In this week's Technology in Education class we discussed the many dimensions of effective presentation making. To me this is a rather challenging topic to discuss many people believe presentations to be a form of entertainment. To me, presentations are simply a way to communicate information to a group of people. Now, of course there are good presentations and bad, but its often difficult to deconstruct them into pros and cons. | |
| In class we watched two different videos. One was an example of an ineffective presentation (though the video itself was brilliant) and one on a really effective presentations. The bad one (video above) was in fact bad, but I would argue, for one main reason: the presenter. I personally don't care about how pretty a presentation looks, and to be honest, bullet points really help me! The problem with the presentation is that the speaker clearly didn't want to be there. He didn't care about the material he was discussing and he wasn't intentional about his actions. He felt like he was better than everyone, and relayed that feeling back to his audience where it was not well received. |
The 'good' presentation (seen in the video above) does in fact do many good things. There are stunning visuals, and you can tell that the presenter truly loved the topic he is discussing. He is excited to share the information he has with the world. However, this is an unrealistic example of what presentations can be for most people. Think about the amount of time it would take to make that presentation? | |
So instead of setting myself up for inevitable failure, I have decided what the most important aspect of presentation is for me: intention. Be the presenter who's goal it is to share something that they love with the rest of the world. Be the presenter who uses bullet points to relay the main points of the lecture, not random nonsense. In the last clip I have included in the post, JK Rowling is discussing why Hufflepuff is her favourite house from her popular franchise, Harry Potter. She believes Hufflepuffs are strong and brave, not out of showmanship, but simply because it is the right thing to do. So there you go, be the presenter you want to be and do it for the right reasons. Not because you have a failed acting career and need to put on a show somewhere, but instead, because it is the right thing to do!