Excellent video from the master Power pointer and comedian, Don Macmillan
with Dick Durrance
A speech or presentation is in part a visual experience for the audience. Some speakers avoid using A/V equipment, but many others find that adding a visual component helps their audience focus and learn.
It’s common advice today, for those who use media like PowerPoint or slides, that visuals should be *visual*—use more images on screen and fewer words.
But how do you select—or create—the best images? If you want to use photos, come learn from Dick Durrance, one of the world’s top photographers who now uses that background to add impact as a professional speaker.
Dick will show us what to look for in a picture—and how to take our own—to add power and depth to our message.
To illustrate his points, Dick will use more than 75 pictures created for National Geographic assignments, global advertising campaigns, the world’s great golf courses, and the national parks. He’ll show you how to better create or select photographs for your use.
The old adage is true: the right image instantly communicates much more than 1000 words. As a wordsmith, you carefully choose the right word to express your thoughts. In the same way, you want the images you use in your presentations, blogs, websites, ezines and other materials to perfectly complement your words.
The photos need to be *great* to accompany your stories and points—not just snapshots. You want images that enthrall your audience. Pictures you take yourself can be exactly what helps express your unique point or story, if they are done well.
However, you’re not a professional photographer. You need simple techniques to take excellent photos, without lugging around a heavy, expensive camera, full-sized tripod, and other burdensome equipment. You need to know how to take a great picture that doesn’t involve endless messing with F-stops and other technical issues. Fortunately, today’s digital cameras now take care of what used to be technical challenges.
Dick Durrance, professional speaker and former National Geographic staff photographer, will show you how to harness the power of the graphic elements in your pictures—light, line, shape, color, and texture—to better tell the story you are trying to share with your audiences without having to rely on sophisticated technical skills.
Hall of Fame speaker Ian Percy once wrote, “When your life flashes before your eyes, it’s pictures not words that flash by. Our life stories are always told in pictures.”
In this webinar, you will learn how to:
• Be clear in your mind on the story you’re trying to tell in the picture. You will see how to frame, crop, and use the basic graphic elements in the picture to lead the viewer’s eye to the most important point you are trying to make with the picture.
• Select the light (sunrise, bright midday, foggy, dusk, shadows) you need to set the tone for your picture
• Use color to evoke emotion and texture to add depth to a picture
• Shift the angle or perspective to create a much more dramatic and intriguing image
• Compose pictures that contain all of the elements that are essential to your story
• Be aware of what shapes draw one’s eye into the image
More information => http://bit.ly/j9Xa5R
Is your audience getting lost during your big presentation? The issue might be in the clarity of your presentation agenda. Learn 5 creative ways to provide a clear and memorable agenda to your presentation. =>http://bit.ly/m0qjjN
Are you looking for a pick-me-up fr your latest PowerPoint presentation? Looking for some design ideas that you haven't seen before on everyone else's presentations?
I find that looking at other original designs sparks my own creativity. And oftentimes that has a flow on effect on my presentation. If there is a different way of looking at the slide, then there may be a different way of looking at the point I'm making. Or maybe it just fires up the neurones in my brain and they produce new thoughts. I'm not sure how it works, but it does.
So go check out The PowerPoint Templates (ppt). They have downloadable templates. And yes this is an affilaite link so I will make a few cents if you buy a template. But you can choose the low cost ones, or even scrounge through the sidebar and find the free templates. Or maybe, like me, you will just get some creative inspiration from looking at the products. These are graphics designers working here, so the creativity should be evident!
And while you are prowling round the site, look into the articles and tutorials. There is some useful information there.
Have fun!
Hans Rosling's famous lectures combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport's commentator's style to reveal the story of the world's past, present and future development. Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before - using augmented reality animation. In this spectacular section of 'The Joy of Stats' he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.
"Let's Make a Powerpoint"
At University, students get the opportunity to practice their presentation skills. I've been a part of these groups. The Professor announces, "Next week, each group will present their proposals". And without fail, one of the team members will immediately turn to the rest of the group and say, "Great, let's make our Powerpoint!"
What's Wrong with this? => http://bit.ly/mxllVh
Everyone uses PowerPoint, but how effective is your presentation at meeting the goals you’ve outlined? A great presentation is more than just a slideshow–it’s about using PowerPoint to its maximum potential to get your message across to your audience. That’s the PowerPoint Predicament. Tom Bunzel reveals how to conceive, plan, develop, and deliver truly effective business, academic, and inspirational communications, not just PowerPoint slideshows.
Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: Using Digital Media for Effective Communication
by Tom Bunzel
The winning entry was created by Empowered Presentations
SMOKE - The Convenient Truth
View more presentations from Empowered Presentations, Honolulu, HI.
I love Slideshare - it is always an inspiration. But I am left so dissatisfied, because what I want to see is the speech that went with the visuals.
Still there is always lots to learn about design. What did you think of this one?
Zainul at How-to Geek writes ...
Delivering a presentation is not just about giving good slides, it is also about making sure that our presentation finishes by the time our audience wants to have their tea break—so practicing how long to speak for each slide is essential for a proper presentation.
and goes on to explain how to rehearse the timing of the presentation, even how to set up the slide show to run by itself.
Useful information for when you have a presentation that needs no flexibility. Thank you How-to Geek!
Love this, Tim ...
I’m sorry but I’m starting to get frustrated. And I’m due for a rant anyway.
If you are making these mistakes in your presentations then you’d better stop. Or I’m going to walk out. Quietly so you won’t see me.
Or I’ll just slowly stop listening.
Until all I hear is a soft buzzing of the audio equipment in the back. And the sound of a few chairs squeaking due to other uneasy victims being sucked into the vortex.
I do a lot of presentations and I’m not here to say that I am a big-time speaker. With the best slides and the A-list type content.
Someday Perhaps.
But I am watching you. To see what I can learn from you.
And lately I have been watching a lot of presentations. Great for me actually. To compare the good, the bad and the ugly. And to push myself to get better.
So I’ve picked three mistakes that I’ve seen over the past weeks. Some at a few big events (hint, I am writing from Las Vegas. Attending the Blog World Expo). As they happen, these mistakes feel like a slowly building stomach sickness. But more than that? I feel really frustrated. That quality speakers would make these mistakes:
