guy kawasaki
Merlin Mann on His Own Presentations
August 24, 2007 Filed in: Links
Did any of you feel like my last post was kind of
forced? Yeah, me too. Anyway:
43 Folders: How I made my presentations a little better
Merlin Mann of 43 Folders writes an excellent piece about his own experienced in preparing presentations. He cites some individuals I find very influential myself. He summarizes many good points, and I'll be bookmarking this link for future reference.
Here's a taste of the post:
43 Folders: How I made my presentations a little better
Merlin Mann of 43 Folders writes an excellent piece about his own experienced in preparing presentations. He cites some individuals I find very influential myself. He summarizes many good points, and I'll be bookmarking this link for future reference.
Here's a taste of the post:
I’m not suggesting your slides should undermine you, but consider sometimes showing images and text that make an orthogonal point to what you’re saying aloud to the audience at that moment. Let them discover the point (or the joke) without you leaning on it.
Let the slide serve your message, rather than letting you (and your personality and timing) be governed by the slide. That’s ‘death,’ and that’s “The Wørd.”
The Self-Conscious Approach
July 10, 2007 Filed in: General Tips
| Delivery
To reach the broadest
possible audience with your message, you have to care
what others think of you. You are being judged by the
audience every bit as much as your content, and, if
the audience does not buy into you, they will
generally not buy into your material. Think of
political debates you or your family may get into as
well as when the media tackles issues. Inevitably,
the person behind the issues will be as much a
subject as the issue itself.
Whenever you present, it's important to wear as small a target as possible. To do so, you must be very conscious of self – your appearance, the way you dress, your mannerisms and idiosyncrasies that may distract your audience from your presentation. I've seen perfectly competent presentations fail in delivery (and some great deliveries of poor material) because the presenters seemed oblivious or unconcerned with the impressions they left with the audience.
A good presentation is essentially a small-scale production, and productions need good performers.
Take these presenters as positive examples:
left to right: Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds, Al Gore
These individuals are great illustrations of good performers in presentation. They are very conscious of how they carry themselves, how they speak, how they dress. I believe "refined" would be a good word for it. They realize that they are every bit as much a part of the overall presentation as any notes, handouts, slides, or other visuals. They have roles to play in the delivery of their messages, and their presence is just as orchestrated as the technology involved. As a result, the presentations are very engaging and a cut above much of what we are used to seeing.
Being an individualistic society, we value the mantra of not caring what others think of ourselves, but, if we want people to accept what we have to say, we need to make sure we are not getting in the way of our own message. Do some presentations succeed despite the speakers' imperfections? Absolutely. However, giving ourselves as much attention as our notes or visuals will go a long way in removing obstacles between our presentation and our audience's attention.
Additional Viewing and Reading
Whenever you present, it's important to wear as small a target as possible. To do so, you must be very conscious of self – your appearance, the way you dress, your mannerisms and idiosyncrasies that may distract your audience from your presentation. I've seen perfectly competent presentations fail in delivery (and some great deliveries of poor material) because the presenters seemed oblivious or unconcerned with the impressions they left with the audience.
A good presentation is essentially a small-scale production, and productions need good performers.
Take these presenters as positive examples:
left to right: Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds, Al Gore
These individuals are great illustrations of good performers in presentation. They are very conscious of how they carry themselves, how they speak, how they dress. I believe "refined" would be a good word for it. They realize that they are every bit as much a part of the overall presentation as any notes, handouts, slides, or other visuals. They have roles to play in the delivery of their messages, and their presence is just as orchestrated as the technology involved. As a result, the presentations are very engaging and a cut above much of what we are used to seeing.
Being an individualistic society, we value the mantra of not caring what others think of ourselves, but, if we want people to accept what we have to say, we need to make sure we are not getting in the way of our own message. Do some presentations succeed despite the speakers' imperfections? Absolutely. However, giving ourselves as much attention as our notes or visuals will go a long way in removing obstacles between our presentation and our audience's attention.
Additional Viewing and Reading
Semons in 10-20-30
July 25, 2006 Filed in: General Tips
In my last post, I touched upon the fact that
preachers should try to follow the 10-20-30 Rule as much as
possible. Now, Mr. Kawasaki's rule is
specifically geared toward business pitches, and
he lays out a simple 10-point list of how your
slides should flow in this setting.
Whether you want to think of it this way or not, sermons are very similar to pitches. You usually start with a problem (i.e. divorce rates). You propose a solution that typically includes scripture references, and you conclude with a call to action.
