For your next presentation, try throwing Powerpoint and Prezi in the bin. Then you’ll take advantage of this fantastic fact:
You don’t have to use any visuals.
Conventions
You may think having some projected material is:
- What the audience expect
- Good for information retention
- A useful prompt
- Just what a presentation is
If so, you’re right on counts 1-3, but in the name of a good presentation, I think you should take these conventions and burn them in a huge pyre of originality. Try starting with no visuals at all, and only introduce them if absolutely necessary.
Surprise!
Give them something unexpected and your presentation will be memorable.
- Remember, when showing nothing, you have their absolute attention
- If using images, use ones you created
- Become one with your material (this reduces nerves)
- Try to look at the whole thing with some originality
Building your presentation with some software can be very useful, especially for editing. However, the mistake is then to think that your presentation is text. It’s not. Your presentation is a series of spoken words.
Try speaking to your audience instead of presenting to them.