[PLUG] Linuxfest NW preliminary schedule

[David Mandel]

> Keith,
>
>    Over the past quarter-century I have been subjected to very few well-done
> presentations. Most are appallingly bad. For some reason, teaching how to
> present an effective talk is not part of the educational or professional
> training of lawywers, engineers, scientists, or ... computer geeks.
>
...
>
>    Unfortunately, too many of the PLUG meeting talks are of the same
> ineffective type.
>

Rich,

    You must be much more discriminating than I am.
I don't really care how polished a talk is as long
as I can understand the general idea of the presentation.
If I get one or two ideas out of a presentation 
(or a book for that matter) that are worth exploring on
my own, I consider the talk (or book) worth my time.
If I get one idea that I actually use in a major way,
I consider the presentation to be a Major Major Success.
By this this standand, 95% of the PLUG talks are worth my
time and a fair share of them are Major Major Successes.

    As a result, I am very grateful to our presenters for 
the high quality education they have been giving me since
1994.  They are worth every penny we have given them ...
and much much more.

                                          Sincerely,
                                          David Mandel
                                          Chief Activist
                                          Portland Linux/Unix Group
                                          560 SE Alexander
                                          Corvallis, Oregon 97333
                                          (541) 737-9153 at work (OSU)
                                          (541) 730-5285 cell

   ======================================================================
   David Mandel                        http://www.DavidMandel.com
   Portland Linux/Unix Group           http://pdxLinux.org
   LinuxFund                           http://LinuxFund.org
   ======================================================================


On Sun, 2 Apr 2006, Rich Shepard wrote:

> On Sat, 1 Apr 2006, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
> 
> > Given that we have so many people from the Portland are presenting, it
> > might be could to schedule some practice sessions beforehand, that locals
> > can watch. Does anyone want to help organize this, and find us a room? My
> > living room is available, but I couldn't get more than 10 people in it. And
> > the beer sucks...
> 
> Keith,
> 
>    Over the past quarter-century I have been subjected to very few well-done
> presentations. Most are appallingly bad. For some reason, teaching how to
> present an effective talk is not part of the educational or professional
> training of lawywers, engineers, scientists, or ... computer geeks.
> 
>    In the mid-1970s Rosemary MacKay, Professor of Zoology at the University of
> Toronto, gave a presention on how to give a presentation at an annual meeting
> of the North American Benthological Society. It certainly made a strong
> impression on me. Over the years I've read more on how to effectively present
> a talk, and I've taken advantage of several free seminars here in the
> Portland area that enhanced my understanding and presentation effectiveness
> by addressing such topics as the colors used in the slides. Yes, it makes a
> strong, sub-conscious impression on your audience by generating emotions that
> either reinforce the message you're trying to convey or belying that message;
> the latter leads to confusion in the listener's mind and you've lost your
> audience.
> 
>    A couple of weeks ago I had to sit through a workshop on mixing zones (it
> was one of those business things where I had to be seen in attendance). All
> the speakers sucked big time; that's the most polite way to describe their
> abuse of our presence.
> 
>    Unfortunately, too many of the PLUG meeting talks are of the same
> ineffective type.
> 
>    I would be very happy to give a presentation/workshop/seminar on how to
> give an effective presentation. This could help folks who not only preach to
> the choir but need to make sales presentations (internally or externally),
> speak to those who know less than they do about a particular topic, and be
> better able to understand their own reactions to talks given by others.
> 
>    Three key factors with which an effective presentation must comply:
> 
>    1.)  Know your audience and what they expect to learn from you. Tell them
> what you're going to say. Say it. Tell them what you said. Sit down.
> 
>    2.)  Assume that your audience can read and comprehend English. Do NOT
> turn your back on the audience and read the slides to them. The slides should
> be phrases; notes of the key points. Show few data; make it all readable to
> someone over 40 years old sitting at the back of the audience. Clarity over
> cute.
> 
>    3.)  If you want to excite your audience and get them emotionally stirred
> up, use colors such as red and yellow. If you want to be taken seriously, use
> colors such as green, blue, and grey. Use high contrast, preferably with a
> dark background; black-on-white is much clearer than is white-on-black; red
> on green gets you neutered with a rusty razor blade.
> 
> Rich
> 
> -- 
> Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.             |  Quantifying subjectivity for the
> Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc.(TM)  |  benefit of business and society.
> <http://www.appl-ecosys.com>     Voice: 503-667-4517      Fax: 503-667-8863
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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