Mele G presentation on Health and fitness see my own personal evaluation in the following post

My comments and self evaluation on my presentation

 

 

 Please check out my own personal evaluation on the class and my own presentation.

http://youtu.be/xEpX2MkaAjQ

Creating a power point and presentation

My topic chosen is Health and fitness, this is something I am passionate about and have had lots of exposure with through out my life. As a very active child enrolled in gymnastics, dance and sports this was truly the easiest part of the project.

What to focus on was a little more challenging. I didn't what aspect of health and fitness to use, I decided to just go with an overall observation and hit home to a problem area in our country.

Once I sat down and drew up ideas and concepts, my posted papers became a huge clutter around my kitchen table. I started using the tips and tools to grab a hold of inner thoughts and ideas. Presentation zen both text and website has instilled many great ideas and processes to get the main focus down and most importantly simplified as much as possible.

Once my ideas came to light I did use the internet for some information on nutrient guides and statistics for my power point.. Since there is a host of information on this topic I was overwhelmed with what material to use and what to take out. Lots of time was spent in the gathering stage.

Once I had an organized my rough draft, I then decided what visuals would be good for each of my points. Seeing that the Pechu Cuha was being utilized it was a perfect guide on timing and being precise.

The pictures I used were some of my own, some from friends and others from istock photo all had to be aligned according to my screen size and details deciding on what images to use also took a great deal of thought and process.

It was much more time consuming than I realized. Once I got all my slides together I then rearranged as some fit better in other area of the power point. When I read my presentation according to the timed secession I then had to adjust my information and omit tons of extras out. Realizing the meaning behind the saying simplify, simplify simplify ,boy oh boy did I have a lot to adjust and edit out.

After proofreading and getting the main ideas set and flowing in sync with the presentation, I was ready for the big test. Timing. This was challenging in itself as I had to figure out how to set the frames according to a specific time, and then align each topic accordingly.

 Finally after completing my power point in the allotted time, I then did it for real with a live recording but getting the images to show up clearly while taping was another challenge. I hope the submitted version on line is a much better show. But after several practices I accomplished the 20/20 rule and nailed the 6 minutes time frame I am hoping tomorrow brings the same success.

My only down fall I have a horrible memory and have to recall my information from index cards from time to time. Hopefully this can be used much less as time goes on. practice makes perfect so off I go to another secession . 

Connecting with those that matter... the Audience

Chapter 9 Connecting with the Audience

 

The more  time that is spent practicing and presenting the better we will become. Good presentations are about engaging with the audience and feel their presence, reminding yourself that they matter and appeasing the group as a whole is the goal.

Good presentations are about-

·         Conversing

·         Sharing

·         Connecting on an intellectual and emotional level, but in an honest and sincere way.

Tom Grant is an excellent speaker and is recognized for his jazz music and his continuous delight he passes to his listeners.  You see Jazz, Zen both have an art of connection it’s about the now that matters.  Sumie is a term that means the spirit of Jazz (the natural) - this is related to the honest intention.  

The key to connecting with the audience is beginning with a strong start, diving right in will grab people’s attention and bring them in. Create a P.U.N.C.H which individually stands for

·         P presentation personal and relevant. Use a personal story!

·         UUnxpected- surprise the audience do something unexpected, do something say something  powerful.

·         NNovel-  Introduce something new- a powerful image

·         CChallenging wisdom- a proactive question

·         HHumorous- use humor to connect if the audience laughs then it means they are listening.

People form an impression in the first few moments.  So for starters never start with an apology, and shy away from telling the audience that your nervous or aren’t fully prepared.

What you can do is protect yourself –How?

1.       Don’t be timid  and protect yourself

2.       The way you look (presentation includes yourself) so dress the part be professional

3.       The way you move (don’t be so jittery that you look nervous or questionable) use gestures accordingly. Its ok to move around on stage to engage with people just don’t pace back and forth

4.       The way you sound ( confidence shines through)

A very important tip, is to remind yourself to slow everything down.  Be sure to face the audience and not turn your back, or head away to look at the slides behind you. This looks bad, and seems unorganized. Be sure to connect with eye contact and do so generously.  This is why you don’t want to rely on notes, you want to spend more time engaging in the audience – keep in mind this is to be a natural approach.

The best presenters are almost like there giving a great conversation, giving high energy, standing tall, speaking up and articulating cleanly. Avoid mumbling, slouching and fast pacing or jesters. And most please avoid reading a long drawn out speech, unless that is your trying to put the crowd to sleep.

As Harah hachi Bu states: be sure to stand, deliver and connect, hitting all these aspects will give a guaranteed great presentation with a genuine applause at the end.

What more can you ask for? This post sums up what to do and not to do, I hope you are finding some good information that you can personally apply in your daily life and improve upon in your upcoming ventures.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Special delivery!

 8- and the  Delivery

 

This is the art of being completely present, being fully present at that moment and being committed to that moment. There is a term known as ZAZEN which is having the awareness of the here and now.  To do this you must clear your minds and get your logic on one place – the presentation moment.

Steve Jobs is recognized often for his poise, and presentation examples. He avoided clutter and used high quality visuals.  His speaking style was referred to as a conversational his visuals were always perfect and in sync to his story. He admitted, he practiced his presentation over and over again. Some of his presentations can be found at www.apple.com/appleevents .

Today we find so many people lost in the moment and afraid to step out of the box and out of history’s “norm”.  Brenda Veland writer of Do people listen and hear you” suggests learning new and improved methods to present your material. This can make people feel alive and vibrant, rather than tired, bored, or uninterested.   There are so many things we can do to improve and prevent a failed presentation. 

The art of Judo is one way of delivering an effective presentation. Below are some highlights of this particular style.

