Dr. Medina’s Brain Rules are fascinating. Not in the same way that Brian Greene’s eloquent description of The Elegant Universe is fascinating. No, it is much simpler than that. In fact, Brain Rules are fascinating because they are simple. While they are based on years of complicated scientific research and their implications are far reaching, Dr. Medina’s rules to survive at home, work, and school are so simple that it is fascinating that we didn’t think of them earlier.
In a similar way, it is nearly laughable to me that PowerPoint slides are still designed in a complicated and counter-intuitive manner. Due largely to the misused hierarchical organization techniques that are the foundation of Microsoft’s templates, professors, lecturers, and students continue to fill their slides with line after line of boring, bulleted text.
Fortunately, the steps to improving lecture slides are as straight forward and obvious as are Brain Rules. In fact, there are two design changes that can be used on any slide deck to instantly improve it’s effectiveness.
In upcoming posts, I will explore each of these in more detail and give practical examples of how they can make an impact. For now, see how you can apply them to your lecture slides.
In a recent lecture I attended, I heard the professor say the following as he advanced to the next slide in his PowerPoint, “So what this slide talks about is…”I thought nothing of it for a moment. I’ve heard people make the same comment many times in lectures, pitches, etc. As I looked at the slide, I thought if this slide could speak it would sound like a lot like a socially-inept scientist with an agile mind and free tongue! In other words: utterly incomprehensible. I sat patiently and hoped that the professor would translate the slide into English.
If you have to explain what a slide ‘says’ then something is wrong with the way it is designed.
Slides do not talk. You do. Slides cannot teach, they can only help you teach.
Design your slides to follow what you would naturally say and to help illustrate complex or abstract ideas. Don’t use slides as your lecture notes. Take advantage of (but don’t overuse) slide transitions and animations to show the main idea and then progressively reveal the details as you talk about them.
After a short TED Talk ‘fast’, I’ve started devouring these amazing talks again, and this 5 minute appetizer was sensational.
William Kamkwaba is a young African man who harnessed the power of wind to help feed his family and transform his small village. In this short presentation he shares his inspirational story.
What fascinates me is that William was able to give an engaging and motivational talk without having so much as a high school education. Most people who are inexperienced presenters tend to use the same crutches: default PowerPoint themes, bullet points, notes, few pictures. But not William. Notice the simplicity of his slides. Many of them are full-bleed photographs. He doesn’t use bullet points and he speaks in a natural, conversational tone. Most importantly, his message comes from the heart. Building windmills, and engineering in general, is something that he loves.
William shows that you do not need to be a trained and experienced public speaker to present well. If you are a teacher or university professor, there are a few simple things that you can do to improve your presentations or lectures.
As I’ve worked with teachers to redesign their lecture slides and presentations, I’ve come to the realization that a lot of the time slides aren’t necessary. At least, not for every point that you want to make.
This point was validated when I watched a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson at the Apple Higher Education Leadership Summit.
In his traditional conversational style, he gave an entertaining speech on the role of Information Systems in the university. He discussed the concept of creativity and how many people believe they just aren’t creative. Then, he told a story about a rare season of rain in Death Valley and the flowerful spring that followed and referenced the one and only slide from his talk, which contained a photograph of Death Valley covered in wild flowers. He explained that, just as life was dormant in “Death” Valley, everyone is creative whether they have discovered their creative ability or not.
I was floored. What a way to emphasize a point. Moreover, what an incredible talk that utilized only one slide at the opportune moment.
I just finished designing a Keynote theme for the McKay School of Education at BYU. I think it came out really well and can’t wait to show it to the administration.
Here is a very short video sample of the presentation.
Thanks to Tyler Lewis who helped design the backgrounds.
Dr. Medina’s Brain Rules are fascinating. Not in the same way that Brian Greene’s eloquent description of The Elegant Universe is fascinating. No, it is much simpler than that. In fact, Brain Rules are fascinating because they are simple. While they are based on years of complicated scientific research and their implications are far reaching, Dr. Medina’s rules to survive at home, work, and school are so simple that it is fascinating that we didn’t think of them earlier.
