“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

HOW MUCH PREPARATION FOR CLASS OR PRESENTATIONS IS ENOUGH?: Part 1”

Just returning from the Lilly Conference on College Teaching, the topic of PREPARATION arose in my sessions and in conversations over those amazing meals. You have to draw the line somewhere in the time and effort you spend preparing for class or a presentation at Lilly. The problem is that my 2 sessions on “Humor & Multimedia” and “Evidenced-Based PowerPoint” were intended to extend your preparation life as you now know it. Adding humor, animation, music, images, and YouTube clips to your PowerPoints complicates everything and requires much more time than you probably have. So what are you supposed to do?

BERK 2.0 PERSPECTIVE ON PREPARATION

In my 30th year of teaching at Johns Hopkins, I was working 90-100 hours, 7 days a week, to meet obsessive-compulsive requirements. During my last 5.389 retirement years, I've worked 70-80. I bet you're thinking: "Are you CRAZY?" Probably.

EVIN LYSECHEK & BOB FOSSE

I relate to some very unusual people. One is Evin Lysechek, who won the Gold Medal in Men’s Figure Skating at the Vancouver Olympics. He had a reputation for working harder and practicing longer than anyone else. A second is Bob Fosse, iconic, awarding-winning Broadway director and choreographer, who was relentless in rehearsing his dancers. He required dancers to practice the dance routines over a hundred times. A dancer became ONE WITH THE DANCE. The dance was natural and reflexive; he or she didn’t have to think about the steps. They were automatically part of them.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE? 

So how should you prepare? Is your presentation part of you or someone else? Do you struggle to remember what comes next? Do you need cues? My next blog will present the challenge. Stay tuned.

COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC