We hope all is well. Most of our workshops are for specific companies, so when we offer an Open Cohort, we like to let you know - to invite everyone. Many of you have asked us to offer a live, in-person, open version of our Extreme Presentation workshop - and we are providing that. Please see details below. Reserve your spot here. Express interest here. Not sure, or have a question? Ask us!
Details:
Perhaps you have always wanted to take the workshop - now is your chance.
Perhaps you attended the workshop, but would like to recommend it to a friend - feel free to introduce them to us.
Rather than a full day - this live, in-person training will occur in a five-hour session - to make it easier for you to attend (see details above).
Limited space available - first come, first served - we are intentionally capping the size of the workshop to ensure an interactive and integrated experience for you. See the brochure and video here.
We hope all is well. We have updates for you across the coming months, but a quick note today: Many of you have asked us to offer a live, online version of our Extreme Presentation workshop - and we are providing that. Please see details below. Reserve your spot here. Not sure, or have a question? Ask us!
Details:
Perhaps you have always wanted to take the workshop - now is your chance.
Perhaps you attended the workshop, but would like to recommend it to a friend - feel free to introduce them to us.
Rather than a full day - this live online training will occur only 2.5 hours each day, 2 days in one week - to make it easier for you to attend (see details above). Consider it a long lunch.
Limited space available - first come, first served - we are intentionally capping the size of the workshop to ensure an interactive and integrated experience for you. See the brochure and video here.
We hope all is well. To follow up the post from two weeks ago, we now have access to the registration page for the Prezinar "Unleash the Power of Your Data and Evidence With Visual Storytelling" this Thursday here http://www.preziteams.com/data-storytelling . If you can join us, we look forward to the event; if you cannot join us live, but you are still interested in this topic, the replay of the event will be available for everyone who registers. See our previous post for details.
We hope you are having a restful holiday. Just a quick note to say that a number of people have expressed interest in harnessing the power of data in visual storytelling. And the folks at Prezi.com have asked us to lead a webinar on this topic. If this is something that might be valuable for you or your colleagues, feel free to spread the word, and save the date: Thursday, January 21, 2016, 1 pm Eastern US time (10 am Pacific US time; 7 pm Central European time).
To give our faithful readers an advance glimpse of the topics in this free, 45 minute "Prezinar" ...
how to present your insights, rather than just data;
how to engage your audience by embedding your data in an overarching visual story;
how to foster audience interaction through effective visuals;
how to persuade your audience to act upon your recommendations;
and more.
More details to follow in the coming weeks, as they become available.
For persuasive presentations, try this alternative approach
BY ANDREW V. ABELA
We love to hate PowerPoint, but we keep using it. The criticisms of Microsoft’s ubiquitous presentation tool are serious: that it weakens the quality of analytical thinking, communication and decision-making. Yet its use is so firmly established in the services that it is unclear whether anything can be done about it. The good news is that there is a growing amount of scholarly research that — while confirming that the problems with it are real — points the way toward some dramatic, and highly effective, alternative approaches.
"RP" had a follow up question from our recent exchange.
Thanks for the response. I would say that most of the audiences of teaching presentations are already "sold" on the reason they need to sit through a talk: their grade depends on it, a patient's life may depend on it, etc. Once I've made the sale I'm still stuck with how to present the information. Many times the information are just plain lists: "these drugs may cause QT prolongation," "here are 20 causes of pancreatitis," or "here are the findings of such and such a study." I've been trying to contextualize it somehow, finding a meaning behind all the information - though this isn't always possible. I've even tried adapting a SCoRE method: present part of a case and then come upon a problem - discuss how to fix it, continue with the case and then come to another problem, etc. This works but can get cumbersome if there's a lot to cover. Additionally, we often have to present in a ballroom (literally) and while the conference room method is better, we have to project to many. What would you suggest - Just give everyone handouts? Many audience members take offense if there are no bullet points. Thanks again, I'm going to continue to think about this. - Rahul ("RP")
Rahul: the S.Co.R.E. method should not get cumbersome if you make sure that the Complications are indeed interesting for your audience, and not just fake ones designed to tee up your next fact. If you have lots of facts to convey, such as your "20 causes of pancreatitis," you don't need to name every one of them out aloud. List them as part of your slide, name one or two, and say "and you can see the rest on your handout."
And yes, if you do want to convey details, then you should make a Conference Room style presentation. The point is: do you, or do you not want your audience to take away the details with them? If the answer is yes, then it is absolutely pointless to project bullet slides, because only someone with photographic memory will remember them.
If you use a properly designed Conference Room style slide, as laid out in the Anatomy of a Conference Room Style Presentation, then the details will not overwhelm your slide; in fact they will reinforce your message.
An animated cartoon about the Federal Reserve has made quite a stir online. "Quantitative Easing Explained" has been viewed 4.2 million times as of today, and was featured in a Wall Street Journal article in last Friday's print edition, by Ellen Gamerman, entitled "Animation Nation" (temporarily accessible without a subscription).
