I was recently out with some friends having drinks, and we started talking about PowerPoint slides (yes, we really are that nerdy). My friend told me about her colleague, Michael Alley, who argues that most of us are using PowerPoint incorrectly. His argument is that the Title/bullet point format that most of us use is mostly designed to help the speaker remember what to say, rather than to help the audience remember what was said. He proposes, instead, to use a technique he calls Assertion Evidence.
I’m in social science, and this technique was designed for physical science and engineering. I’ve spent some time poking around the website, and I definitely see the value in such a talk for science and engineering. I haven’t decided yet, though, how well it would translate to social science, or more specifically, the kind of social science I do. Much of the background I would present in a talk would be hard to present visually. The results could be visual, though more likely graphs than images. But at a general level, I like the perspective that we are all presenting with very similar techniques, and that we should consider whether our techniques are the best way to present.
We recently had a job candidate (and soon to be new colleague, Tim Brick) visit who presented using a different program (possibly Keynote? Unfortunately I’m not sure). It was refreshing to see something that was slightly different from exactly what we are used to seeing. One thing I really liked is that at the top of the presentation, he had a few simple words that outlined what he would be presenting. Honestly, I forgot the exact words, but if it was a talk I was giving, it might have broken down like this:
Overview Theory Prevalence Predictors Outcomes Done!
As he spoke, one of the words on top would be slightly brighter so as an audience member I had a sense of where he was in the talk. I liked it.
Then there are of course flashy ways to present, like Prezi. I made a Prezi once – it was a simple one, but it felt like it took me a lot more time than PowerPoint does. Perhaps that is only because I wasn’t used to it yet, though. There are lots of others; and lots of articles suggesting specific programs/websites.
What do you think of assertion evidence? How do you give presentations – standard in PowerPoint, or something different? Share your thoughts.
“The post Alternatives to standard PowerPoint presentations first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on June 23, 2014.”
I’m in social science, and this technique was designed for physical science and engineering. I’ve spent some time poking around the website, and I definitely see the value in such a talk for science and engineering. I haven’t decided yet, though, how well it would translate to social science, or more specifically, the kind of social science I do. Much of the background I would present in a talk would be hard to present visually. The results could be visual, though more likely graphs than images. But at a general level, I like the perspective that we are all presenting with very similar techniques, and that we should consider whether our techniques are the best way to present.
We recently had a job candidate (and soon to be new colleague, Tim Brick) visit who presented using a different program (possibly Keynote? Unfortunately I’m not sure). It was refreshing to see something that was slightly different from exactly what we are used to seeing. One thing I really liked is that at the top of the presentation, he had a few simple words that outlined what he would be presenting. Honestly, I forgot the exact words, but if it was a talk I was giving, it might have broken down like this:
Overview Theory Prevalence Predictors Outcomes Done!
As he spoke, one of the words on top would be slightly brighter so as an audience member I had a sense of where he was in the talk. I liked it.
Then there are of course flashy ways to present, like Prezi. I made a Prezi once – it was a simple one, but it felt like it took me a lot more time than PowerPoint does. Perhaps that is only because I wasn’t used to it yet, though. There are lots of others; and lots of articles suggesting specific programs/websites.
What do you think of assertion evidence? How do you give presentations – standard in PowerPoint, or something different? Share your thoughts.
“The post Alternatives to standard PowerPoint presentations first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on June 23, 2014.”
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