I again enjoyed reading the next set of chapters from both of our texts. Presentation Zen had some really good caveats. I particularly enjoyed the idea of "making them want more" which naturally tied into the idea of finishing a little early (don't go over your allotted time). It is probably easier said than done but I'd love to have the audience looking at the clock noticing that it's a little early and thinking "wait, that's it? I want to know more about...". The hard part would be conveying the important aspects of your message while building up to an exciting conclusion where the audience feels like there should be more.
I also enjoyed looking through the examples of slide shows and images. When I revamped my original PPT presentation I was reluctant to stray from my style of plain white background because I thought there should be a repeated theme to the presentation concerning style. After viewing some examples I saw that alternating dark backgrounds with lighter backgrounds did not adversely effect the presentation and even added a little variety.
The Digitales chapters that we read this week made me realize that there is a lot of technical skill that goes into creating a powerful presentation. You almost need to have graphic design skills, web design skills, or something similar to really be able to cover the whole gamut of creating an earth-shattering presentation.
Now to the brutally honest part of this blog. I am having a heck of a time with the story-boarding for the Pecha Kucha. Perhaps it just doesn't fit with how I'm used to organizing a presentation but it just seems extremely redundant. If I was doing this the old fashioned way by taking physical boards or post-its and planning this out by hand in an effort to "step away from the technology" I could maybe give it a little validity. Sitting down at the computer and creating a storyboard electronically, only to repeat the process in another electronic format once we get done with it just doesn't make sense to me. It is not allowing me to enjoy the Pecha Kucha itself. Can't wait until I'm done with that...ugh.
The Prezi assignment will be fun...once I get to it.
I have also felt that I was lacking in the graphic design background. I don't have much of an artist eye, but even I have found ways to improve the look of my presentations. (people who know my artistic skill find this very impressive) I have been struggling with the Pecha Kucha as well. Completing the storyboard electronically does seem to go against everything we've been reading in Presentation Zen, but I suppose there is no other way to turn it in since we don't meet face to face.
ReplyDeleteI am going to agree that I ran into trouble with the story board. I am not used to planning it out that way. I do create a plan in my head, but putting it into a plan, then doing it, presenting it is doing the same thing 3 times. I would understand if we were planning on actually talking to a group of people live. This is recorded and when it is done that his how it goes. I almost fell into the trap of creating the board on what work I had done.
ReplyDeleteI looked at it this way. It was an "organized" format of ordering my photos and ideas. I did not put in much detail as that again would be redundant. It just creates a reference of where you are going with the story.
I found sketching out my presentation was helpful, but the detail part is what I felt took a long time. I know we were alotted an hour for that this week, but I honestly think I spent close to three on that part of our homework alone. However, I would say that there aren't things in my presentation that are just taking up space. Having to critique myself before I even starting building the presentation should yield some cool ideas.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the time issue that we are all facing is just because we have all been doing it wrong.
Catching up on my commenting a bit late but ... As for creating the Earth Shattering presentations, yes, it takes some graphic design skills. I love working with graphics and this part is easy for me. Check out my Pecha Kucha when I'm done. It's about things graphics newbies need to learn about for working with digital graphics. It's not a tutorial but rather more informational about things you should look for and learn with tutorials.
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