In this post, I'm going to put together a sample 10-slide sermon as a model for what a 10-20-30 sermon presentation might look like. This lesson is about divorce, and it will follow a "3-point" outline with an introduction and summation.
x
While the lesson is being generally introduced, slide 1 is visible. I would start without the text and have it appear while I'm working up to the problem. Slide 2 is very simple, clearly pointing out the problem that about half of US marriages end in divorce. Now, I can list some other relevant statistics if I wish (like trending, broken home violence, etc.) , but they don't all need to be enumerated on the slide because they are all secondary to that figure.
The solution is presented upfront. The way to handle the problem of divorce begins and ends with respect: respect for marriage, respect for one another, and respect for God's word. At this point, I don't build all three of those points onto the slide. The slide merely opens with "The Answer?" and I build in "Respect" once I am ready. I don't want the congregation to get ahead of me. Details should not be revealed until the speaker is ready.
x
The first point of our sermon focuses on respecting the institution of marriage. We start with Genesis 2:24 (on slide 4) where a married man and woman are described as one flesh. From here, I can refer to related scriptures about oneness such as Deuteronomy 6:4 and briefly compare it to Ephesians 5:31, but the slide remains focused on Genesis 2:24. Slide 5 centers around Hebrews 13:4 describing marriage as honorable. At this point, it might be wise to glance at Matthew 19 where Jesus says God joins the couple together.
The main point of these two slides is that God created marriage honorable and holy, and we should should respect what God has created.
x
Slide 6 emphasizes the adultery that can result from divorce. The one initiating divorce is guilty of adultery, and he/she may have laid the path for his/her former spouse to commit adultery. Slide 7 talks about violence as the result of divorce, and I could speak a moment here about the numerous individuals affected negatively by a divorce. (Again, there is no need to list them on a slide. The congregation does not need to be spoon-fed information.)
The main point: If we really respect ourselves and others, we will sincerely seek other alternatives before divorce.
x
Slide 8 remains with Malachi 2:16 and the fact that God hates divorce. That alone should be enough for us. On slide 9, Jesus is referenced as pointing out that there is no good reason for divorce (except for adultery by one's spouse).
The main point: As Christians, we should respect God's view of divorce and avoid it if possible.
Slide 10 merely serves to review the big points of the lesson and encourage the congregation to take marriage seriously rather than view it as something easily disposed of. If we have the proper respect for marriage as God made it, for each other, and for God's views on the matter of divorce, then we should work diligently to maintain the solidarity of our marriages.
Now I drafted this outline and these slides from scratch especially for this post. I even went to my favorite stock photography sites to find some new images, and used eBible for looking up scriptures and commentary. This took about three hours in all. I don't think thats an unreasonable amount of time.
Whether or not you agree with the doctrine of these slides, I hope you can learn something from this model. Our sermon presentations do not have to be derivative and mundane. With a little work, our slides can be a strong reinforcer of our message at an intellectual and an emotional level.
Whether you want to think of it this way or not, sermons are very similar to pitches. You usually start with a problem (i.e. divorce rates). You propose a solution that typically includes scripture references, and you conclude with a call to action.
In this post, I'm going to put together a sample 10-slide sermon as a model for what a 10-20-30 sermon presentation might look like. This lesson is about divorce, and it will follow a "3-point" outline with an introduction and summation.
Slides 1 & 2: Introduction & Statement of Problem
xWhile the lesson is being generally introduced, slide 1 is visible. I would start without the text and have it appear while I'm working up to the problem. Slide 2 is very simple, clearly pointing out the problem that about half of US marriages end in divorce. Now, I can list some other relevant statistics if I wish (like trending, broken home violence, etc.) , but they don't all need to be enumerated on the slide because they are all secondary to that figure.
Slide 3: The Solution
The solution is presented upfront. The way to handle the problem of divorce begins and ends with respect: respect for marriage, respect for one another, and respect for God's word. At this point, I don't build all three of those points onto the slide. The slide merely opens with "The Answer?" and I build in "Respect" once I am ready. I don't want the congregation to get ahead of me. Details should not be revealed until the speaker is ready.
Slides 4-9: Details and Scripture
xThe first point of our sermon focuses on respecting the institution of marriage. We start with Genesis 2:24 (on slide 4) where a married man and woman are described as one flesh. From here, I can refer to related scriptures about oneness such as Deuteronomy 6:4 and briefly compare it to Ephesians 5:31, but the slide remains focused on Genesis 2:24. Slide 5 centers around Hebrews 13:4 describing marriage as honorable. At this point, it might be wise to glance at Matthew 19 where Jesus says God joins the couple together.
