How many times have you attended or given a presentation only to have something go wrong with the projector either when setting up or in the middle of a presentation?

What affect did it have on your audience? Did you apologize and wait and call IT and… what happened to your message? Did your story stop?

The take away? Know your story so you don’t skip a beat if something happens mid-presentation. If you have the chance to setup early, take it and make sure everything works prior to beginning your presentation. This way, you increase the chances of your story being uninterrupted and your message getting to your audience.

Photo from pedrosimoes7

Did you remember what was on the billboard? Most billboards are designed to be at the side of a road and drivers passing by have only a few seconds to capture the information and process it.

“Eat at Joes” prompts thoughts such as:
Am I hungry?
Do I have time to eat?
Is it close?

The audience reacts to what you put on a slide similarly. In about 3-5 seconds they have scanned the entire slide for information. Why make them read for more information? Make it obvious. Make it clear. Make it like a billboard.

As mentioned in a previous post about handouts, a “supergraphic” can often times help your storytelling. It contains such a large amount of information that is is nearly impossible to present using a slideware application. I learned about supergraphics from a workshop in November by the well-known Edward Tufte entitled Presenting Data and Information. (If you can attend this course, I highly recommend it.)

Supergraphics are interpreted by the viewer on their own terms. Allow an audience to absorb the information at their own rate. Sure, you may wish to call attention to certain details, that’s why you’re in front of them, let the audience come to their own conclusions and this can generate fruitful discussion during or following your talk.

What it can also do is, keep your audience engaged.

“What if I don’t have a supergraphic?” That’s ok. Maybe there’s some form of data you want to share that can be made into one. Maybe not. Neither is the rule. The overarching theme here is to not force anything. Don’t make a supergraphic for supergraphics sake as it will not compliment your talk. It has to have use, meaning.