Amen!

The hierarchy of presentations

A presentation is a precious opportunity. It's a powerful arrangement... one speaker, an attentive audience, all in their seats, all paying attention (at least at first).

Don't waste it.

The purpose of a presentation is to change minds. That's the only reason I can think of to spend the time and resources. If your goal isn't to change minds, perhaps you should consider a different approach.

1. The best presentation is no presentation at all. If you can get by with a memo, send a memo. I can read it faster than you can present it and we'll both enjoy it more.

2. The second best presentation is one on one. No slides, no microphone. You look me in the eye and change my mind.

3. Third best? Live and fully interactive.

4. Powerpoint or Keynote, but with no bullets, just emotional pictures and stories.

5. And last best... well, if you really think you can change my mind by using tons of bullets and a droning presentation, I'm skeptical.

A presentation isn't an obligation, it's a privilege.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/04/the-hierarchy-of-presentations.html

• To make good presentations we need to think like designers.
• When we prepare slides, we should remember that the visual sense is dominant. Use pictures, color, contrast, and simplicity to communicate your message.
• Our audience is either going to read our slides or listen to us, not both. People have a hard time listening and reading. If we put too many words on our slides, they'll be reading, and we want them listening.
  
• Each one of our slides should convey one idea and one idea only.
  
• Handouts that are made directly from slides, or slideuments, should be replaced by proper handouts that complement our presentations. The presentation should not be directly reflected in the handout. We want people to listen to our presentation, not read our slides at their tables.
  
• We should think about our presentation as a movie, with each slide being a scene.
  Stories are an incredibly important part of presenting; people will remember our stories, not our data.
  
• We should develop our presentations by using Post-Its, white boards, and pen and paper. Remember Alan Kay's quotation, "Most ideas you can do pretty darn good with a stick in the sand."
  
• The goal of an effective slide is simplicity. As John Maeda states, "simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful."
  
• According to Nancy, the company that communicates well will win.
  
• Be very careful to have a clear structure. Everyone thrives when a presentation has structure.
  
• Strive for naturalness during your presentation. Garr quoted John Coltrane in stating, "You can play a shoe string if you're sincere."
• 
  http://www.nsdc.org/learningBlog/post.cfm/will-death-by-powerpoint-soon-be-a-thing-of-the-past