The main point of these two slides is that God created marriage honorable and holy, and we should should respect what God has created.
x
Slide 6 emphasizes the adultery that can result from divorce. The one initiating divorce is guilty of adultery, and he/she may have laid the path for his/her former spouse to commit adultery. Slide 7 talks about violence as the result of divorce, and I could speak a moment here about the numerous individuals affected negatively by a divorce. (Again, there is no need to list them on a slide. The congregation does not need to be spoon-fed information.)
The main point: If we really respect ourselves and others, we will sincerely seek other alternatives before divorce.
x
Slide 8 remains with Malachi 2:16 and the fact that God hates divorce. That alone should be enough for us. On slide 9, Jesus is referenced as pointing out that there is no good reason for divorce (except for adultery by one's spouse).
The main point: As Christians, we should respect God's view of divorce and avoid it if possible.
Slide 10: Summation
Slide 10 merely serves to review the big points of the lesson and encourage the congregation to take marriage seriously rather than view it as something easily disposed of. If we have the proper respect for marriage as God made it, for each other, and for God's views on the matter of divorce, then we should work diligently to maintain the solidarity of our marriages.
Wrap-Up
Slides: 10. Practice run: 25 minutes. Fonts: 48-288 points. I also made sure the slides were in line with my previous post. We have built-in, emphasized text, no bullets, and no walls of text at any point. All images are high quality (and any image that had text atop it was reduced in sharpness to maintain the readability of the text), and our background is a heavy paper texture that looks similar to what you might see for a wedding invitation. Finally, the font is simple yet formal and easy to read.Now I drafted this outline and these slides from scratch especially for this post. I even went to my favorite stock photography sites to find some new images, and used eBible for looking up scriptures and commentary. This took about three hours in all. I don't think thats an unreasonable amount of time.
Whether or not you agree with the doctrine of these slides, I hope you can learn something from this model. Our sermon presentations do not have to be derivative and mundane. With a little work, our slides can be a strong reinforcer of our message at an intellectual and an emotional level.
The Size of Your Deck
June 30, 2006 Filed in: Breaking the
Rules
This same principle carries over to effective presentation design. Most good presenters are aware of Guy Kawasaki's 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint – that is your presentation should be no more than 10 slides, 20 minutes long, and contain no font smaller than size 30. By and large, I can say I closely adhere to two of those three rules most of the time. Most presentations I have made for church have been 10-15 slides. My fonts tend to size in the high twenties to low thirties (the rule I'm not so good at), and, when rehearsed, most last twenty to thirty minutes.
In contrast to these, my presentation at ICE 2006 was 37 slides long. Why did I so fragrantly break the 10-slide rule? Quite frankly, the rule did not fit the situation. In this circumstance, it was appropriate to break a rule for the sake of impact. Was the presentation overly long? Not counting the Q & A section, I talked and demonstrated for roughly 30 minutes, and I had a 45-minute budget. Many slides flashed by in seconds to demonstrate an effect, and, in all, the entire presentation (in its final form) has only eleven "bullet points" (though no bullets are used).
Photo by Mylerdude on Flickr
Take one of my favorite presenters for example – Apple CEO Steve Jobs. A typical Seve Jobs Keynote (aka Stevenote) will last around two hours and contain roughly 150 slides. In fact, Kawasaki says Steve follows a 125+/90/60 Rule. Despite this, Mr. Jobs is practically the paradigm of good tradeshow presentation. His visuals are effective. Most of his demonstrations are carried out flawlessly – no BSODs here – and he uses text minimally but effectively. The 10/20/30 Rule is not entirely applicable to the situations he typically presents in, and he breaks the rule in a way that has an impact on his audience.
Even Guy Kawasaki, proponent of 10/20/30 used around 50 slides in his recent Art of the Start presentation at TieCon 2006. Why? The situation and style of presentation merited the additional slides. Despite the rather large deck of slides, at no point does Mr. Kawasaki feel longwinded or drawn-out in his speech. Even Garr Reynolds has a story of a time he used 285(!) slides in a presentation he gave about the Art of Presentations. If you are using your visuals effectively, your audience will not be aware of the number of your slides or how many or few of them remain. They will simply be engaged.
In this post, I've specifically tackled one rule of presentation design, and that is intentional. To go beyond this would create far too long of a post, but I may revisit this idea of rule breaking in the future. However, in order to break rules, we must first understand and respect the rules. I recommend reading Presentation Zen and the Presenting & Speaking category of Guy Kawasaki's blog for more tips. Additionally, you can see a small sampling of Steve Jobs' presentations right here. Anything worth presenting at all is worth presenting well, so take the time to learn some guidelines for creating your presentations. After that, you can find creative and meaningful ways to break those rules.