I searched on the Internet for news coverage of the Financial Times Italy Summit and found a video where Prof. Monti confesses that it was his first time using slides. I also found some photographs where the slides are visible on #assodigitale.it.

Photocredit: #assodigitale.it

I was pleasantly surprised to see that  many of his titles were not generic but contained specific messages (“Second lowest budget deficit in major advanced economies”, “High but manageable public debt”, “Reforms for growth: more competition”).  This is excellent.  Many presenters would have gone with generic titles (such as “Deficit”, “Public debt status”, “Reforms”) which are a wasted opportunity.  Prof. Monti’s slide titles summarize the content of each slide and transmit a unifying, clear overall message.

Here are a few observations and advice:

• The slides contain only text in lists of bullet points. This is to be expected, as presentation software defaults to a bullet point style and so this is what most people use. Some of the text contained numbers which could have had more impact with a graphic representation. Still, that would mean going with a single message per slide structure, requiring more work and more rehearsal in order to advance the slides at the right time.  I was not present at the conference so I don’t know how long Prof. Monti lingered on each point.
• The slide titles should not be underlined. Underlined text looks like a hyperlink.  I would remove  the underlining and use a bold or different font.  The title should also start a couple of characters to the right.
• The slide template contains an image centered at the bottom of each slide with a government logo. Unfortunately the logo sits inside a grey rectangle and I am not sure why that is.  I think a sharper image of the logo, without the grey box would look better.  The template also contains a horizontal line above the slide heading.  Again, I am not sure why it was done this way, since  it does not add anything but wastes space.

I think that using slides for important subjects such as the economy is a sign of extreme competence and confidence. As the Romans used to say: “Verba volant, scripta manent”.

I look forward to seeing more slides used by government officials in Italy. It would also be nice to find them posted on the web for all to see.

Can they also be used in presentations?

Here are my six suggestions for presenters, trainers, teachers and speakers who want to start using their own QR Codes:

1. Insert a QR Code on the last slide of your presentation which includes a link to your contact information (a Vcard) or Linkedin profile
2. Insert a QR Code on a slide with a link to the current presentation on Slideshare or to your profile on Slideshare
3. Insert a QR Code on a slide that links to a special offer or bonus materials only for participants
4. Add value to the course participant handouts by inserting QR Codes with links to specific multimedia resources
5. Insert a QR Code on a slide or handout pointing to a feeback form or participant survey.
6. Insert a QR Code on slides containing quotes, to send the audience to the source. This is the method used by Maria Popova and you can see her presenting using these types of slides in this post. Advance the video to 1:03 to see the first slide of this type, which I have copied here below, but she has more like it in her talk (very interesting, btw).

QR codes are easy to make and easy to read,  but it’s important that any internet content they point to is appropriate for viewing on a mobile device.

Have you come across any other ways of using QR codes in presentations?

If you don’t have a Smartphone but wish to see what appears on an iPhone when you read the QR Code above,  here is the screen capture of the link to my Linkedin profile:

A while ago I read the outstanding book “Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd ” by Youngme Moon.

You might enjoy viewing the book’s video trailer to get an idea of the content.

This book should be required reading for all who are in marketing and business in general. It pushes the reader to think/act differently, to be original  and not just copy what others are doing.  You can read an excerpt here.

Even though the book does not talk about presentations, it inspired me to think of…

some ways you can be different in presentations

1. In addition to slides, learn to use a white board or a flipchart to explain certain concepts. Changing technique is a good way to vary the rythm in a presentation, something that aids in keeping the attention of the audience and invites notetaking.
2. Mix slides that support your speech with slides projected on a whiteboard that can be filled out with audience-generated content, gathered during interactive sessions. People love to see their contributions writter on the board.
3. Use a different style, maybe the conference room style proposed by Andrew Abela. In certain types of small meetings it can be useful to prepare printed slides and talk over them.  Prof. Abela explains how to develop these types of presentations.
4. When everyone around you presents dense text and bullet point lists,  start making more visual presentations with less text and more images (even better: only one concept per slide with just a title and an image).  This requires more work, sure, but wouldn’t it be nice to stand out from the crowd?
5. Make better titles for your slides.  Slide headings should be like newspaper headlines, not generic like “Inflation trends” or “Sales figures”.  How about “Sales not growing, why?” or “Inflation on the rise”. Titles like these go to the core of the message, reading them your audience has an immediate summary.
6. Surprise your listeners with an amazingly useful hand-out, a document that summarizes and develops the ideas presented, and not just a copy of the slides (often of little use).

But the book goes further, explaining that it is not by copying the strong points of others that you get an advantage, instead you have to build on your strengths, make your strengths even stronger.  It’s therefore important to be aware of one’s strengths, and this too can be applied to presentations, in particular to content development.

Ideas for differentiating with your strengths

• Are you great at data analysis? You should learn how to create better, more immediate graphs that don’t leave the audience wondering or make interpretation difficult for those who are listening to you. Do you know which chart is best for the evidence you want to present? You might want to check out these two books: The Wall Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics: The Dos and Don’ts of Presenting Data, Facts, and Figures by Dona Wong or Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten by Stephen Few.  A simple and free starting point can also be Andrew Abela’s Chart Chooser, available as pdf but also as a website.
• Are you an easy talker? Don’t fill your slides with text, use images and storytelling techniques.
• Are you an expert in a complicated subject? Develop metaphors and/or use diagrams to simplify and make your explanation understandable by all. The SmartArt function inside PowerPoint can give you some ideas.

If you like this subject, you will enjoy this short, stimulating video from the Drucker Institute:

Grow different not bigger

Do you use any other methods to be different from others in you presentations?  Share your ideas in a comment below.

“BEDIFFERENT” CC photo credit:  theprodigy @ deviantart

If you have just a minute or two, I suggest scanning the headlines in this post: 5 Tips to perfect your slideshare presentations which is one of the resources linked by Slideshare. They are simple tips but important if you plan on loading your work to Slideshare.