net.

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC 

“POWERPOINT GOES TO BROADWAY: Adding Media to Templates”

Dear PowerPointers,

I hope you are constantly thinking of ways to improve the effectiveness of your PowerPoints, just as I am. It’s a battle because it’s so time intensive, but the rewards to your students or audience are worth it. They receive the benefits in their engagement, attention, learning, and memory of your message.

CHOOSING A TEMPLATE
My latest PowerPoint illustration is derived from one of my keynotes on the Net Generation. The issue is using a basic template throughout your presentation. There are thousands of FREE templates available, so none of this involves a nickel out of your pocket.

The artistic configuration of your template can be a boon and bane to your presentation. It provides an attractive image for text, bullet points, visuals, graphics, and media, but it can also restrict the placement of that content in the available space. Only you can weigh the pluses and minuses. You don’t want the template to pull the focus of your audience away from the key content. It should not distract.

WHAT'S THE POINT?
With that notion in mind, once you have drafted the text, how can you add transitions, animations, music, and videos to increase the impact of your message?

My RULE OF THUMB: Keep asking yourself, “What’s the point of this slide? How does it contribute to my message?”

Every element should have a purpose and contribute something UNIQUE to the effect of the slide. If you don’t know the point of the slide, how’s your audience supposed to know? What should they remember from what you say about each slide? Does the material on the slide support your point?

ADDING MEDIA
This PowerPoint (converted to video) contains only a few opening slides from a presentation. Consider how the music, especially lyrics, animation, and video clip are used to make several points about the Net Generation:

Click this link: "POWERPOINT GOES TO BROADWAY"

You can do this with your PowerPoint software and free templates. There are no tricks involved. This entire process can be done by YOU cost-free. Consider your templates without any animation or media; just dead words. Media can create the difference between an unforgettable and forgettable PowerPoint. 

Let me know your reaction and thoughts.

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“NEED A SPECTACULAR SPEAKER FOR UPCOMING EVENT?”

Dear Conference/Meeting Planners and Directors of Centers and Faculty Development:

Have you picked your speakers for your fall 2011–2015 events or next decade yet? No? Then you need to get on the stick.

Have I got a speaker for you! I just saw him in Calgary and San Diego and he will blow your beach chair right out from under you.

With all of the financial cutbacks, you may be crunched for funds to import super-star speakers, but you can consider those lower on the food chain or not even on the food chain, but dangling on a hook like bait.

For example, I know this speaker personally (he sends me birthday e-mails) who will work with you to cut expenses, plus he will pay your mother’s social security in August if the President doesn’t.

This means he will

1. sleep in your garage (with a bucket of ice if you don’t have ac) instead of a hotel, but not before washing your vehicle,
2. fly WITH Southwest’s free baggage,
3. hitch a ride from the airport to your garage,
4. walk to his home airport (25 mi) to save mileage and parking fees,
5. deliver his handout to faculty door-to-door,
6. eat just navel oranges & Fig Newtons,
7. drink tap water only, and
8. not tip anyone.

Those sacrifices can make a major dent in the expenses. He will also slash honoraria under 5 digits to fit your budget. Should I continue? Is this a dream come true?

Anyway, he speaks on 17 topics on humor and multimedia, Net Generation, multigenerational classroom/workplace, stress reduction, student assessment, faculty evaluation, and PowerPoint. Abstracts are available on his Website (www.ronberk.com). His most popular topics appear on his LinkedIn profile (www.linkedin.com/in/ronberk) and 2011 brochure.

Testimonials by buckets of clients, some of whom may be your peers, and a few extraterrestrials are listed on the brochure and posted on those sites FYI.

If you would like further information, please contact the speaker, who is currently preparing his PowerPoint in a garage in Biloxi, which is in Wyoming, while sucking key limes.

Have a wonderful decade and go pick up your beach chair!

An anonymous blogger

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“SECRET FORMULA for ‘THRILLER’ PowerPoints®”

Over the past 6 months, I completed a blog series, 3 articles, and 6 YouTube videos on PowerPoint^®. It is a challenging medium for presentations, but it is the industry standard in teaching, speaking, and business. I don’t know of anyone who is satisfied with his/her PowerPoint^®. It can always be improved.

