Scenario: You had a problem.
You’ve found a strange, but pretty amazing solution.
You have five minutes to present your findings.
You need a making-your-strange-findings-sound-normal presentation!
Kamal Meattle has researched how to grow your own fresh air using a particular combination of plants.
This is cool. And… unusual. Yet he makes it sound reasonable.
I also think it’s good for us to analyse a presentation that is slightly lower energy and unassuming, yet still reasonably effective. [click to continue…]
So: You’ve made something pretty freaking cool.
You’ve got five minutes to show just how cool it is.
You want people to talk about it, and ask you more…
You need an I-am-a-genius Product Demo presentation!
Johnny Chung Lee is a researcher into how humans interact with technology. He worked for a while for Microsoft (famously on the Kinect motion sensor kit) and, as of right now, is a ‘Rapid Prototyper’ for Google.
This talk is a demo he did in 2008 of motion sensor tech he’d put together mainly using a Wii handset, plus some cheap, easily-available infrared equipment. (This was pretty cutting edge at the time!)
It’s been watched more than 2,000,000 times, and I don’t think it’s just because of the technology being demonstrated. I think it’s also to do with how Johnny sets things up in his presentation.
To follow the Johnny Lee template, you’re going to need a new bit of kit/software you’ve developed that has at least three cool aspects to it. [click to continue…]
Here’s the scenario: There’s a problem in your workplace. You’ve found a solution to that problem that has worked for you. You think people would benefit from following your example.
You’ve got three minutes.
You need a Follow-my-example presentation!
Continuing the series on short talks, we turn to Matt Cutts’ presentation on why you should try something new for 30 days. Matt is the head of the webspam team at Google but here we see him making a personal recommendation.
It’s snappy, friendly, and quietly inspirational.
See if you can spot how the structure works… [click to continue…]
Picture the scene: You’ve spotted a big problem looming on the horizon.
People aren’t paying enough attention to it.
You’ve only got three minutes to kick-start the discussion.
You need to make a Warning Presentation!
Gregory Petsko is a biochemist with a dramatic call for us to take action on more research into the brain and its function. His talk is shocking, memorable and full of ‘kerPOW!’
Have a watch, and see what we can learn from his structure. [click to continue…]
So, you see something in the way things are currently run that needs changing, eh?
You think that by making a simple shift, things will be a lot better?
Imagine: the decision makers and influencers are all there in the room, and you’ve stolen three minutes of their precious time. You’re not going to be able to start a revolution in that time, but you might just be able to spark enough curiosity to put the matter on the organisational radar. This is your moment.
What do you do?
Well, following Arthur Benjamin’s example might not be a bad start. [click to continue…]
Imagine the scene: You’ve got a new initiative that you’d like to get some movement on and you’ve been asking your boss for some time at the monthly meeting to raise some awareness on it. Finally, your boss says yes, but she’s only giving you three minutes.
What do you do in a short presentation? [click to continue…]
As a presenter, you want to be moving closer towards your listeners, building connections.
One way to do this is to read their minds.
Think: What are they thinking right now? Do I need to change that around so they are moving in the direction I’d like them to move in? How might I do that..?
Al Gore explicitly states that his An Inconvenenient Truth presentation is so convincing for this reason.
Another person who is great at this is Dan Gilbert, the Harvard psychologist who specialises in happiness. [click to continue…]
So, ‘captivating’ is probably not a word you use to describe your presentation style, right?
And yet, it’s something I think we all aim for, to some degree.
One of the most famous presentations on the web is Jill Bolte-Taylors presentation about how, as a neuroscientist, she was able to analyse her stroke as she was having it. It has drama, it has science, it has story, it has woo-woo… there’s a lot…
Of course, your Project Update doesn’t lend itself quite as well to being captivating and yet there is real benefit from looking at fascinating people present, to see if there are things we can steal learn.
You don’t become interesting by studying boring people, huh?
And too much awe stops us learning.
So… here’s my analysis of Jill’s presentation. It’s one of my favourites… [click to continue…]
Sometimes the way things have always been done is not the way they should carry on being done.
Sometimes it’s your job to challenge the current paradigm, to suggest a change of direction, to confront the status quo.
Watching Elizabeth Gilbert’s (excellent) TED talk on creativity, it struck me how well she structured her talk so it efficiently challenged my notions on the topic.
She sets up the current situation and then thoroughly makes a case for things to change.
Very interesting.
Have a listen to my observations on her presentation and what you can learn from it. [click to continue…]
A presentation is just like any other communication: the relationship is central.
One of the things I notice makes the most difference no matter what you present is the link between the speaker and the listeners.
Rapidly creating a connection can be essential if you’re presenting to people who don’t know you well.
Nigel Marsh does this well in his 10-minute TED talk on work-life balance.
I think there are a few things we can learn from his structure and style.
Here’s my analysis of his presentation. [click to continue…]