Presentations (Research)

Research presentations can be delightfully inspiring or dreadfully dull. While PowerPoint is often seen as evil, it's difficult to avoid.

Here are some useful things to keep in mind for your next presentation (Thanks https://twitter.com/RayPoynter) ...

Key Messages
The key messages from the research are:

• The focus of any presentation should be the audience. However, audiences report that presenters often seem to think the presenter or the data are the focus.
• Since audiences and situations differ, there is no single best way of presenting. Requests from audiences are often contradictory, reminding us that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
• Audiences expect presenters to be confident, capable, and rehearsed. There is little tolerance these days for a presenter who turns up and simply delivers the content in a clear but unengaged way.
• Conference presentations and research debriefs are different and have different requirements. Conference presentations can be of general interest, but debriefs have to answer specific business needs and should provide useful guidance for decision makers.
• Audiences want presentations to be shorter and to provide deeper insight, while at the same time being enjoyable.
• Themes that have been talked about for the last few years such as storytelling, are important but so are issues such as confidence, ability and a willingness to put forward an argument, not simply a report.

You can also read about the 10 characteristics of a great presentation here:

http://www.research-live.com/features/stage-directions/4000138.article

From my own experience Less is definitely More when it comes to words on a chart: cull cull cull and hunt down a visual where possible.

I love the way Sam Ladner sums this up so succinctly:
- Eliminate Visual Noise
- Accentuate difference
- To clarify add detail
- Maximise 'data ink'
- Minimise 'non-data' ink

http://www.slideshare.net/sladner/ways-to-report-research-presentation

Now to investigate InDesign ...