It used to be easy preparing a presentation. You, and everyone else, expected a bunch of PowerPoint slides and a list of bullet points. At least that was how it was when I worked in a large IT business, giving marketing presentations and presentations to senior managers. It’s pretty different now. I used to simply think about what I wanted to say, pretty much in isolation apart from conversations with colleagues inside the company. And it was a straightforward job of getting it down, working on the slide transitions and making it pretty.
Today I’ve been thinking through a presentation for a conference I’m speaking at next week – and there’s a lot more to think about. For a start, because of sites like Slideshare, we can see other people’s presentations if they decide to upload them. That raises the game – can mine be as good as theirs? And then there is a decision about the tools to use. Should I be courageous and speak with no slides? Be predictable and use PowerPoint? Be off-the-wall and use Prezi , the cloud-based system from Budapest that provides a zoomable canvas – but risks making the audience feel a little dizzy? Or use both and hope nobody sees the join? And what do they know about me already? Will they have googled me? Seen my tweets? Looked at my online profile? Read my blog? What are the implications of them having done or (not done) those things? 
Then there’s the question of content and style. We used to be very niche, working in our areas of expertise, closely aligned to our organisations and maybe not knowing too much about how other people did things, how they were tackling problems, what they thought of the issues. How that has changed too. Social media, SoMe, gives us access to a world of information and viewpoints that is unparalleled. The problem is not what to talk about, but what not to talk about. Once again, today’s straightforward task made it clear to me that we all need digital literacy skills to identify, sort, sift and evaluate information – and that the future workforce needs those skills too. We don’t live in a small world any more. Getting a wider perspective is so easy, almost too easy!
So instead of having a quiet think, making a cup of tea and a PPT (you know what I mean), I’ve been looking around Twitter, on LinkedIn and my other networks, asking people about the subject of my presentation and seeing what they have to say. And it’s made me think harder. What’s really important? What will really help the individuals in the audience? How can I make a positive impact on what they know, what they do and how they do it?
The abundance of information certainly makes me more self critical, but I find it makes me more open-minded too. I have reach out to many sources of expertise to help me do today’s task (which reminds me that I’d better finish that presentation!). So if you are in London on 22 September, and at NatureJobs Career Expo, tell me how it went, won’t you. And yes, I expect I’ll be putting my presentation on Slideshare too. What is it about? Network Your Way To a New Job. Wish me luck.
