Have you heard of the “assertion-evidence approach” for making slides? It’s a simple, powerful, evidence-based approach to presenting your talk.
It was devised as a more effective way to share scientific findings. But you can also use its directness and clarity in business – to great effect.
And that’s especially so when you present insights from analysing data. You know, like:
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.
Don’t make that mistake with your slides!
Don’t make that mistake with your slides!
As Jean-Luc pointedly asks:
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.
What do you think??
Remote Possibilities 