VIDEO SERIES on PowerPoint^®

In the recent video series, I have attempted to create examples of PowerPoint^® formats, particularly with multimedia, that anyone can do with their version of PowerPoint^® for free. You don’t need a degree in graphic or instructional design or technology to produce effective PowerPoints^®. The latest video is the most basic, demonstrating how you can transform a simple dead word on a slide and add color, animation, music, still image, and video to improve the learning from a slide. While there are tons of tutorials, this is my 3-min. attempt: VIDEO

Let me know whether this is helpful.

HAPPY POWERPOINT!

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“COMPARISON OF POWERPOINT AND PREZI BY CHRIS CLARK!”

Since I spent the last couple of weeks reviewing the research on PowerPoint®, some of you might be interested in how it compares to the rising star Prezi®. Prezi® is receiving increased attention in the academic community as an alternative teaching tool. Recently, Chris Clark at the University of Notre Dame compared the characteristics, features, and capabilities of the two types of presentation software on the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning blog site of the University of Notre Dame. The link is given below. ENJOY!

http://wp.me/prJu2-1lP
 
Isn’t it great to have these options readily available and Prezi is FREE!
 
COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“DOES MUSIC IN POWERPOINT® INCREASE LEARNING OR ANYTHING ELSE?”

MUSIC
When you're listening to music or watching a TV program (Glee), movie, YouTube clip, or a commercial, your feelings and emotions, such as excitement, anger, laughter, relaxation, sadness, love, whimsy, or even boredom, are often triggered or heightened by the music playing behind the action. These emotions occur reflexively. You are responding to the mood created by the music and the scene. The music can have a strong effect on how you react (Levitin, 2006, 2008). A single song or the entire soundtrack is so powerful that you may download it off the Internet so you can listen again and again to relive the experience. Is there any evidence to support these effects? You bet!

Research Evidence: PSYCHOLOGICAL. The research indicates that music elicits emotional reactions of liking or disliking and excitement or arousal (North & Hargreaves, 1997; Robazza, Macaluso, & D’Urso, 1994; Sloboda & Justin, 2001). It can set the tone or mood instantaneously (Sousou, 1997; Stratton & Zalanowski, 1994). Music is also the emotional source of “chills” or “your hair standing on end” (Panksepp, 1995; Salimpoor, Benovoy, Larcher, Dagher, & Zatorre, 2011).

Research Evidence: HEMISPHERIC. The best news is that music taps both hemispheres of your brain: the left side processes rhythm and lyrics AND the right side listens for melodies, sounds, and harmonic relationships (Bever & Chiarello, 1974; Hébert & Peretz, 1997; Schlaug, Jancke, Haung, Staiger, & Steinmetz, 1995), and the connections between the two hemispheres increase as you age (Schlaug et al., 1995). In fact, music listening engages nearly every area of the brain and involves almost every neural subsystem (Levitin, 2006).

WHAT’S NEXT? I’ll finish this topic with the physiological evidence and my conclusions on using music in PowerPoint.


COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“DOES MOVEMENT (Transitions & Animation) IN POWERPOINT® INCREASE LEARNING?”

ST. PATRICK'S DAY BLOG!
My next few blogs will focus on the research on three neglected elements in PowerPoint®: (1) movement, (2) music, and (3) videos. The simple question is: Do they improve learning or anything else? Do they have the potential to raise the PowerPoint® bar to a new level of “best practices” in the classroom? Let’s begin with

MOVEMENT (Dedicated to Fans of PREZI)
When something moves, your eyeballs move to track it. That’s perfectly natural. However, when the movement slows up or stops in your classroom, students may get bored and click to something else. PowerPoint® permits transitions of slides and animation of words, letters, and graphics. When that movement is systematically choreographed throughout a presentation, it can grab and maintain attention. Used inappropriately, it can annoy and distract your students from the content being covered.

Research Evidence: TEXT. Is there research on the use of transitions and animation in the classroom? Not on transitions, but a smidgen on text animation. The technique of introducing bits and pieces of text information incrementally on slides with animation has been tested by only a couple of studies (Janicki, Yaylacicegi, & Mahar, 2009; Mahar, Yaylacicegi, & Janicki, 2009). Despite students’ preference for animation in PowerPoint® lectures, the results indicated that students shown static lecture slides learned more about new concepts than those who viewed the animated slides. The animation required greater concentration with a shorter exposure time. Certainly, that time could be extended.

