Great talks tips (Dean Steve Carr 2006)

Steve Carr's Five Ways to Make a Good Talk Great

1.  The tyranny of the pointer. 

(You exert mind control over the viewer, because they will invariably look at whatever you are pointing to; conversely, their gaze will drift around searchingly if you do not point to what you want them to focus on.)

2.  Explain your slide before talking about what it tells you. 

(The investment of time to tell the viewer what you are showing them means they will then be ready to hear the points you will make with that slide.)

3.  Link what you say directly to statements that appear on the slide. 

(Embellish only the statements on the slide.  Large digressions or explanations unsupported by items in the slide will likely go right past your audience.)

4.  Limit what is on a slide to small number of bullet points and/or graphics. 

(This keeps the font large and the things you will talk about to a digestible level.)

5.  Eye candy is fine, but gimmickry is merely distracting.

(Unnecessary animations, dissolves, colors, etc. divert the viewers’ attention away from what you want them to learn from the slide.)

December 2006