Considers a whole brain model for enhancing creativity and how the model applies to designing and giving presentations. Explores and provides opportunities to practice ideas and techniques for presenting effectively and more creatively. Includes list of sources.

1. Effective Presentations
Workshop
Prepared by Karen Calhoun
for the ULS Leadership Program
University of Pittsburgh
11 January 2013

2. Let’s Play
“Play is the highest
form of research”—
Albert Einstein
Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_einstein
Public domain
2

3. AND NOW TO BEGIN …
3

4. Three Things We Will Think, Talk
About, and Do Today*
1. Consider a “whole brain” model for enhancing creativity
2. Apply whole-brain thinking to designing and delivering
presentations
3. Explore and practice ideas and techniques for making
“presentations that teach and transform”
We’ll also:
• Try to cover your chosen areas of focus (from first
exercise)
• Go over instructions for Part 2 of this workshop (Jan. 17)
4
*For sources, see last two slides

5. Agenda
Time Content or Activity
10:00 Arrival – coffee, tea, water
10:00-10:30 Getting started
10:30-10:45 First exercise
10:45-11:15 Whole brain model, audience and presenter
11:15-11:35 Second exercise
11:35-11:45 Short break
11:45-12:15 Event design and content
12:15-12:45 Lunch
12:45-1:05 Conveying your message
1:05-1:20 Third exercise
1:20-2:00 Closing, recap, and final exercise
5

6. Desired Outcomes
• Enjoy ourselves!
• Understand how “whole brain thinking” can help us
improve the design and delivery of presentations
• Open our minds to our own creativity and learn some
ways to draw on it
• Learn some presentation design, structuring and
delivery techniques and ideas
• Feel renewed -- build confidence and identity as
influential communicators
6

7. Evidence of Success?
• Try one or more ideas from the workshop
• Feel you’ve enhanced your abilities to design,
frame, choose content and do presentations
• Have more success engaging audiences with
your presentations
• Feel more confident and enjoy giving
presentations more
• Be a more influential communicator
7

8. Four key elements of a good
presentation: AM PM
• Audience
– where are they coming from?
– what do they need to know?
• Message
– what are the most important things to get across?
• Presenter
– how to present with impact?
• Medium
– what’s the most effective medium to use?
– how to control it?
8

9. Assess Yourself: What Would You
Like to Focus On?
• Audience? Message?
• Presenter? Medium?
• Other?
– In writing these on your audit
handout, consider the pre-
reading for the workshop, esp.
designing presentations
(ch. 1), and presentation
stages (ch. 2)
Handout:
9

10. First Exercise (15 minutes)
1. Individual work: Complete the self-audit and choose
a couple areas of focus (5 minutes)
2. Group work: Make an inventory of the F-Focus
choices in your group; write them on a flip chart (5
minutes)
3. Hang up your group flip chart (or place it so all can
see it)
4. Presenters numbered “1” report out (3 or 4 groups
reporting x 1 minute each)
10

11. AUDIENCE AND
PRESENTER
11

12. The Enemy of Learning and Action:
Boredom
Photo: National Media Museum 12
Public domain. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/3589381656/

13. Here’s the Main Thing
Q: How do I make
presentations that
inspire learning
and action?
A: Design and
deliver with your
whole brain
JF Kennedy, “man on the moon” speech, 13
1961. Photo: NASA. Public domain.

14. Ned Herrmann and Whole-Brain
Thinking
• Research dating from 1976
• Brain research; research into the source of creativity
• Led to measurement of “brain dominance”--preferred
modes of thinking
• Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI)
• Whole brain model: four distinct thinking
styles
• Results applicable to self-understanding, creativity,
teaching and learning, team building, more
14

15. Herrmann Brain Dominance Model
A and D: Cerebral Modes of Thinking
A and B: WHOLE BRAIN C and D:
MODEL
Left Brain Right Brain
B and C: Limbic Modes of Thinking 15

16. Herrmann Whole Brain Thinking and
Garmston/Wellman’s “Four Audiences”
16
Compare to the Garmston/Wellman chart, page 45

