practice talk

[gusl]

My practice talk went so-so. "Only" 4 people came. I got lots of good feedback.

My talk needed more rhetorical structure (letting audience know what to expect), better motivation, and the scope of our contribution wasn't clear enough.

I find it hard to coordinate the content of the slides with the spoken part without either:
* sounding like I'm just reading the slides, or
* deviating from the slides and presenting information at the wrong time

Are my slides too good?

Comments

[simrob.livejournal.com]

Obviously I didn't see your talk, but a frequent problem is that this means that your slides are too detailed if you feel like you're reading them.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

OTOH, I want people on laptops to be able to use my slides as notes.

[simrob.livejournal.com]

But then it's not a talk - it's a set of notes. If you want people to be able to use slides as notes, then make notes to go with the slides :).

For one of my talks I made annotated powerpoint slides - the annotations are the notes, not the slides: example. I've also toyed with the idea of recording talks lawrence lessig-style, but I don't think I've said anything that's really all that interesting or important.

Slides aren't notes, they're slides. They're not the same. In my humble opinion.

[mdinitz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm with Rob. When I make slides, one sign that there's way too much text is that the slides make sense without anyone talking.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

Seriously, this is like the main way people suck at presentations. Write your slides to complement what you're saying. An outline, a graphic, maybe a little joke or two to keep people paying attention.

Slides are slides, notes are notes.

[azzil.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I agree with that. Content slides should usually only contain a few main points, a diagram/image that you explain and a fewer main points, or a more detailed diagram/image that you discuss in detail.

Good presenters use the slides as more of a locating device. As in, "Aha! I am on this slide, therefore I present this information with this lead-in to the next slide."

It sounds like you should trim your slides and practice the content that you want to be on each one or within each section of a few.

[gwillen.livejournal.com]

Personally I avoid this problem by not having slides.

You're probably presenting the sort of talk that really needs slides; in that case, I would suggest (as a sort of extreme, strawman suggestion, not necessarily meant to be taken) using the slides only for those things that _must_ be on slides, because you can't effectively present them verbally: diagrams, possibly code snippets if you use code, pictures, etc.

[bhudson.livejournal.com]

Shewchuk puts your suggestion out as a challenge.

Gustavo: If there's actual text on a slide, you'd better intend to read it verbatim, for two reasons: (1) because you will, even if you try not to; (2) because otherwise the audience will try to listen *and* try to read, and end up failing at both (or, more seasoned attendees will shortcut this and just tune out).

Of course, too much text and you turn into a dreadful drone, so all you can get away with are maybe a quote, and a few keywords. Maybe a phrase, but only rarely.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

get away with? what do you mean?

[(Anonymous)]

You should you argument diagrams. This would certainly help.

[(Anonymous)]

You should use argument diagrams. This would certainly help. (Sorry about the misspelling).

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

Hi. Which arguments, specifically? Who is this?

[(Anonymous)]

It would be helpful to understand the flow of your practice talk. You could write argument diagrams on the board as you go along to improve your talk.-Casey

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

Were you at the practice talk? which one?

Surely you're not suggesting drawing argument maps while presenting the talk??

Are you www.cs.brown.edu/~casey ?

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I was at the practice talk. Indeed, I am suggesting that you include slides with argument maps. Drawing them on the board during the talk would be too time consuming. ~Casey