Getting the Content Right

Knowing your audience is a step in the right direction. You might think that content is the next step, but you'd be only partially right. Before you can determine what to present, you have to establish your objectives. In other words, you have to start with the end in mind (see Figure 16.1).

Figure 16.1. An effective presentation consists of overlapping elements, anchored by understanding your audience and having clear objectives.

graphics/16fig01.gif

For example, if your objective is to merely entertain, your content could be nearly anything, from sports to politics to television. If you want audience members to understand the complexities of a valve assembly, you better think about what steps can help them reach that understanding.

Having your objective in mind helps you select, organize, and present the right kind of material. At each step along the way, you can ask yourself, "Will this help me reach my objective?" If it doesn't, you probably need to consider eliminating it, no matter how interesting it is to you personally. That doesn't mean you eliminate supporting material altogether. Like an experienced tour guide, you need to keep your objective in mind, but you also need to know when it's appropriate to take a little side trip. Nevertheless, you should always make sure you return to the main road.

PowerPoint's outline feature helps you organize the textual content leading to the final objective. But you also have to focus on visual content. Does a clip art image or a photograph really help the audience understand better? Or have you found an interesting image and you've bent your presentation to make it fit? Does that nifty sound effect or video clip really help the viewers understand the final objective? Or does it distract from or overwhelm what you're trying to accomplish? Can you get your awestruck tourists back on the bus?

Enough browbeating. You know your content, and you know what the audience needs to know. Make sure you use PowerPoint to assist you in the process. Don't let PowerPoint become the main attraction.



Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
Absolute Beginners Guide to Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
ISBN: 0789729695
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 154
Authors: Read Gilgen

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net