Putting together a new presentation for a conference/meeting can be stressful. What do you say? How do you say it? How do you structure it? What’s first? What’s last? How do I pull it all together?
I used to build my presentations first and then talk them out second. I’d make an outline or create some slides to get started. I’d try to think logically about how to begin, how to fill the middle, and how to end. Then once I had all the slides done I’d talk through them for the first time. I usually wasn’t happy with the outcome. I’d over-think and under-deliver. This process churned out clinical, sterile presentations. Yuck.
Last year I tried something different. I just started talking (out loud, to myself) about something I was passionate about. Maybe I’d look at a screen from Highrise and just talk about it. Why did we do that? Why did we make this decision? Or maybe I’d just stat ranting about my aversion to functional specs or meetings. Or maybe I’d just go off about collaboration and productivity. Or maybe I’d gush on about VC investments or the state of small business software.
Whatever it was, I’d just talk first and write second. I found that going off on an unstructured rant would expose all sorts of fresh ideas. In 30 minutes I could churn out four or five solid directions instead of spending 30 minutes outlining just one.
I also found that the ideas developed more naturally this way. I made better points and the persuasion was more powerful. Talking without a plan mined thoughts I didn’t know I had.
I encourage you to give this technique a try sometime. It works really well for me. I hope it helps you.
Doug
on 20 Nov 07After seeing Ryan talk at the Future of Web Design a conversation took place about the 37signals style. Consensus was you guys have passion and believe in what you talk about. Nothing can substitute for this. It is why your talks are so successful not only from an informational standpoint but on a lesser note a marketing standpoint. Walking away, a number of people I talked to after that particular conference noted that talk as “best of show”. I would agree.
Dainius Blynas
on 20 Nov 07I can only add that this technique really works well. Natural, everyday mind structures everything much better than trying to put everything into some sort of logical way. Unless, of course, you are building presentation about something very complicated. Not sure how this technique would work here.
Brian Donahue
on 20 Nov 07Perfect timing! I have a short talk to give tonight, and I’ve been bogged down in outline-land. Couple that with an ill toddler that needs my attention, and I feel unprepared. But a couple hours before the talk I am going to lock myself in a room and talk it out as you suggest, and see what happens. Luckily, it’s a short one, so even if I struggle a bit, I’ll be put out of my misery after 15 minutes!
Micah Calabrese
on 20 Nov 07For the terminally shy or chronic deep thinkers looking to reach a fluid level of improvised speaking I highly recommend long-form improv comedy classes. It’s improved my ability to hash out ideas from days of mulling things over to real-time.
Truth in Comedy is a great introduction. I was excited to find lots of parallels with agile development and the 37 Signals way of working (building in small iterations without a long-term plan, instantly adapting to new ideas)
Mimo
on 20 Nov 07Thanks for sharing
Walt Kania
on 20 Nov 07Excellent tactic.
So you end up building your slides or visuals around what you need to say. Which is the right way.
I’ve seen too many ‘talks’ that were built around dumb slides. Zzzz.
Tom G.
on 20 Nov 07This is a great tip. I do this all the time for a bunch of different purposes.
One of the best ways to learn something and become a master is to teach (explain) it.
Many times solutions to problems present themselves when you explain the problem to somebody.
Inferior ideas die a quick death when you explain it to somebody and they shoot it down for good reason.
Good ideas become great when you harness the power of a team to improve the concepts.
I like to think of ideas as rough gemstones. First you use a saw to get to the basic shape. You then use successively finer abrasives until its polished.
Talking about an idea for me is like the saw that gets things close to the basic shape.
When it’s time to write about the idea though, the next step is a well organized outline.
Tom G.
on 20 Nov 07I forgot to make the point that I found talking with others works better for me than talking to myself.
jim
on 20 Nov 07I discovered this technique 1/2 way through my PhD. The first have I spent my time altering pre-made slides from my advisor to fit my work, practicing these slides and then bombing my talks horribly when someone asked me a question that I hadn’t planned for. After a while I noticed that when I was having casual conversations with people about my work I could walk through it just fine, I could explain myself well and reliably field any questions about my work. Once I stopped trying to give my adviser’s presentation I started giving MUCH better talks.
I also frequently used the “pretend you are explaining this to your grandma” technique…which I wish more people would learn and use. A full 80% of all the presentations I’ve been to that weren’t directly related to my work have been utterly incomprehensible. I think the idea of tailoring your presentation to your audience is not given the attention it deserves in acedemia. Most people opt for the “use big words and you’ll sound smart” technique.
Tom
on 20 Nov 07I can’t recommend enough speaking first and doing slides second, get someone to sit though it and take notes of your key points or record yourself. Your slides will get to the point quicker will contain 80% less crap.
Andrew Kasper
on 20 Nov 07I use this technique for everything, not just presentations. If I’m stuck coding, I talk it out. If I’m coming up with a gift idea, I talk it out. If I’m preparing to discuss a problem with my boss/ wife/ neighbor, I talk it out.
Most helpful for me is imagining the talkback from whomever I’m imagining. I imagine what questions or comments they might have, and it keeps my stream of consciousness going.
Two helpful tools: 1. An ELIZA chatbot. 2. A stuffed animal or rubber ducky. [And yes, when I talk to my stuffed animal, people look at me like I’m crazy. He does help a lot, though.]
Dr. Pete
on 21 Nov 07I have to admit, I find myself rehearsing talks (and even blog posts) in the shower, brainstorming what I might say and then imagining how an audience might react. I do some of my best writing that way. I’ve been seriously considering getting a pocket voice recorder to tap into that strategy, although I guess it will have to be waterproof :)
Keith
on 21 Nov 07This is such a stupid suggestion, but honestly I’ve seen so many people think and talk about their slides first this post should be the first thing anyone reads when given a copy of PowerPoint or Keynote.
I’m totally sick of nasty looking craptastic presentations full of slides with tons of text and idiotic graphics. Bravo! :)
Matt
on 21 Nov 07I agree 100%.
I had to give a speech at the WTO last year but I was only notified late the night before, so I had 1-2 hours max to prepare.
I took out my mp3 recorder out and went for a 30 minute walk, rambling on and on to myself about the topic at hand. When I got back to my computer, I listened to my ramblings, took notes, and rearranged it all in a logical and coherent form.
It went very well.
Nikhil Kulkarni
on 21 Nov 07Getting Real in presentations eh! :-)
Nice Tip – would love to try it out once
Jeff Ward
on 22 Nov 07Sure, and why not try it with a friend present.
JF
on 22 Nov 07Sure, and why not try it with a friend present.
I would recommend against this. Especially early on.
Talking out loud to yourself is about gathering your thoughts and mining for ideas you didn’t know you had.
If you know someone is listening you’ll hold back. You won’t want to sound stupid. You won’t let your thoughts come freely. And you may even be nervous which will affect your openness to your ideas.
Do this discovery phase alone. Once you feel comfortable with a few solid ideas, and have an idea of how you will present them, you can always get someone else involved if you think that will help you deal with an audience.
FrankLamontagne
on 23 Nov 07Great tip, thanks. We should have try this approach for our TimmyOnTIme presentation…
Albert Delgado
on 24 Nov 07As a school technologist, I found your idea on building presentations helpful. I have posted the link to your post to the 5/6 grade teachers on our curriculum development project. Yes, we use Basecamp for our whole school planning with university collaborators.
This discussion is closed.