I’d like to build on something that I mentioned last week about making the content of presentations come alive. I said, “We need to do more than transfer information from an outside source to our audience; we need to instead transform information by doing something with it—filtering it through our consciousness or experiences; putting it in a unique context; in other words, surprising our audience with what we do with the content and in the process telling them something they don’t already know.” This kind of transformation helps us to make audiences care and helps them to remember what we are saying.
I think that this is one of the primary problems I see with presentations in which the presenters simply gather some information from a source, say a website, and then replicate the information in their presentation. First of all, the chance that someone else has already seen that source is pretty good, which makes the presentation rather unnecessary. Second, this kind of transference is missing the input of the speaker, whose job it is to do something important or interesting with the information.
So what kinds of things can we do to transform information? Here are some thoughts which arose out of our class discussion last week:
- Put the information in a new or surprising way by shifting the context in which we look at it. That might mean comparing it to something else to give the audience a clearer perspective on what it means. It also might mean changing the frame around the information so that it takes on a new meaning.
- Make the information personal. Instead of just giving some general statistics, try and translate the statistics into information that has personal meaning for the audience.
- Use the information to tell a story. Translate raw data into a personal story to make it meaningful and memorable.
Much of this thinking is derived from Heath and Heath’s fabulous book, Made to Stick, which does an amazing job of exploring how to make people remember what you say. My goal for an upcoming post will be to provide concrete examples of all these things, since examples are another way to make people remember. Any suggestions?
I agree that too many times people just regurgitate information they found other places. But, you have to wonder, is it that people just aren’t putting enough effort into trying to make a “sticky” impression, or if they are just not sure of what they should say.
I think thats what makes this class helpful and effective, is that we are learning how to take facts and statistics, and put our own touch or a special spin on it, that makes people remember and listen to what we have to say.
The fact of the matter is, someone can stand infront of the class, and run down a list of number and facts, but it’s not going to stick with someone, as well as personal stories, or a way that the audience can relate to what is being said.
Some of the suggestions I would have are:
share personal stories
Make facts personal
use examples that the audience can relate too
give unusual facts that may suprise or shock your audience
We have all been on the receiving and giving ends of presentations at one point or another. In my opinion, when someone tells a story, my attention has been captured. I sit there listening attentively because I want to know what happens next. From the presenter’s point of view, a story is a great way to make sure that you know exactly what to say. It has a beginning, an end, and it’s already structured for you! It is my preferred presentation style.
However, a boring story without the surprise or twist is not very effective either. I believe that a story must be personal or shocking in order to be effective. This is not always an easy task but I recommend that everyone visit http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/my-best-presentation-tricks.html This is a great website! I’m not sure of the writer’s credibility but the site was passed on to me a while ago and I would like to share it with you now.
As a presenter, you are bridge between two units: the presented information and the audience. It is your job to “make the drive” between the two points interesting and engaging. Using a quiz or questions to start the presentation is a good tool to initially grab the audience’s attention and allows them to feel involved in the presentation. The quiz should have a surprising result which would further grasp the audience attention. Professor Sisco showed one in class, “Which animal has killed more people last year, a shark or a deer?” Many people may think the shark caused more deaths, but the deer caused more deaths. This technique is most interesting for me because it gets me thinking about the topic during the introduction, especially if my answer is wrong. If I feel as though I know the information that is going to be presented I am less apt to fully pay attention. If the presenter however proved me wrong in the beginning of the presentation, I am typically more focused on the topic.
The quiz/question should be relevant to the topic and interesting. If the presenter gives boring questions to the audience it could be even worse for the presentation because the audience for the most part will not want to take a boring quiz, it will turn them off.
I think we can analyze transformation in two steps; first one being the power point part of the presentation and the other one can be the transformation of the oral presentation itself. Copying the information and presenting it the same way as your source, can be applied to both presentations and power points. In power points, it may come out as too much information, confusing data, complex graphics and charts. When it is practiced in the whole presentation, it ends up being a boring, tiring and so, a pointless presentation. A presenter should definitely put the data; he or she gathered in a unique context and try to make the audience care and wonder what is next. (Another boring slide full of confusing data and charts or a creative, simple and effective slide that would make the audience say waow, good to know.)
Brainstorming about delivery methods must be the process that takes most of our time while preparing a presentation. Collecting data ends at one point. But improving your delivery style can last forever if you consider all the different options you can apply to your speech and power point. If you are really enthusiastic and eager to talk about your topic, you become creative and your outcome is more likely to amaze yourself before you amaze your audience.
I have a really good example of transformation by comedian Don MC Millan about “How to not to make a power point” Since we started grad school, we might have heard these kinds of lectures hundred of times about correct use of APA style, not using a lot of bullets in power points, bad color schemes, and ineffectiveness of packing data in presentations. I must admit that none of these lectures could help me learn how to make a good power point better than this one.
