Pre-"Zen"-tation Help

Students,

Below are some AWESOME resources developed by Garr Reynolds, the man behind the website Presentation Zen. We'll be looking at more of his work (AND advice AND guidance) over the course of the semester, but I wanted to bring these few items from him to your attention as you head into the long weekend preparing your SVHEC orientation presentation (see homework due for Wednesday, 9/9).

This first one (immediately below) is a presentation Garr developed to summarize the points in John Medina's (amazing!) book, Brain Rules, that are of particular interest to anyone needing to make a presentation –and that's each of you! Brain Rules is all about how your brain learns, processes information, pays attention and even how it remembers presentations; don't miss this one!

Brain Rules for Presenters

View more documents from garr.

Next up is a very basic, very excellent blog entry, also from Presentation Zen, on using images in slides. If you followed item #1 (above) you'll know how important images are for conveying information and making an impression. A picture truly is worth a thousand words, so read Garr's article for some pointers on how not to abuse these powerful presentation elements.

Lastly, design considerations can often throw non-designers for a loop; an especially damning reality when bad design can sink an otherwise great presentation while good design can buoy a mediocre one. For some guidance, check out Garr's presentation on How to "Think Like a Designer" also on Slideshare. For more details beyond the slideshow, you can read his blog entry on the same topic.

Think Like a Designer

View more documents from garr.

This is a big project, so don't hesitate to ask questions.

~mrc