17. Herrmann Whole Brain Model 17

18. Things to Notice about the
Whole Brain Model and …
(1) KNOWING YOURSELF AS A PRESENTER
(2) KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE
18

19. Knowing Ourselves as Presenters and
Using Our Whole Brains
• We all have all four quadrants of the brain and their
capabilities
• Each of us, over our lifetimes, develop preferred ways
of thinking, communicating, solving problems, making
decisions: we have styles
• No style of thinking is “better” than another; all are
appropriate in different situations
• You are not “stuck” with your preferred style: you
can optimize your ability to think, solve problems, and
communicate using different styles
19
See handout: Sample HBDI individual profile

20. Knowing Your Audience: Expect Them to
Have Different Thinking and Learning Styles
• Who are you and
who do you
want/need to be with
this audience?
• How do you want to
speak with them?
20
See also Garmston and Wellman 1992, 2-3

21. Knowing Your Audience: Herrmann Brain Dominance
Distribution Profiles of Tested Population (1993) – Top Four
Rank Ordered by Gender
Profile HBDI codes Percent
Left Dominant 1122 21%
Cerebral 1221 13%
Dominant
Male
Left with 1121 11%
Cerebral Right
Right Dominant 2211 7%
Female Right with Limbic 2111 16%
Left
Right Dominant 2211 13%
Limbic Dominant 2112 12%
Left Dominant 1122 10%
21
Source: Ned Herrmann Group, 1993

22. What Does This Mean for Making Presentations?
1. How do we present ourselves?
– Our four selves : learning, working, social, and creative
(see handout)
– Be self aware
– We bench our other selves when we don’t use them. Bring
your whole brain with you!
1. How are we perceived when we present, and
how well do people learn from us?
– Consider how the different brain dominance models affect
how people learn
– Present to all “four audiences” (scientists, “professors,”
friends, inventors -- aka logical, organized, interpersonal
and conceptual thinkers)
22

23. Whole-Brain Teaching Techniques
23
Source: Herrmann 1991, 287

24. Second Exercise (20 minutes)
• Activity:
1. Each individual: Review the
slides for this section, then
create a one sentence
summary of how using
“whole brain thinking” can
W- B-
improve presentation design H- R-
and delivery (5 minutes)
2. Group: Using your O- or A-
summaries, create an
acronym for either “whole”
L- I-
or “brain” (10 minutes) E- N-
3. Write results on flip chart;
presenters numbered “2”
report out – 1 minute Have some fun with this!
only!
24

25. Two Examples (there is a 3rd on
page 82 of Garmston Wellman)
25

26. PURPOSE, DESIGN AND
MESSAGE
26

27. Where Does Presentation Quality
Come From?
“All presentations are made twice.” Garmston and
27
Wellman 1992, 1

28. Event Design
See Handout
28
Garmston and Wellman 1992, 13: Event Design figure

29. Breaking Down the Event Design
• Purpose
– 1. Who’s coming?
– 2. What outcomes for audience by end of event?
• Design
– 1. Openings
– 2. Body: How much content, how much
interaction?
– 3. Closings
• Conveying the message – content +
interaction, whole brain + whole body
29

30. My Event Design for This
Workshop
See Handout
30

31. How much content?
• Too much content is worse
than too little!!! Sustained
• “The presenter’s content has passive
limited value unless
audiences understand it.” listening
• In longer presentations,
listeners need processing
time
• Processing time at 15 to
20 minute intervals?
(Garmston and Wellman 1992, 17-20) 31

32. 32

33. Garmston and Wellman 1992, Five Stages,
21-34
33

34. How Much Time Do You Have?
• Make sure your content and interactions fit!
• Making a time-based agenda can help;
practicing can help
• Be aware of your key messages and focus on
these
• Be ready to skip over “nice to include” parts if
you start running short
34

35. Lunch!
Photo: Library of Congress
Public domain. 1939. 35
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179923542/