Research Evidence: GRAPHICS. Contrary to the preceding results is the research that found that animated graphics are significantly more effective than static graphics (Höffler & Leutner, 2007; Lowe, 2001, 2003; Mayer & Moreno, 2002; McLean, Brown, & Bellamy, 2003; Tversky, Morrison, & Betrancourt, 2002; Yu & Smith, 2008). Properly designed animations to illustrate concepts and procedures can generate interest, motivation, and engagement, which can promote deep learning (Mayer & Anderson, 1991; Ruffini, 2009). There are no studies testing different types of animation. Presenting techniques or processes, in particular, may benefit more from animation.

CONCLUSION: Consider using animation when it fits the content, especially to explain processes in graphic form. Transitions and animation of text should be used judiciously, since there is inadequate evidence to the contrary.

WHAT’S NEXT? Have you used music in your slides to create an emotional connection or humor? There’s lots of research on this topic. Just wait…

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“RESEARCH ON MULTIMEDIA IN POWERPOINT®: Why Bother?”

MULTIMEDIA IS DISCOURAGED BY EXPERTS
Beyond the basics of PowerPoint®, how can multimedia be utilized effectively with PowerPoint® in the classroom? Other than posting “dead words” on a screen, do movement, music, and videos in PowerPoint® facilitate learning or impede it? To date, those elements have been virtually disregarded, dismissed, dissed, and even discouraged by PowerPoint® gurus (in business and industry) when the technology to embed or stream those media is readily available? For example, Duarte (2008) and Reynolds (2008) give them miniscule attention, yet acknowledge the powerful active cognitive processing effects they can have. They usually caution users to integrate them either sparingly or not at all or to “not overdo it.” But most teachers and presenters under do it or don’t do it at all. To engage Net Generation students, in particular, who are bored with traditional PowerPoints®, faculty may need “to do” and, maybe, “over do.”

WHERE’S THE LOVE AND SUPPORT?
With FREE software readily accessible, such as Audacity (music) and Movie Maker (videos), why do so few faculty and presenters incorporate media into their presentations? Even a study of presentations by CEOs of technology companies indicated that multimedia was incorporated typically in the form of photographs and graphics, but no music and very few animations, videos, and online links were used (Kammeyer, 2007).

Granted, in-house IT staff may not have the time or want to be bothered to assist faculty to do the animations or actual media extractions and conversions. They may have other more pressing demands. By default, then, teachers are forced either to learn it themselves or to outsource it to techies who know how to do it; otherwise, it won’t get done. With time becoming a scarcer commodity and job tasks and responsibilities increasing, multimedia in PowerPoint® may be a luxury many professionals cannot afford.

WHY RESEARCH ON MULTIMEDIA?
Do any of those PowerPoint® add-ons, such as movement, music, visuals, and videos, contribute to the effectiveness of instruction? Do they increase attention, engagement, or understanding of the content? Should faculty move literally and figuratively beyond dead words on the screen? They may already have slides with bright, high-contrast, saturated colors, flashy templates, and loads of graphics. That’s great, but what are the words doing? If they’re still cadaver-like, teachers will immediately shift their Net Geners from boring to snoring. Say it with me: “DEAD WORDS ARE BORING!” Got it? Did you actually say those words?

WHAT’S NEXT? The next few blogs will review the research on movement, music, visuals, and videos in PowerPoint®.

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

"TOP 10 RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS ABOUT BASIC POWERPOINT®"

Guess what? PowerPoint-wise, do we know for sure what works, when, with whom, how, or why? Do we really have enough research evidence to design simple PowerPoint® slides so that our audience will actually learn and retain the content we present?


There is only a fist-full of studies on the basic features and instructional uses of PowerPoint® over the past decade. One unpublished review by Kammeyer (2007) analyzed some of the findings. Here’s the list.

