Presentation Tips

Quick reference

• 00:05 If you've watched some of the other lessons in this course,
• 00:07 you are on your way to becoming an expert at using Apple's Keynote application.
• 00:11 Not only can you work with various objects, but you can use design elements
• 00:15 and adjust parameters to make you look like the professional that you are.
• 00:19 You have created your own theme, added video, used animations,
• 00:23 and polished every slide to precision.
• 00:26 Now it's time to deliver your presentation to the world.
• 00:29 Before you do, let me give you just a few more words of wisdom.
• 00:33 Some of these points will apply to design, which may cause you to pause and
• 00:37 reflect on how you've designed your own slides to this point.
• 00:40 And others will apply to how you present yourself to the audience.
• 00:43 Let's get started.
• 00:45 First, let me read a quote uttered by Nancy Duarte,
• 00:48 a world renowned presenter and author of slideology.
• 00:52 The audience will either listen to you or read your slides.
• 00:55 They will not, and cannot, do both.
• 00:58 So what does this mean?
• 01:00 Simple, one of the design traps that most presenters fall into is this,
• 01:04 in order for a slide to be meaningful, it has to contain a lot of verbiage.
• 01:09 This is false.
• 01:11 The more words that are on a slide, the less the audience will engage in you,
• 01:16 the presenter.
• 01:17 They can't read lots of words on a slide and listen to you at the same time.
• 01:21 And since you are the most important thing on the stage,
• 01:24 their attention should be on you.
• 01:26 Limit the amount of language on your slides, unless it is necessary.
• 01:31 Next, use fonts that aid your message, not detract from it.
• 01:36 When we deliver a message to an audience, we usually expect to invoke feelings of
• 01:40 suspense, jealousy, anger, shock, hurt, or other feelings.
• 01:46 This is part of presenting.
• 01:47 We want our audience to be engaged, and
• 01:49 the best way to do this is to get them invested in what we're saying.
• 01:53 This can be done with images, audio, and video.
• 01:57 It can also be done with the right choice of fonts that we use.
• 02:00 Here's a list of fonts that may help guide your style as you build your slides.
• 02:05 If you need a minute to study this,
• 02:07 feel free to pause a video then resume when you're ready.
• 02:10 Next, proper preparation is a must.
• 02:14 Did I use the word must?
• 02:15 Absolutely, and I mean it.
• 02:17 You can't deliver a high stakes presentation after working on it
• 02:21 all night long.
• 02:22 Here are some numbers that may help you to understand how important some phases of
• 02:26 the build process may be.
• 02:28 If you think this indicates that we spend too much time on research and
• 02:31 not enough time on slide design, well, you may be wrong.
• 02:35 You can't prepare enough, just like you can't rehearse enough.
• 02:39 The design will come.
• 02:41 You should never need to explain a chart.
• 02:43 If you do, you're doing it wrong.
• 02:46 Okay, there are some exceptions to this rule, but
• 02:48 in most cases the intent is not to have an audience studying a chart for
• 02:52 five minutes just to say they understand the intricacies.
• 02:55 In most cases, you just want to show a chart, have the audience able to
• 03:00 understand the gist within five to seven seconds, then dive into the details.
• 03:05 This way, they will see the chart,
• 03:07 understand the chart, then focus on you for the relevancy of the chart.
• 03:12 Sometimes less is more when it comes to slide design.
• 03:15 A simple image can speak a thousand words for you.
• 03:18 If I'm giving a presentation on global green initiatives, a slide like this can
• 03:23 be much more effective than a slide with a hundred words that no one can read anyway.
• 03:28 Less is more.
• 03:29 Before taking the stage, know your stage.
• 03:32 You should know the size screen that you will have at your disposal,
• 03:35 how large the stage is for movement, the make and model of the projector that you
• 03:39 will be using, even the number of lumens that that projector has.
• 03:43 Knowing this information ahead of time will help you greatly in
• 03:46 feeling comfortable with the environment before you take the stage in front of
• 03:49 a live audience.
• 03:51 When all is said and done, practice makes perfect.
• 03:55 And when I say practice, I don't mean practice in front of a mirror, or
• 03:58 a colleague or two that happens to be a yes man.
• 04:01 I mean practice in front of a peer group that will give you good,
• 04:04 meaningful feedback, real feedback.
• 04:07 I can't tell you how many people bomb an otherwise good presentation
• 04:11 because they didn't give ample time to practice beforehand.
• 04:15 This is super critical.
• 04:16 Now that you know the tool, and you know how to present, it's time for
• 04:21 you to make your mark.
• 04:23 Build the great presentation that you can, and deliver that in a way that will be
• 04:27 impactful in a positive way to your audience.

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