Utilizing Technology to Effectively Communicate with a Variety of AudiencesLuke Reese, Associate Professor

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

www.msu.edu/~reesel

reesel@msu.edu

517-353-3258

Context - Presentation

What makes a presentation (good or bad)?

Questions to ask - Yourself

How long is your presentation?

Which media type will you be using?

What is the room configuration?

What is the audience size?

When do you need the visuals completed?

When did you plan to get started?

Questions to ask - Audience

What is the average age of the audience?

What is the male/female ratio of the audience?

What is the level of expertise of the audience?

Questions to ask - Objective

What is the objective of the presentation?

What feeling or emotion do you want the audience to have?

Presentation Objective

To sell, promote or endorse

To persuade, convince or influence

To motivate, excite or entertain

To discuss, participate or share

To teach, inform or enlighten

To analyze, review or account

Scripting

Do your conclusion firstEstablishes a target

Write the storyline before visuals

Scripting Common Mistakes

No script

Toooooooo long

Drifts from original objective

Misses or ignores target audience

Lacks a balance of words and graphics

Visuals

Color Affects

Mood

Interest

Motivation

Comprehension

Five Uses of Color

Emphasize

Differentiate

Define the order of items

Group objects or concepts

Trigger emotions and associations

Color Psychology

Black - Profit, Gain (in business)

Red – Loss, Fear, Danger, Stop, Error

Green - Go, Ready, Growth, Money

Blue - Cool, Calm, Serene, Trusting

Black Background

Direct

Stubborn

Extinct

Forceful

Final

Red Background

Desire

Passion

Power

Competition

Persuasion

Purple Background

Enchantment

Immaturity

Insecurity

Fantasy

Unimportant

Gray Background

Neutrality

Reservation

Concealment

Avoidance

Non-commitment

Blue Background

Conservatism

Relaxation

Security

Loyalty

Fulfillment

Green Background

Intelligence

Suggestion

Development

Hopefulness

Expansiveness

CAPS

MORE THAN SEVEN CONSECUTIVE UPPPER CASE WORDS WILL FORCE THE AUDIENCE TO READ AGAIN.

CAPS

More than seven consecutive uppper case words will force the audience to read again.

Note: Did you notice the misspelling in that last slide?

Initial Caps

Use for Title Charts

Use for Short Key Phrases

Be Aware of which Words are Chosen to Capitalize

Pronouns, Adjectives and Long Verbs are Problems

First Caps

Follows the natural pattern of a sentence

Easier to maintain a consistent look

Easier for the audience to read

Pronouns, adjectives, etc. are not problems

Lettering Style Tips

Limit the number of fonts

Use no more than two typefaces

Use italics and bold sparingly

AVOID ALL UPPER CASE

Use First Caps instead of Initial Caps

Limit center justification / centering

Bullets Checklist

Present one concept per chart

Keep sentences short and concise

Use parallel structure

Observe these maximum limitsSeven lines per chart

Seven words per line

Design Principles

Contrast

Repetition

Alignment

Proximity

Important Considerations

Paste Board - Ruler and guidelines (on)

Slide Master

Parallel structure

CRAP model

Print Scrn / Print Screen

Press Print Scrn or Print Screen key

Screen to Clipboard

Paste

Picture Toolbar

Crop

WWW imagesWeb browser

Cursor over imageRight mouse clickSave Image As… (Netscape)Save Picture As… (Internet Explorer)

Format.jpg (photo).gif (line art)

PowerpointInsert MenuPicture

From File

Selection (Windows)

Series Select first or last (left mouse button)

Move cursor to opposite end

Hold “Shift Key”

Select last or first (left mouse button)

RandomSelect first item (left mouse button)

Hold “Ctrl Key”

Continue to select (left mouse button)

Self-play Slide ShowRehearse Timings

Good for practice

Save for auto-play

Record Narration.wav file per slide

Timings are recorded

Good for kiosk

Must use audio editing software or re-record entire set for errors

Adobe Presenter

Blank Slide – Projector OffNormal / Slide view

Right mouse click on slideWhite or Black backgroundOmit background objectsApply

Slide Sorter viewDuplicateMove to end

Slide Show“b” key

Slide Examples

The bad and the ugly