We’ve just had a very nice new bathroom installed – and so for the first time in several years I’ve been able to enjoy the luxury of taking a bath (don’t worry, I’d been using the shower; I hadn’t started to smell!), That’s great for me, because I find time relaxing in a bath conducive to sorting out the overview and ideas for big presentations.
That lead me to wondering how other people design their presentations and to something we’ve been finding a lot recently – clients who design their presentations at the computer. Our advice is always the same – don’t.
As soon as you start using a computer, no matter how expertly you use it, two things inevitably happen. Firstly, you limit yourself to the ways the computer ‘thinks’ (by which, of course, I’m referring to the way the program you are using was written). Some presentations (and other questions of communicating with people) aren’t easily captured or recorded in a computer program and that limits your imagination.
Secondly, no matter how good you are at using a computer, part of your brain needs to be used in working the program, not in creating your presentation, and that limits your productivity.
Today’s tip? It couldn’t be more simple. Trust yourself to step away from your computer when you need to think about how to tell people things. And if your boss wants to know why you’re staring out of the window, tell him Simon Said…