According to the article, sites like Montreal's Xtranormal make it easy to create such animated videos. The first time I saw this video, I didn't actually "see" it, I just listened to it, because I was driving at the time (and even in Washington DC bumper-to-bumper traffic, it's not a good idea to be watching the video screen of your phone while driving...). I loved it, I thought it was hysterically funny.
And that's the point here, I think. It's not really about the animation; it's all about the dialog. The WSJ article quotes Richard Appel, a TV producer:
It's a writer's medium that cleverly found a way to get people to look at their screen and listen to what's being said.
The animation supports the dialog, but that's all it does.
And so everything depends upon the dialog. Proof? The Reply to Quantitative Easing video, posted shortly after the original (they've both been out for about 3 months now), was also created on Xtranormal's site, and uses exactly the same animated characters and background as the original. Yet the Reply has captured fewer than seventy-five thousand views. Why? I think it's because it's dialog is lame.
What makes good dialog? Quantitative Easing works because of its snappy question and answer format. Here's the opening of the movie:
Did you hear about the Fed?
No, what about the Fed?
They announced another round of the quantitative easing.
what does that mean?
it means they are going to make large asset purchases via POMO.
what does that mean?
it means they are going to expand their balance sheet and buy treasuries.
what does that mean?
it means they are going to print a ton of money.
so why do they call it the quantitative easing? Why don’t they just call it the printing money?
because the printing money is the last refuge of failed economic empires and banana republics, and the Fed doesn’t want to admit this is their only idea.
Omid Malekan, author of this video, refers to it as "Socratic Satire."
Followers of this blog will recognize in this question and answer approach a close similarity to the S.Co.R.E. method of storytelling--and therein lies the appeal. An interesting question and answer sequence keeps the viewer's interest going, just like a good story.
So if you want to write a catchy animated video, use the S.Co.R.E. method.
How do you take a pile of information and decide in what sequence to present it so that it tells a compelling story. In my two books, I describe the S.Co.R.E. method for creating a story (stands for Situation, COmplication, Resolution, Example; note to McKinsey consultants and others raised on the Pyramid Principle--this is not the same thing at all). It's a very powerful tool--in my workshops, it is usually the top ranked tool of the day.
In preparing a blog post today (which I will post shortly) I realized that it would be helpful to post some material about the S.Co.R.E. method. Take a look at the following, if you haven't already seen them:
Nancy Duarte's new book Resonate provides interesting insights about storytelling and visual design in the most visually delightful way.
Highlights:
The Hero's Journey (p. 33): diagram of the story of Star Wars: Episode IV mapped to Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey" story model, and then represented as the audience's journey (p. 34), showing the path the audience should follow in a presentation that resonates.
Tools for mapping a journey: list of opposites that help suggest the kind of change you're looking for (p. 82) and idea lifecycle to help you identify where your audience might be stuck (p. 83).
Aristotle's three types of argument (p. 100): ethos (ethical appeal), logos (logical appeal), and pathos (emotional appeal).
Case study of Cisco's "Hop to It" presentation (p. 113-115), as a great example of turning a bland set of facts into an engaging and visually beautiful story.
Diagram of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech (p. 206-209).
And one of the most important messages of the entire book: "Amplify the Signal, Minimize the Noise" (p. 170; graphic on p. 171).
I recently had a visit from Jordan Schaffel. Jordan is a co-founder of Saying It Visually, a company that specializes in producing video stories. They have several good examples on their site, including their newest one, which explains the complex subject of closing costs in real estate. You can view it here.
My second book, The Presentation: A Story About Communicating Successfully, with Very Few Slides, will be coming out in a couple of weeks.
Subscribers to the Extreme Presentation Breaking News email list will receive a free copy of the ebook version of The Presentation—the complete ebook, not just a teaser chapter or two. If you aren't on the Breaking News email list, you can sign up now.
The Presentation is an exercise in using storytelling for effective communication. It teaches the principles of the Extreme Presentation method, which I covered in all their scientific detail in Advanced Presentations by Design, in a fast, easy to read and enjoyable format.
The Presentation tells the story of David who, with the help of his boss, Barbara, and the enigmatic Professor Edwards, is preparing for the most important presentation of his life.In a few short days, David will have to convince the Board that his division—along with his job and those of all his staff—is worth saving.He has the data he needs, and he thinks he has a good case, but can he pull it all together in a way that will capture the Board’s attention and pitch his proposal successfully, in just a few slides…?
Follow David as he learns:
that you cannot add interest to your presentation, through fancy transitions, clip art, and so on; you can only draw out the interest inherent in it by solving a problem for your audience
that there is a vast difference between slides designed for a large, Ballroom style presentation to inform or entertain the audience, and a smaller, Conference Room style presentation to persuade or sell
how to decide what you should include in your presentation, and what you should leave out
and how to design a presentation when the goal is to persuade your audience to do something: invest in your company, buy your product, approve your project, support your initiative, or donate to your organization.
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