Check out this 1-minute video clip (from a 1-hour talk) by Jean-Luc Doumont. In the clip, the speaker critiques a shot of a sample slide (which is the white area on his own grey slide).
As you’ll see, the sample slide contains just its title and a simple chart:
Did you see how the sample slide’s title makes a classic (and very common) mistake? Namely, it simply “parrots” what’s on the slide, saying:
Evolution of the number of candidates 1989-2012
And sure enough, the chart on the slide offers no surprises: It’s a line graph labelled “Number of candidates” – with an x-axis from 1989 to 2012.
As the slide offers no surprises, and no insights, it’s of no interest to the audience. So, they’ll be turned off by it, and they’ll tune out.
TED talks are often extraordinary, and this one’s certainly no exception!
I wonder whether this idea will ever take off? Used sparingly, performing arts could be a very effective (and memorable!) alternative to traditional presenting.