1. Zen and the Art of
Powerpoint
Dr. Angela Peery
Senior Professional Development Associate,
The Leadership & Learning Center
2. Many thanks to Garr Reynolds
and Nancy Duarte…
and many colleagues!
3. Find better image on morguefile.com or IStock
Our learning
environment today…
4. Our Learning Objectives
• Understand key principles of the
Zen/Slideology approach to designing
presentations
• Apply these key principles to an
upcoming presentation
13. Activity: Think-Write-Pair
Share
• THINK about a session you have
attended at this conference
• WRITE about its specific intended
audience and its one “big idea” or
primary message
• After about 3 minutes of writing,
you will be given directions about
sharing aloud
16. What are they like?
Why are they here?
What keeps them up at
night?
How can you solve their
problem?
What do you want them
to do?
How might they resist?
How can you best reach
them?
17. Audience Mapping Activity
1. Think about an upcoming presentation.
2. Who will be in your audience? List who these people are with
as much detail as possible.
3. Why are they coming to see you? Is attendance voluntary? Jot
notes about the presentation situation.
4. What keeps them up at night – a major fear or concern?
5. How will you make their lives better? In other words, how will
you address their fears and concerns?
6. Who cares? So what? What is the action you want them to
take?
7. What are your ideas for best reaching them?
8. How might they resist? What would keep them from enacting
your ideas? How can you address these potential roadblocks?
23. Thinking Ahead…
• What will you personally bring to the
presentation? How will you address the
audience’s most pressing needs?
• What must be included in the visual
presentation?
• What must be included in the handout?
28. Sources of Influence on Professional
Practices of Teachers
Open Ended Responses
Students
12%
Personal
Reading
15%
Professional
Development
24%Leader
5%
Family
7%
Personal
Experience
20%
Curriculum
3%
Colleagues
14%
29. Influences on a Teacher’s Practice
Students
12%
Personal
Reading
15%
Professional
Development
24%
Leader
5%
Family
7%
Personal
Experience
20%
Curriculum
3%
Colleagues
14%
30.
31. The New Model – From
Coverage to Focus
State
Standards
Potential
Curriculum and
Test Objectives
FOCUSED
Curriculum and
Assessments
Connect with Tufte and others –
As Nancy Duarte says, p. xv, the means and methods of communication (in presentations) have changed over time, but the messages themselves have not: you recount stories, present new information, and seek to change others’ minds.
We are wired for both visual and verbal communication – and Ppt is supposed to help bring those together – but often doesn’t unless the person behind the Ppt is skilled in crafting a “beautifully efficient” message.
Describe who Seth Godin is and ask them to reflect on their past month – have you seen presentations that would lead you to agree with this provocative statement?
Restraint in preparation (the material, the research, the getting ready to teach)
Simplicity in design (the visual backdrop, should enhance your story and your teaching, not compete with it)
Naturalness in delivery (you “own” the material; you are facilitator of learning; you are the VALUE-ADDED piece)
People – it’s not about you – WIIFY (from the Heath brothers). Care about your audience and their needs above all else, especially in the planning stages.
The message is the most important – what is the ONE THING you want people to remember? If they remember only one thing, you will be doing well…. So what is that one thing?
Go quickly to next slide; tell them we will be thinking and talking through some of the ideas already presented.
See http://blog.duarte.com/book/
Explain/discuss the 8 parts of the exercise. Have them work for about 10 minutes and then orchestrate a sharing time.
Go back to the audience mapping – thinking about an upcoming presentation – what is your central idea? Think it, write it, and then turn to someone at your table and say it.
Could have them try this – stand, find a partner, “sell” the idea or condense it into 1 minute.
There are three components of your presentation: the presentation itself, you, and the handout. These are three distinctly different entities and should be planned as such.
ANGELA
This slide is in the new Power Strategies seminar to symbolize collaboration and/or Data Teams.
ANGELA
ANGELA
This is a revision of the previous slide. (Discuss.)
ANGELA
Avoid cheesy images. We’re going to practice with this concept, too, in just a moment.
KRISTIN
From the old MSW/PS. May not be present in the new ECA but this is just for practice. Have teams work for about 5 mins. on-screen at laptops and/or on chart paper. Then call on 2 groups that have not shared to share theirs in the whole group. Total time: about 10 mins.
KRISTIN
From CFA. The book recommends avoiding clip art. What is the important idea here? How could it be shown otherwise? Have each time find an appropriate image; then share as many as possible. Total time: about 10 mins.
I could display this photo and ask my audience, “Just what is it that successful schools are doing differently?” This photo connotes SUCCESS! Then the participants and I can build context from it.
KRISTEN
From the new ECA
ANGELA
Reynolds returns several times to the point that as a speaker, you must speak from what you know and believe in. He urges us to take time alone in the preparation phase, if necessary, to really “craft” the memorable story around our central point. Again, it’s not the Ppt people will remember. It’s YOU.
ANGELA presents this slide.
This part really caught my attention early in the book because I think it represents the paradigm we’ve been operating from at The Center; we’ve been creating DOCUMENTS as Powerpoints. Create a document, not a “slide-u-ment.” The handout is the “leave-behind.” You don’t have to say everything in your presentation. And the handout should be markedly different from the slides. Reynolds says NEVER print a handout of the slides (p. 66).
Duarte, p. 249
Discuss and do activities that follow as time allows.