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PLANNING THE POST-IT
NOTE (TM) PRESENTATION
Do you have difficulty deciding what information
you want to use in a presentation or speech? How you should
format it? Which order will you put the information in, and what
will you use to ensure the correct time?
Planning presentations and speeches can be
effortless and uncomplicated using a method that involves
Post-It Notes.
From choosing a topic, creating a powerful
opening to developing presentation content, using these simple
steps process will make it easy.
You will need:
Plenty of Post-It Notes (TM)
A felt pen
An open wall space (glass doors work well)
Beginning with an open mind you need to
brainstorm your topic. Brainstorming is a useful and popular
tool that you can use to develop highly creative solutions to a
problem. It is particularly helpful when you need to break out
of stale, established patterns of thinking, so that you can
develop new ways of looking at things. Remember, brainstorming
is a lateral thinking process. It asks that people come up with
ideas and thoughts that seem at first to be a bit odd.
Anything goes here...no judgments or
evaluations. Be outrageous, wild, childlike, have fun. Include
fantasy, creativity, quick spontaneity; play on ideas, free
linkage, variations on a theme. Go for quantity.
During brainstorming sessions there should
therefore be no criticism of ideas: Judgments and analysis at
this stage will stunt idea generation.
Steps to Brainstorming:
- Define the problem as a creative challenge.
- Give yourselves a time limit. Around 25 minutes is
recommended, but experience will show how much time is
required.
Once the
brainstorming starts, participants shout out solutions to
the problem while the facilitator writes them down on
Post-It (TM) notes.
Once your time is up, start chunking ideas.
Now you need to organise the information in
major sections. Using the Post-Its
(TM),
just stick the big chunks
somewhere don’t worry or spend too much time bothering over
where it goes. This is meant to be a quick part of the process.
Next, arrange the other chunks under them. Don’t put them in
order. Put them in multiple categories if they fit. You may
discover you end up with plenty of ideas for future
presentations.
Now keeping your outcome in mind, sequence large
chunks. Decide what comes first, then what comes next. Ask what
must come before what in the sequence. Break big chunks into
smaller sequences. When unsure where something goes, put it
aside. You will find you are continually moving ideas into
different sequences. The advantage of using Post-It Notes
(TM)
you can continually review and
refine.
You now need to make sure that the outcomes are
met. Look at the levels of abstraction (chunking) and the
sequence of the material. Defining the purpose of your
presentation being able to state it in a single sentence will
mean it gains more impact. Identify what is the single most
important idea you want to communicate in an effective manner.
Now look at the content and determine the flow
of the presentation.
Determine how long the
outline will take to present by deciding how much content you
want to cover. Observe whether you have more material than time.
If you have too much information or content, then prioritize and
cut or add if short as the case may be. Don’t forget to leave
room for handling questions, discussions, unusual problems or
lack of understanding.
The story boarding
method using Post-It Notes,
(TM)
simplifies the process of keeping the
whole presentation in perspective and it will make planning
presentations straight forward and uncomplicated.
Janeen Vosper
Mt Gravatt Communicators
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