Welcome to the World Café! Getting linear. When you're excited about something, you want to share that excitement with other people. But sometimes that comes across as "this is so great, you've got to try it! " which isn't very compelling. Just because you're excited about it, doesn't mean that they will be. I've had a hard time communicating why I think mind maps (and other visual tools) are so great.
I just found something that helps me do that on the Knowledge Games blog. Here's what I learned as I worked through this process. I tend to generalize, and see mind maps as a multipurpose tool that can be very helpful for almost anyone in many situations. When I got down to crafting a single elevator pitch, I found that I thought of new and more specific ideas, that were more applicable, than the ones I'd initially brainstormed for each field.
I haven't word-smithed these yet, or tested my results on friends or potential customers.
5 Tips for Making Your Business Presentations More Social. Every day, thousands of people are forced to sit through dull, flat PowerPoint presentations. Whether you’re presenting slides during a sales call, speaking at a conference, presenting your company to investors, or sending a presentation via e-mail to a potential client, boring your audience is hardly the goal. You want your presentation to engage people in a conversation that leads to a closed deal, a new partnership, or a round of funding. Thankfully, there are several web-based applications available today that allow you to incorporate rich media into your presentations like social features, real-time feeds, and interactive elements. Also called “social media presentations,” these methods allow you to connect with your audience before, during, and after you deliver your message. Here are five ways to do so. 1. Create Anticipation Even before your presentation day arrives, reach out to your audience using social media channels to get them excited about your talk. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Text Message (SMS) Polls and Voting, Audience Response System | Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War - PowerPoint - NYTimes.co. Making presentations that stick. Almost three years agoI praised the ideas expressed in the bestselling book Made to Stick.I even featured the ideas briefly in the first book, Presentation Zen. Earlier this month Fast Company Magazine featured a 3-minute video by Made to Stick co-author Dan Heath on their website called Presentations that Stick. Watch the video below orcheckout the transcripts and resources on the Fast Company site.As you may recall from the bookMade to Stick,if you want to communicate your ideas in a way that makes an impact, then craft messages that embrace storytelling, are simple, concrete, credible, emotional, and have an element of unexpectedness.
In the video below, Dan reminds presenters to (1) be simple (without being simplistic), (2) show something, and (3) tease before you tell.Example: The Girl EffectBelow is the YouTube version of the Girl Effect, the sample that Dan mentioned in the video. (Go here for the high-rez version on the Girl Effect website. Digg this • Add to del.icio.us. Elevator Pitches. Extreme Presentation Method.