The author's three most important points stressed the content, structure, and preparation aspects of the presentation. The article indicated that if a presentation does not have strong content, it cannot succeed, regardless of other elements of the presentation. That being said, a great deal of emphasis was placed on not bombarding the audience with excessive information and data. Presenters must be careful not to create a "data dump," in which the audience is overloaded and cannot appreciate the true meaning of the presentation. Thus, there is a very fine line between presenting content in a logical manner, and overwhelming and boring the audience. Structure was another very important point in this article. Structure is attained by first mapping out the structure, so that the presenters know exactly what points they want to make and how to present them. One suggestion that the author made was to use analog tools, such as legal pads and whiteboards, to plan out the structure of a presentation before even opening powerpoint or any other electronic presenting means. You cannot simply create a well structured presentation by typing slides one by one in power point. In addition, the author warned that table of contents slides in power point presentations can sometimes be deceptive, because they mislead the audience into thinking that the presentation is well organized. When the audience realizes that the only organized part of the presentation was the first slide, they can become frustrated and impatient. One final point that was given a great deal of importance was preparation. The presenters need to know their material inside and out, so that they are prepared for any situations which might occur during the presentation. The point was made that we are afraid of the unknown; thus, if we know our material and are prepared, we will not be nervous, but if we lack confidence in our knowledge of the subject material, we will be much more nervous while presenting. The author suggested practicing going through the presentation several times, and to be ready for the unexpected, such as a last minute shortening of the presentation.
This article will help me with my presentation in the way that I approach the organization and preparation. Certain aspects of presentations, such as the aesthetic details, come naturally to me, but I sometimes struggle presenting my ideas in a logical way. I definitely think I will try to map out ideas on a whiteboard or notebook, so that I do not just simply put my ideas into powerpoint as I think of things to say. In addition, I sometimes get very nervous while formally presenting something to a group, so I will definitely take advantage of the preparation advice as I get ready for the presentation. I will make sure to go through the presentation with my partner as if we were delivering it in class, and be confident in the ideas I am trying to share.
I think presentation preparation has so much in common with product design because like design, it involves visceral, behavioral, and reflective aspects. Presentations need (or at least, it greatly helps) to be very aesthetically appealing and inviting. It helps to have something pleasant to look at. Presentations also have behavioral aspects because they need to be useful and informative. The reflective nature comes into play because presenters must relate to people on a cultural and emotional level in order to truly be effective.
I would be most interested in exploring how culture plays a role in design. We all come from different backgrounds and have different cultural roots, so I would really be interested in seeing how design differs in different parts of the world. How do things such as advertising and product design change as we travel the globe? Are there certain qualities or principles that vary from country to country. I would also be interested in exploring what causes these differences to occur. While the differences would be very interesting to compare, it would also be interesting to examine similarities in design across the world. What design principles are universal, and what makes design relatable to people thousands of miles apart?
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