I was looking forward to post the link below but I was waiting for a coherent topic to release it. I did not want to waste it as a simple example of a fun presentation. I think it is more than that.
Transformation Not Transference
I find that often when I am doing a presentation for a class it is on information I might not be familiar with depending on the topic. I believe that topics that we know more about due to interest or work comes out better due to our creditability, but also because being familiar with the subject area provides me with the knowledge of finding more useful resources. The way in which someone relates a topic they are an expert in will most of the time be a better presentation because often they will know the best information to present to support their case. This can also work as a disadvantage because once a routine is put into place professionals are often stuck in their ways and stick with what works even if there could be a better alternative of doing presentations. The speaker would often keep following the norm instead of taking a chance with a new method that could be rejected. In order for a new approach to be effective it must really catch the audience’s attention and be appropriate for the audience. The key for many people is to relate what they learn in class to their work. Isn’t that the point of college? As I have seen in class one student in particular often asks the audience for there opinion on his class work that he is incorporating to his work at Citizens. I think this is a useful use of his time because he is going to improve him self before he does presentations at work. It’s like any thing in life it is always better to have a practice run before taking risks in some cases like this. The way in which a student can receive feedback good or bad is helpful to each individual student because what may work for some students in some cases may not necessarily work for another student. Therefore, I think it is important for each student to realize what strengths are there and weaknesses they have in order to improve the transitions. The more this is picked up by the student threw feedback, the better a presenter the student will become.
While talking about this particular issue, I did not get any better example than the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Sisco for giving an opportunity to experience magnificent presentation which is a transformation of knowledge rather than transference. While we are talking about gathering information and replicating it to audience, we need to learn a lot from him.
Talking about the same issue, the documentary gives a perfect example of the genius of replicating information to audience. Though this is a documentary and a big investment itself on the making, we are just trying to look for the way to transfer the knowledge to audience.
As students of advanced communication, if we don’t look it as documentary and observe it as a professional presentation, it can be a model for us to learn that even a very familiar subject can be delivered in a way that it will be exploration of truth every time.
The monologue converts this presentation to be more personal to the audience and it is more emotional and appealing to come to action. The information is generalized with all the facts, figures and incidents captured lively. The way information is generalized, it’s unique and understandable. The most important thing l liked about this presentation is that even the complex phenomenon has been turned into the simplest thing to understand.
On conclusion, we can say transformation is really important to make any presentation lively and audience oriented.
The problem of transferring is an apparent issue that I see in many PowerPoint presentations. However, I do believe that one should be taught on how to effectively transform the information that they receive from sources. My problem when transforming is trying to maintain the same information conveyed by the source.
When trying to develop intriguing PowerPoint slides we sometimes loose the intended message of the statistic and this could take away from the presenter’s credibility. I do agree that the required text does a phenomenal job in showcasing several ways to display information effectively using PowerPoint. The use of color (color scheme) imagery, word position, font etc. all contributes to the transformation process. My suggestions for improving the transfer process would be:
1. Provide information and have each member of the class transform the data
2. Provide brief examples (like you have)
3. Look at examples of how poor transformation can decrease the strength of one’s presentation
The word transformation in and of itself suggests that a presentation topic can be revolutionized from its ordinary and usual method to one which moves the audience. I believe that there are several points, however, that need to be considered before transformation can occur. Most of our class discussions and posts have centered on the importance of full and complete understanding of the chosen topic. At this level, it is already a given. Likewise, most, if not all, also understand the basics of delivery etiquette when presenting.
What is new, and demonstrated so dramatically within the first few weeks of class, is the all important task of using the creative side of our brains. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor certainly was effective in transforming information that could have been an extremely boring and dry presentation. Garr Reynolds has also created an imaginative spark in those who visit his website and read his text, Presentation Zen. I have to agree wholeheartedly that challenging the creative aspect pays off immeasurably as so few presenters apply this practice. This is also in line with our reading in Why Business People Speak Like Idiots. Perhaps many don’t think of using their creativity simply because others business people don’t. Perhaps it is because they fear that many will equate “creativity” with being “dumb”. Perhaps it is because, as authors point out that business people as designed to be all alike and therefore easily replaced? It makes no sense to me, particularly as one of few-if any-students that did not have an undergraduate degree in business. In my work, I have always found transformation of subject matter challenging, rewarding, and successful.
Transformation is not an easy undertaking. It requires thinking outside the box. It also takes an incredible amount of time and patience. Several readings suggest brainstorming and writing out ideas to permit creative flow. What is not always mentioned, however, is the concept of reworking and rethinking ideas to assure that the audience gets the right message. To that end, transformation also requires practice, in front of an audience, with valuable feedback upon which to revise.
With time, patience, practice and permission, a successful transformation exists for almost any topic at hand.