Description: How to make a great presentation. Best-selling author Garr Reynolds's popular website on how to design & deliver powerful presentations including TED Talks and other forms of 21st-century presentation and digital storytelling.
A couple of years ago, I was asked back to the TEDxKyoto stage to give a few words regarding tips from storytelling as they relate to modern presentations. The 15-minute talk can be viewed below. The title of the talk is "10 Ways to Make Better Presentations: Lessons from Storytellers." But as I say early in the presentation, perhaps a better subtitle would be "Lessons from watching too many Pixar films." Below the video I list the ten (actually eleven) lessons. It's not an exhaustive list by any means. But
(1) Turn off the computer. Most people open a computer and create an outline. Don't do this. Preparation should be analog at the beginning. Turn off the technology and minimize the distractions. You've got to get your idea out of your head and on the wall so you can see it, share it, make it better. We've got to see the details and subtract and add (but mostly subtract) where needed. And we've go to see the big picture. Ideas and patterns are easier to see when they are up on the wall or spread out on the t
(2) Put the audience first. Even when we are "telling our story" we are really telling their story. If designed and told well, our story is really their story. Yes, the plot—the events and facts and the order in which they are arranged—may be unique to us, but the theme is universal. The message or the lesson must be accessible and useful for your particular audience. The advice may not be new and it may not sounds exciting, but it's true: Know your audience. (3) Have a solid structure. The structure can be
Garr Reynolds