Presentation Zen [3]
In many ways, few of the basics have changed since the time of Aristotle some 2300 years ago, or from the basic advice given by Dale Carnegie in the 1930s. But what may seem like common sense regarding presentations is not common practice. The Presentation Zen approach challenges the conventional wisdom of making PowerPoint presentations in today’s world and encourages people to think differently about the design, and delivery of their presentations.
An Approach, Not a Method
Presentation Zen, however, is not a method. Method implies a step-by-step systematic process, something very much planned and linear, with a definite proven procedure that you can pick off a shelf and follow A to Z in a logical orderly fashion. Presentation Zen, then, is more of an approach. An approach implies a road, a direction, a frame of mind, perhaps even a philosophy, but not a formula of proven rules to be followed. Methods are important and necessary. But there are no panaceas, and I offer no prescriptions for success. Success depends on you and your own unique situation. However, I do offer guidelines and some things to think about that may run contrary to conventional wisdom on how to make a live presentation with multimedia.
Similarly, Zen itself is an approach to life and a way of being, rather than a set of rules or dogma to be followed by all in the same way. Indeed, there are many paths to enlightenment. At the heart of Zen is the need for personal awareness and the ability to see and discover. Zen is practical and is concerned with the here and now. And the practical and the here and now is what we’re concerned with here too with presentations. The aim of this book is to help professionals free themselves from the pain of creating and delivering presentations by helping them see presentations in a way that is different, simpler, more visual, more natural, and ultimately far more meaningful.
Each Case Is Different
Not all presentation situations are appropriate for using multimedia. For example, if you have a small audience and data-intensive materials to discuss, a handout of the materials with a give-and-take discussion is usually more appropriate. There are many situations when a whiteboard or flipcharts or a paper with detailed figures make for better support. Each case is different. The discussions in this book, however, center among those presentations when multimedia is a good fit with your unique situation.
This book is not directly about software tools. Yet, by keeping principles such as restraint and simplicity in mind, you can use the lessons here to help you design better visuals appropriate for your situation. When it comes to software functions, I don’t think the challenge is to learn more, but rather to ignore more and forget more so that you can focus on the principles and the few techniques that are important. Software techniques are simply not our chief concern.
Characterizing master swordsman Odagiri Ichiun’s ideas on technique, Zen scholar Daisetz Suzuki says, “…the first principle of the art is not to rely on tricks of technique. Most swordsmen make too much of technique, sometimes making it their chief concern…” And most presenters make the software their chief concern in the preparation process and in the delivery. This often ends up in cluttered visuals and cluttered talks that are neither engaging nor memorable.
Yes, the basics of software are important to know. Delivery techniques and “dos and don’ts” are useful to understand. But it’s not about technique alone. The “art of presentation” transcends technique and enables an individual to remove walls and connect with an audience to inform or persuade in a very meaningful, unique moment in time.
Where We Are Today: Really Bad PowerPoint
It seems as if PowerPoint has been around forever, but in truth it’s only been in common use for about