November 23, 2005

Powerpoint Much?

Garr Reynolds’ blog Presentation Zen is a must-read for anyone who makes powerpoints. Great sensible ideas for creating good “slideware” with examples – the comparison of Steve Jobs’ and Bill Gates’ presentations are eye-opening (and more positive for Jobs than Gates).

Stuff I already knew and do:
- use the [b] key to “blank” the screen while talking; forces the audience to pay attention to you rather than your slide.

Stuff I will try to incorporate into future presentations:
- less text, more images (even moving images!)
- use slide transitions; Garr says it’s ok to use 2-3 per show. I might use them to differentiate between one segment of class from another (i.e., from “ready reference sources” to “ethics” to “bibliography assignment” in basic reference).

See also Garr’s
- analysis of the Lessig Method (yup, Larry Lessig) and the Kawasaki Method (former Apple guru Guy Kawaski: ten slides, ten ideas), and his
- presentation tips; all three sections are useful.

Can we get lots o’ librarians to read these? Make ppt better for all!

1 comment:

MurphyStreet said...

Here are more tips for you. www.googlelibrarian.com... Hope you enjoy!