Has the Internet made books obsolete? Not so far as I’m concerned. I have 20+ titles in my personal library of books about presentations—and I’ve even read most of them. If I could keep only three, my choices would be:
Since the publication
When Should Presenters Apologize?
Too many presenters seem to feel an odd compulsion to apologize the the audience at the beginning of their talk. Not a good idea!
My latest article at LLRX explores the reasons for this strange behavior and suggests situation when apologies are appropriate and when they are not. Thanks to the ever-alert Sabrina I. Pacifici
The Value of Handouts
Presenters sometimes ask “Should I give the audience handouts? A simple question deserves a simple answer:
Yes, nearly always.
There are many reasons for this. The simplest is that at least a few audience members, perhaps many, will consider the failure to provide some written accompaniment to be evidence of apathy and/or laziness. Apathetic
Should Presenters Ever Apologize?
Have you observed trainers doing things like this?
Before beginning her presentation, a trainer tells the audience, “I had planned to show you this wonderful video with actors from The Office singing this song “Let’s Get Ethical,” to the tune of “Let’s Get Physical.” Unfortunately, I can’t get the DVD to work, so I can’t
Slide Show Formatting Basics Article
Would Fred Astaire’s scintillating dance moves have looked as good if he had abandoned his usual suave wardrobe in favor of clothes that made him look like one of the irredeemable low-life characters represented in A Hillbilly Elegy?
We’ll never know, but there is one thing we do know: The best substantive presentation material
Slide Show Formatting Basics: Bullet Points, Templates and Logos
Would Fred Astaire’s scintillating dance moves have looked as good if he had abandoned his usual suave wardrobe in favor of clothes that made him look like one of the irredeemable low-life characters represented in A Hillbilly Elegy?
We’ll never know, but there is one thing we do know: The best substantive presentation material
Slide Show Formatting Basics: Colors
Old fashioned transparencies, often referred to as overheads, worked much better as dark text on a light, preferably white background. Modern computer slide show projectors use a different technology. With slides, light colored text works best against a dark background.
What background color is best? Some authorities suggest trying to match colors to the emotional
Powerpoint Has Problems. It’s Worthy Anyway.
Glad to see my latest article on slide shows in the June issue of LLRX.com. An excerpt:
Antipathy toward slide shows is understandable but misdirected. Most are poor. Too many users of slide shows don’t understand what they are doing or don’t put in enough effort, or both. A high percentage of slide shows are
Selecting Fonts for Online Publications
Enhance Training Materials With Font Choices
Accurate, and engaging content is the key to computer slide shows. However, appearance counts, and counts big. Font choice is one subtle but important appearance factor. It’s worth taking some time to understand the basics of font choices for slide shows, and how they compare to other tools ethics trainers
Presenter’s Guide Series: Why When And How to Ask Audiences Questions
Asking questions can benefit audiences—and presenters—in multiple ways. The biggest personal benefit I have found is simple: I learn things.
Even when an audience answer is off the mark it can prompt me to think about issues in different and better ways. Audience answers often spark useful ideas that never would have occurred to me