36. PUTTING IT ALL
TOGETHER
36

37. Conveying Your Message
37
Source: Garmston and Wellman 1992, 57

38. Nonverbal Communication
• Posture
• Gestures
• Movements
• Voice, Timing
• Face, Eye Contact
• Visuals
• Humor
38

39. So, to communicate most
effectively…
• Design your presentations
• Communicate with your whole brain
• Communicate with your whole body
39

40. “How to Be Insanely Great” - Handout –
Another Source of Ideas and More
40

41. Exercise Three – Messages and
Audiences (15 minutes)
Topic Audience
1. Why I have chosen to work in A. Your parent(s) and some
a library relatives at a family party
2. How I learned to ride a B. A group of CPAs
bicycle C. A class of kindergartners
3. The best invention of all time* D. A research team of
4. My favorite … (movie, book, sociologists
celebrity, city, vacation …) E. A group of artists and
5. Why recycle musicians
6. Why I should get my money F. A group of computer
back for … scientists
41
*for example, wheel, bow and arrow, electric light, telephone, paper …

42. Instructions
1. Presenters numbered “3”: Choose a topic from 1 to
6, then choose an audience from A to F (2 minutes)
– Deliberately pair your topic with an unexpected audience
1. Group: work with your presenter to design a 1-
minute, whole brain, whole body presentation*
(10 minutes)
2. Presenters: Give 1 minute presentations on your
topic, to your chosen audience (3 x 1 = 3 minutes)
3. All: Have fun with this! It’s ok to exaggerate. The
intent is not to evaluate the presenter or the content,
but to play with some of the key ideas
*Hints: Steps 1 and 3 of the “Event Design” slide (slide 29) might be helpful, along
42
with slides 15 and 16, and the “Insanely Great” handout under “Create the story”

43. As You Prepare, Some Things to
Ask Yourself …
• What does this audience expect of me?
• How much time do I have?
• How am I going to grab their attention?
• What is/are the key message(s)?
• What is the structure or frame?
– E.g., question-answer, “three ideas,” problem-
solution …
– How much content, how much interaction?
43

44. CLOSING
44

45. What Did We Do Today?
• Completed a self-audit
– Did we cover your chosen areas of focus?
• Introduced a “whole brain thinking” model
• Discussed the application of the model to designing and
delivering presentations
• Discussed presentation design, selecting and structuring
content, encouraging active learning, and nonverbal
communication
• Practiced being insanely great presenters
• Coming up: Evaluate “audience-message-presenter-medium”
aspects of a short presentation by Kurt Vonnegut
45

46. Next Steps – Try Our Wings! –
January 17 Practice Session
• “Lightning talks”
• Topic of your own choosing
• Five minute MAXIMUM
length
• Group reactions to each
presentation using the “AM
PM” model (slide 48)
• Five minutes for group
reaction to each talk
• Time slots to speak before or
after lunch on Jan. 17 have
already been selected
Photo: Stages Repertory Theatre
CC BY NC ND
46
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36065623@N02/5806542757/

47. Kurt Vonnegut and the Shapes of
Stories
WATCH VIDEO
47

48. Last Exercise: How does Kurt …
48

49. I will be sending you a Survey Monkey link via email.
PLEASE COMPLETE A
WORKSHOP EVALUATION!
49

50. Sources
• Garmston, R. J., and B. M. Wellman. 1992. How to Make
Presentations That Teach and Transform. Association for
Supervision & Curriculum Development.
• Herrmann, Ned. 1991. “The Creative Brain*.” The Journal of
Creative Behavior 25 (4): 275–295; and materials from Karen’s
personal files.
• Farmer, Sue. 2012. “Connect Four.” Freelancing Matters 33
(March): 25-26.
• Kelsall, Jade, Leeds University Library, and Skills@Library.
2010. “Presentation Skills (lecturers).”
http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills-lecturers-presentation
50

51. With thanks to Leeds
University Library
Portions of this workshop were adapted from materials designed and
Developed by Skills@Library, University of Leeds 2012
http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills
Skills@Library
Presentation Skills Workshop