Through our reading selections and videos this week, I've learned that one of the most important aspects of presenting successfully is to plan my presentation for my audience, not myself. My goal here is to communicate my big idea to my audience and plant within them the seed of desire to act upon and grow my BHAG. In order to do that, I have to get their attention and hold it. My audience is the hero. Without them, my plan will fail. I need them to feel within themselves the fire to want to do something along with me. The success of my innovation plan lies within the community that I'm presenting to and they are the heroes.
I'll need to keep several things in mind as I create my presentation if I want my heroes to be engaged and follow along with what I'm presenting. First, less is more. The key is for me to use the slides to highlight one idea per slide, use visuals, contrasts, animation, and presenting material in such a way that my audience's brains can absorb and follow what I'm showing and telling them. Second, I need to connect with my audience. I'll need to speak slowly and have time for pauses where my heroes can connect logically and emotionally to what they're hearing and seeing. It's important that I take the time to look at my audience in the eyes and convey to them our human experiences and get them to relate to me. I can't expect my heroes to want to act on my behalf if they don't feel connected to me and my BHAG. Third, I need to tell a story. Not just any story. It will be a story where I start off with the status quo, build contrast by comparing what is and what could be and end with how our world will look when my audience acts on my BHAG. This structure that Nancy Duarte has identified in famous speeches is pure gold.
There's a lot to think about when creating our presentations. I've found the resources to be very helpful and will utilize suggestions given when creating mine.
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