TOP 10 CONCLUSIONS:

1. Most students prefer PowerPoint® to traditional lecture (Amare, 2006; Hastings & Attila, 2000; Savoy, Proctor, & Salvendy, 2009), despite how boring it might be (Mann & Robinson, 2009)

2. Traditional PowerPoint® doesn’t produce significant differences in learning (review by Levasseur & Sawyer, 2006) compared to several alternatives

3. Reading text verbatim on a slide off of the screen decreases learning and retention (“redundancy principle”) (Mayer & Johnson, 2008)

4. Gill Sans, Souvenir, and similar fonts are more comfortable to read, interesting, attractive, and professional compared to other fonts (Mackiewicz, 2007a)

5. High-contrast colors and easy-to-read text, graphs, and graphics increase learning (Bradshaw, 2003)

6. High-contrast slides are not more effective than medium-contrast slides in learning and satisfaction (Earnest, 2003)

7. Full-sentence headline (written as an assertion) compared to a word or phrase increases retention of slide content, especially with a clear supportive graphic (Alley & Neeley, 2005; Alley, Schreiber, Ramsdell, & Muffo, 2006)

8. Irrelevant pictures accompanying text and sound effects decrease learning (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003)

9. 2D graphs are preferable to 3D graphs for clarity and comprehension (Mackiewicz, 2007b; Stewart, Cipolla, & Best, 2009)

10. Cool color (blue, green, etc.) high-contrast graphs are preferred over warm colors (Mackiewicz, 2007b)

POSTMORTUM RELECTION: Obviously, these results from slightly more than a dozen studies don’t tell us a lot about how to prepare our slides. Most used very traditional text-on-the-screen formats with some graphics, resembling electronic overheads. Although the sheer scarcity of studies is inadequate to guide current PowerPoint® practices in teaching and other presentations, they do suggest certain preferences you might consider in your slide designs.

That's it. Whatta ya think? Any comments? Let me know your thoughts.

WHAT’S NEXT? Beyond the basics, presenters should consider a multimedia approach to their PowerPoints®. The research on the multimedia options will be examined in the next few blogs.

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

RESEARCH ON POWERPOINT®: WHAT DO WE KNOW?

I’m beginning a new series on PowerPoint® to examine what the research indicates about its effectiveness as a presentation tool. My intent is to reveal how we can use the evidence to guide and, maybe, just maybe, to create “best practices.” This 1st blog provides a disclaimer on what I will cover and not cover in the series. I hope you find it of value.

DISCLAIMER: At present, there are approximately 300 million PowerPoint® users (30 million presentations per day) worldwide (Lowenthal, 2009), give or take 5 professors on sabbatical. That number is just slightly more than the cast of Glee. There are barrels of books, articles, blogs, and outsourcing businesses that describe the “appropriate uses” of PowerPoint® and extol its virtues. You have probably followed their ubiquitous guidelines for preparing the content on your slides, such as titles, lists, text, and graphics (see Abela, 2008; Altman, 2007; Atkinson, 2008; Cooper, 2009; Duarte, 2008; Paradi, 2000, 2010; Reynolds, 2008; Tufte, 2003b).
      However, there is also a small bucket of articles recommending that every software version of PowerPoint® be blown up with military-grade explosives (see Elwood, 2005; Kapterev, 2008; Tufte, 2003a). Since I have no experience with explosives and minimal practice even with squirt guns, I have chosen not to engage in PowerPoint® polemics (e.g., Amernic, 2006; Doumont, 2005) or evaluate the merits of alternatives, such as Keynote (for Macs), Prezi, and Pecha-Kucha.
      Instead, this blog series will focus on three elements of PowerPoint® which are neglected by most sources on the topic, but have a strong research foundation and the potential to change the impact significantly of any presentation to any audience. Those three elements will be kept secret and guarded by TSA agents on Starbucks® break at O’Hare International High-Security Really-Safe Airport until it is time to reveal their contents, the elements, that is, not the agents.

WHAT’S NEXT: I’m going to present the “Top 10 Research Conclusions about Basic PowerPoint®.” Stick around. It will get interesting.

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

“TOP 10 SECRET TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING: Write with Passion—Part 2!”