1.       Carefully be assertive of one self and preventative

      2.       Being able to seize the initiative in whatever you undertake.
       3.       Know when to stop (PLEASE) nobody wants to hear a dragged on presentation.
       4.       Keep to the middle of the stage ( the focal point) and desired arrangement

There is also the Jigoro Kano’s principles which are outline by John Stevens that focus on presenting under fire. Victory over the opponent is achieved by adapting to your atmosphere and taking advantage of it, making it your own advantage.

An example of a great speaker and presenter is Ben Zangler. Ben is Boston’s philharmonics greatest he is a noteworthy presenter and has established a high class style that is unique and successful. You  can check out his style, poise and character and some of his thoughts in a few presentations which can be  found on his website at  http://benjaminzander.com/     As a conductor, teacher, speaker and instructor of the art Ben actually dedicated one of his most profound moments to his father who attended one of his presentations in London. This memory is a highlight and focal point on his website, its rather touching, and inspiring.

Ben said to “play it, write it with total sincerity and with your entire body, heart and soul. With emotions and strong feelings as this, who can disagree with such admiration?”

One of the last significance of presentations is not to take yourself so seriously, humor can be added in a wonderful way and remind everywhere the real and inside of you.  Doing this means dedicating your full presence and the importance of forgetting everything else.  Yes mistakes happen, but don’t  dwell on the past, we have to understand mistakes happen and even in the  future mistakes will also occur.

chapter 7 Samples, visuals, images, and texts

Presentationzen  talking about samples, visuals, images, and text

Keep in mind differentiating yourself from other presenters is what makes you, well you.  Learning different ideas and options can expand your horizons and will help with your overall presentation.

Take for example the Takashshi method - it uses only slides but with really big text and very short words. It was Mr. Masayoshi Takahashi who is a native of the Japanese culture, who incorrporated this style. Now a very popular, but a unique way to presenting.The characters used are large and bold styles, which  easily catch the audience's  attention and more importantly can read and understand with simplicity!

On the website Presentationzen there was a post from August 4 2009 talking about the “11 way to use images poorly in slides. “

We all have tried and failed at one point or another, but using tips that can avoid a failure will be most beneficial to all.

Let’s start with photos that are not appropriate for “every kind of talk” (Garr. R)  You can’t fit every great picture in just because. There must be a good fit and application for the image or visual.

1.       For starters make sure your image is NOT too small, making it hard for the audience to see.

2.       Next stay away from placing the image randomly on the slide (Can make the text look out of place)

3.       If the image is almost full screen – good chance it will look like a poor effect. (fill the screen for a better look)

4.       Image of a poor quality or too low of a megapixel (can happen by taking a website picture and stretching it.  Just be sure the quality is on point.

5.         Image of poor quality and has watermark (Don’t be too cheap or lazy) sloppy or poor quality may end up making you look bad.

6.       Avoid clip art this can be a cheesy look- just do me a favor and stay away from this!

7.       Keep away from images that have nothing to do with the content.

8.       When the text is hard to see, crop the picture to alter where the text portion will go and make the letter legible.

I took only the most important tips from this post, there are many more tips available but you get the just of this. The idea is to make sure what goes on that screen that you have it in the best position, style, and condition possible. See below as I took the example from the presentation zen on 8/4/2009 post showing how changing and altering small things makes a big difference dont be scared to change and play around with the look, style and text.(Photos were taken from istockphoto) Can you see how the photo on the right gives it a more defined look?

Presentation and Design Principles and Techniques

Presentation Design and principles

Design starts right at the beginning it's about creating solutions that help or improve the lives and thoughts of people.  Good designs should be able to changes things.

To have a good design a few things are needed - Graphics should be free from errors and must be accurate, to acquire this Robin Williams provides suggestions from her publication The Non Designers which includes these few principles:

1. Signal to noise ration

2.  Picture superior effect

3. Empty space

4. The big four – contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity 

The key to a great design is using fewer elements and keeping SIMPLICITY in mind.   Stay away from branding your logo on everything and using it as a detail on every slide.

Tom Grimes agrees with the “less is more idea” to get the core point across without being overbearing and redundant you can use the I- 7-7 rule this incorporates the main idea on a slide using 7 text images /visuals. A good concept for minimal elaboration.

Always remember pictures and effects are statistically remembered better than words. With that being said, ask yourself if there any text slides that could be replaced with a photograph or image instead? I would suggest trying to do so going forward!

Now the where to? Where you may ask can you can professional photos, well for those not fortunate enough to have a photographer in your inner circle, the next best thing are websites that charge a nominal fee, or are free for usage. A few websites are www.everystockphoto.com , www.istockphoto.com , www.fotolia.com , www.dreamstime.com , www.japanesestreets.com and lastly if you do decide on using quotes please be sure they are short and simple.

Empty space is key, so be sure to leave a spot or two, this can capture elegance, clarity, high quality, sophistication, and importance of course. Zen highlights and captures the simple things in life.

The website PrensentationZen  brings out an interesting point from an articled posted May 8^th 2013 stating- there should be no excuse for boring an audience from a bad technical presentation. You may have read or recalled the story called ‘Death by a Salesman” this was a great story with an interesting ending, well again there is a similar idea called “death by-power point” by Prezi.  Just spare your audience and don’t do it. J

The pain and suffering of bad presentations must end, TODAY! I learned a thing or two did you? Well hopefully so. Everything should be balanced and used in accordance to your presentation, remember when in doubt take it OUT! Having a smooth power point slide in conjunction with your story will have a nice response from your audience. They will have takeaways from your speech and will have learned something. Just as Chris Dasiell mentioned in his article Kane Reaction found on cinescene.com he mentioned how the techniques, software and design are used to aid your narrative, to “show off or impress”. Keeping these tips and thoughts in mind will help you in creating the best presentation ever!