Some weeks start with anticipation and other weeks seem to start with dread. For some reason, this morning as I sit down to write, I have a sense of anticipation for the week. It "feels" like there are good things ahead that are calling to me -- drawing me forward.
One of the things I have to do this week is finalize a presentation that I am to make on Friday morning for a cattlemen's meeting. I have a version of the slides completed but, I am not satisfied with the flow of the presentation so, I have been thinking through ways to revise it. I plan to completely re-do it today. I may be able to utilize some of the existing slides, but I intend to dramatically change the way the material is presented.
The venue for the program will be an arena setting. The group will be fairly large, so the space was needed. There are 5 of us on the program with a rountable discussion at the end. It is definitely not my favorite setting for a program; I prefer smaller groups with more interaction. I like to pose questions throughout a presentation and make it interactive. It becomes a guided discussion in some ways, with utilization of slides to take the group through the material. The large size of the group on Friday will mean primarily a lecture-type format.
People learn in different ways. Most people are hands-on learners. The ideal way to teach (in my non-professional opinion) is to have students "do" the thing they are expected to learn. The second best way is to use strong visual aids. The mind is better at capturing images than at interpreting words. The least effective way is a lecture without visuals.
As I mentioned, I prefer to utilize questions throughout a presentation in order to gain participation from the audience. It is easier to get people to grasp the material if their mind is engaged on multiple levels. Asking questions causes them to think about the subject on a deeper level. It helps to disengage that part of the mind which is focused on other things and re-focuses it on the subject at hand. If you then add in the visual layer you can further "tune" the thoughts into a direction in which you want to proceed. The words are an additional layer of information that shouldn't be "reading the slides" but, should act as a supplement to the visual aids that focus thinking.
The goal is to focus the learners minds on the subject. If not fully engaged, the mind will drift to other things that are constantly vying for attention. It may be things left undone, or it could be anticipated actions or events yet to occur.
There is also the danger of lulling the audience to sleep. The best way to prevent that is to include visually disruptive slides -- something that "shocks" the brain into awareness of thought. We can only absorb "dense" material in small doses. In order to increase the amount that can be absorbed, it should be punctuated by natural points of "pause" such as a visual joke. A cartoon is often a great way to "disrupt" a presentation in a way that lightens the mood and provide the visual "jolt" to the audience.
It is probably obvious where my mind is focused this morning....
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