TOP 10 SECRET TIPS:

6. WRITE ON TOPICS ABOUT WHICH YOU ARE PASSIONATE (continued)

Back in Your Heartland: Where’s your heart? This is not about your content knowledge. We’re back to the heart again. Your whole heart should be engaged in your writing. Half-, third-, or quarter-hearted writing is not enough. It’s either all or nothing. Pour yourself into your writing. It should be a fully immersive experience. Allow your readers to feel your spirit of passion about your contribution, whether it’s a tweet, comment on a discussion, response on Facebook, or a scientific breakthrough for a cure for stupid reality TV programs about spoiled, immature celebrities. You may start with the content, but as you revise and edit each draft, make it sneakily engrossing and captivating for your readers.

(Up Close & Personal: Every e-mail, LinkedIn message, PowerPoint presentation, blog, article, and book I write begins with the substance—the serious content. That’s the most important element to be communicated---the “WHAT.” Then I shift gears into the “HOW.”

Once I’m tentatively satisfied with the content draft, I scan line by line and read the words as a reader would, to search for places to add humor or spin some of the material with rewording to make it fun or more interesting. I assume every paragraph to be boring for my readers. I use this same strategy with every PowerPoint slide in my presentations.

The challenge is to create appropriate humor, visual metaphors, and popular cultural references to grab and maintain the readers’ attention. It’s an unending process of revision, especially in my articles, books, and PowerPoints. The more deadly serious and boring the content, the more turbo-charged I am to humorize that material. That’s how I brand my writing. It’s the art of writing for me and what I love the most. I’m never satisfied that I’ve done enough to make it interesting and funny.)

My next blog will present Tip 5: examine how a mentor or coach in your writing life can provide mighty wise counsel and poke you in the eyeballs (like the 3 Stooges) or kick you in the shins along your writing journey.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

INCORPORATING HUMOR INTO YOUR POWERPOINT!

And the Number 1 Technique:

1. HUMOR
Surprise, Surprise! I saved the best for last. How have you incorporated humor into your PowerPoint? You haven’t? Oh, for shame. If you’re thinking about breaking the mold, humor will smash it to smithereens. And, I know you can be funny. You just need to find the format that works naturally for you.

A wide range of humor techniques has been presented previously in my 3 humor books (see link in right margin or my Web). This blog addresses how the PowerPoint software can facilitate the delivery of your humor. It provides visual and audio capabilities that can increase the impact of humor material. You provide the material. PowerPoint can help you with the HOW!

(HINT: Unless you’re Robin Williams, use visual and audio PowerPoint elements to maximize the effect of the humor, especially custom animation options.)

Here are a Baker’s half dozen ideas (or 7 Humorous Habits of Highly Effective Professors):

1. Still Pictures—Select stills that make a point, but are also funny. Add appropriate music to heighten impact.
2. Cartoons—Use single panel or multi-panel cartoons that are visually bigger than life. Present 1 panel at a time and read the one-liner caption in the bubble.
3. Video Clips—Pick hilarious clips from movies, TV programs, YouTube, JibJab, and other sources to exaggerate a point or concept.
4. Music Clips—Choose funny music, incongruous lyrics, or sound effects to accompany animations on slides, jokes, or skits involving groups of participants.
5. One-Liners—Instead of delivering a joke as a stand-up, use the visual AND audio effects to set up your serious premise on your slide and then fly the punch line onto the slide on cue to increase your chances of success. Timing is critical.
6. Multiple-Choice Jokes—Same as one-liners, just do the punches 4–5 times.
7. Top 10 Lists—Same as one-liners, just do the punches 10 times. Watch Letterman’s delivery and timing as each line enters on cue.

WOW!! Was this blog series looooong! As you’ll recall, it began in 1956. I hope you got 1 or 2 ideas you can use. I look forward to hearing how your PowerPoint life has been changed forever. Let me know your thoughts, reactions, new techniques I missed, or anything that hits you.

Have an incredible teaching and presenting PowerPoint year!!!

COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

INCORPORATING 10 ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN YOUR POWERPOINT!

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

HOW TO ADD VIDEO CLIPS TO YOUR POWERPOINT! Part III

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

HOW TO ADD VIDEO CLIPS TO YOUR POWERPOINT! Part II

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

HOW TO ADD VIDEO CLIPS TO YOUR POWERPOINT! Part I

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

HOW TO ADD MUSIC CLIPS TO YOUR POWERPOINT! Part III (SOFTWARE)

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