Presentation Zen [2]
A delicious Japanese bento and a PowerPoint presentation may seem to have nothing in common, but it was at that moment in time many years ago, rolling across Japan at 200 miles an hour, that I had an insight or an “awakening.” With this flash of awareness, I realized that something needed to be done to end the scourge of bad PowerPoint slides and the lifeless narration that accompanies them, and that I could do something to help. In Japan, just like everywhere else in the world, professionals suffer through poorly designed presentations on a daily basis. Presentations in which the slides often do more harm than good. It is not enjoyable, and it is not effective. I knew that if I could begin to help others look at preparation, design, and delivery of so-called “PowerPoint presentations” in a different way, perhaps I could do my small part to help others communicate far more effectively. That moment on the Bullet Train—somewhere between Yokohama and Nagoya—was when I began writing this book by sharing my thoughts on the Presentation Zen Web site, a blog that would go on to become the most visited site on presentation design on the net.
This book has three sections: Preparation, Design, and Delivery. Along the way I’ll provide a good balance of principles and concepts, inspiration, and practical examples. I’ll even show you before/after photos of the actual bento on the Bullet Train that was the inspiration for this book. Before reviewing the current state of presentations today and why presentations matter now more than ever before, let’s first look at what is meant by “Presentation Zen.”
The Presentation Zen Approach
This is not a book about Zen; this is a book about communication and about seeing presentations in a slightly different way, a way that is in tune with our times. Although I make several references to Zen and the Zen arts along the way, my references to Zen are far more in the realm of an analogy, rather than being literal. Literally, the tradition of Zen or Zen practice has nothing to do directly with “the art” of presenting in today’s world. However, our professional activities—especially professional communications—can share the same ethos as Zen. That is, the essence or the spirit of many of the principles found in Zen concerning aesthetics, mindfulness, connectedness, and so on can be applied to our daily activities, including presentations.
A teacher for one who seeks enlightenment would say that the first step for the student is to truly see that life is somehow out of sync or off-kilter, that there is “suffering” if you will. And that this “out-of-kilterness” is a consequence of our own attachment to things that are inconsequential. Likewise, the first step to creating and designing great presentations is to be mindful of the current state of what passes for “normal” PowerPoint presentations and that what is “normal” today is out of sync and off-kilter with how people actually learn and communicate.
Each situation is different. But we all know, through our own experience, that the current state of presentations in business and academia causes its own degree of “suffering” for audiences and for presenters alike. If we desire to communicate with more clarity, integrity, beauty, and intelligence, then we must move beyond what is considered to be “normal” to something different and far more effective. The principles I am most mindful of through every step of the presentation process