10 tips for better presentations according to Karaoke
From Zentrale Intelligenz Agency to presentation skills
I have recently been told about the concept of “PowerPoint Karaoke”. I loved it from the moment I heard about the concept and decided that I would organize a “presentation skills” workshop based on it.
The exercise is simple, there are only 3 rules:
1) The presenter cannot see the slides before presenting,
2) The presenter is only allowed to use the next slide button and is never allowed to go back,
3) When all slides have been presented or after 6 minutes (whichever occurs first) the presentation ends.
PowerPoint Karaoke is strongly tied to improvisational theatre and derives from a game called “That Talk’s today ?!”. In this game a presenter leaves the room while the audience and an animator construct a few slides with graphs and acronyms. Afterward the presenter uses this never seen before slides to make a speech about a given subject. a Berlin base design agency called Zentrale Intelligenz Agency, improved the game in 2006 and created the PowerPoint Karaoke as we know it.
In fact, it is easy to set up a PowerPoint Karaoke — you only need a slide deck and a timer — but also very powerful: it is a playful and interactive activity everyone can get involved in and learn. Regarding presentation skills it allows participant to disinhibit themselves. Indeed, since they do not know the content of the slideshow they just have the title of the presentation to build a story. Therefore, each new slide is a new piece of inspiration they can use to keep talking. The presenter can move away from what is written on the screen and focus on the format of her or his speech. By creating a benevolent and unusual environment usually less confident people can reveal themselves in front of an audience without fearing the judgement of someone else.
How to set the PowerPoint Karaoke trap
Therefore, still in love with the idea, I recently organized a workshop with some colleagues. The plan was the following:
1) Organize a PowerPoint Karaoke (30 minutes),
2) Ask for positive feedback on the performances (10 minutes),
3) Create a slide of synthesis with the audience (5 minutes).
The session was really funny with fantastic stories being told by the performers, the feedback were very positives from the audience and from the performers (at the end of the exercise some members of the audience requested to perform). At the beginning the performers had a hard time using the full 6 minutes to speak but after 2 or 3 performance the situation improved, and we had amazing 6 minutes long presentations.
I decided to buy the slides to have homogeneous presentations but you can find some great examples here.
10 tips for better presentations according to PowerPoint Karaoke
After the funny part comes the working part! Together we built the following list of recommendation to improve our — your — presentations.
1) Story telling is the key: captivate the audience by using emotions and feelings in your speech
2) The main messages are said again and again: pedagogy relies on repetition
3) Each slide contains no more than 1 message: keep your audience focused on what you say
4) The presentation is structured by a unique guideline and the transition between slide is natural: create a logical progression to convince your audience
5) The slides are impactful: choose a catchy title and use the slide comments to remind you of 1) the message of the slide, 2) the objectives of the slide, 3) some context elements
6) Graphical elements are easier to memorize: use pictures make your point
7) Charts are double edged: they can be used to simplify technical questions but can also be hard to explain
8) Breath with the stomach and stand on the legs (feet aligned with the shoulders): you will reduce unwanted variation in your voice intensity or rhythm
9) Speaking in a foreign language makes it harder to focus on the vocal technique: in return breath and take your time to think then speak
10) It is important to appropriate the space: you can walk to make breaks during the speech and think about what you are going to say next (but don’t speak while walking!).
And now?
Now, I will try to replicate this workshop with more participant and a more time for the synthesis part. This will allow me to see how this format can scale and I hope we can dive deeper into the mechanics of what make a good presentation.
There is another format of exercise I want to try: PechaKucha. By keeping presentation fast-paced and concise it emphasizes more on the content and the way message are designed. Thus, it looks like a perfect complement for PowerPoint Karaoke.
I will give feedback as soon as I have some on these 2 points. Meanwhile, if you want to replicate the workshop do not hesitate to keep in touch so we can share best practices and advices!
