Sharon on mon 8 may 00
Did this previously in another life. It's not so much the number
of slides as the time spent on each. That said, anything over an
eighty slide carousel is probably too much for most audiences. I
feel that ideally you don't keep people in the dark for more than
twenty minutes or they are likely to get drowsy or bored.
Sometimes you can break up a slide presentation with a lights on
question period or time spent at a white board and then go back
to more slides.
Good luck,
Sharon Starkston
The Lane Pottery
Hinsdale, Illinois
Vicki Katz on mon 8 may 00
Eleanora,
It is kind of you to consider your audience & ask. I do not do
presentations, but have sat through alot of them & my opinion (worth what you
pay for it) is that a 30 minute presentation is just about right - you can
talk before or between slides. But 30 - 45 minutes looking up and paying
close attention without a break is enough. It can be longer if you need
to/want to take notes, but that requires proper lighting.
Good luck!
Vicki Katz
Vicki Katz on mon 8 may 00
Eleanora,
It is kind of you to consider your audience & ask. I do not do
presentations, but have sat through alot of them & my opinion (worth what you
pay for it) is that a 30 minute presentation is just about right - you can
talk before or between slides. But 30 - 45 minutes looking up and paying
close attention without a break is enough. It can be longer if you need
to/want to take notes, but that requires proper lighting.
Good luck!
Vicki Katz
Sharon on mon 8 may 00
Did this previously in another life. It's not so much the number
of slides as the time spent on each. That said, anything over an
eighty slide carousel is probably too much for most audiences. I
feel that ideally you don't keep people in the dark for more than
twenty minutes or they are likely to get drowsy or bored.
Sometimes you can break up a slide presentation with a lights on
question period or time spent at a white board and then go back
to more slides.
Good luck,
Sharon Starkston
The Lane Pottery
Hinsdale, Illinois
Janet Kaiser on tue 9 may 00
As Sharon and others have pointed out, it depends on the attention span of
the audience as much as the content and/or choice of your slides.
It does not matter how exciting you feel the subject matter and presentation
is, you will loose your audience at varying intervals. A bad time is after
lunch (especially if large, lengthy and/or with a glass of wine) or at the
end of a busy day. Also if you follow other presentations (however good).
The average age of the audience can make a difference. Many not used to
sitting and listening have difficulty even sitting still after as little as
5 to 10 minutes. And the fidgets are as off-putting as people walking out or
snoring! I have found that students in full time education are the best/most
practised listeners and have the most "sitting flesh". Unfortunately
influences like TV and videos have greatly reduced our collective ability to
concentrate on one image whilst listening and absorbing a commentary. We all
soon loose concentration however interested we are in theory.
So the trick is to keep the whole thing varied. You can use different
techniques like 20 minutes of "show and talk", 10 min. "show and answer
questions as you go", 10 min. "show and ask for comments" etc. Make it clear
to the audience what you expect of them in each section... It can help to be
strict here (both for yourself and them).
If you are working in a darkened room, divide these sections by having the
lights turned on and making a short break when changing the slide carousel.
Many presenters try to avoid this as a sign of being unprofessional. I have
found it gives people a long enough break to relieve any onset of boredom
and then they focus better on the next part.
These sections can also allow for a certain amount of repetition of similar
images without boring the viewers. They reinforce the points and information
which you wanted to impart. I once sat through an hour of slides which all
showed the same thing in various forms accompanied by a voice droning on and
on out of the darkness. When eventually the lights suddenly came on, a lot
of people had their chins on their chests or heads on their neighbour's
shoulder! Had the presenter only varied the programme a little, at least
they would have been spared that embarrassment!
It is also good to have certain key slides which you leave up longer than
others. They illustrate and underline a point you wish to make. Then follow
with a series of "quickies" which support these main slides. I believe it is
a mistake to feel you have to comment on each one. Silence can also be a
tool. Some slides should just be a visual reinforcement of what has already
been said.
Perhaps the most important point is to try not to teach or impart too much
information in one show or presentation. Make a list of the salient points
you want to make and then chose the slides which will illustrate them best.
Have a series of slides to show at the end and repeat the points you have
made throughout the talk very quickly and succinctly. This reinforcement and
conclusion helps to put the whole thing into perspective for the audience,
especially if you got side-tracked somewhere along the way or they are
suffering from overload and/or slide fatigue.
Do not feel you have to show all the slides you possess... If you do a good
job, you may be talking to the same audience again soon and need a whole
different set and list of subjects!
Always include a humorous tale or two and a little "gossip" in your talk,
however serious the subject is. Laughing involves active audience
participation and increases there passive interest in what you are
saying/showing. A "silly me" story is also an attention grabber, especially
if there is a slide to prove it!
I am sure I have forgotten something important, but it is a long time since
I last made a presentation... Hope yours goes well and you enjoy it! May it
be the first of many.
Janet Kaiser - on my first day off in over three weeks and the sun shone all
day!
The Chapel of Art, Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales
Home of The International Potters Path
TEL: (01766) 523570
WEB: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
> Did this previously in another life. It's not so much the number
> of slides as the time spent on each. That said, anything over an
> eighty slide carousel is probably too much for most audiences. I
> feel that ideally you don't keep people in the dark for more than
> twenty minutes or they are likely to get drowsy or bored.
> Sometimes you can break up a slide presentation with a lights on
> question period or time spent at a white board and then go back
> to more slides.
> Good luck,
> Sharon Starkston
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