Take-away messages from Ledden
This is some background literature on presentations.
Ledden, E. (2017). The presentation book: How to create it, shape it and deliver it! (2nd ed.). Pearson Education.
The chapters provide a hands-on approach to making good presentations. The list of take-away messages can
function as a to-do list for your presentation. I hope that this exercise will get you thinking about why you are
presenting on the topic that you have selected and how you can create a 'connection' with your audience. Bear in
mind also the discussions in class on presentation structure and the assessment criteria for your presentations for
this course.
Chapter 1: The presentation that tried to save lives
- Do not wait to deliver your key message until the very end (deductive reasoning). Lead with your strongest point
instead of building up to it.
o Key information can be so buried and condensed in the rigid format of a PowerPoint slide that the crucial
message can be completely lost, e.g. because of an abundance of data or a presentation structure that
does not account for how we listen and engage as human beings.
- A PowerPoint should not be an obstacle to clear/internal communication and should not have a dampening
effect on clear thought and expression.
- A good PowerPoint should…
o Make the crucial message clear
o Be clear & concise
o Not focus too much on data, facts, statistics: give only critical detail at the early stages of the presentation
o Deliver key messages
- Simplify your message
o This does not mean that you cannot use specialised terminology.
- Relate to your audience
Chapter 2: The way we are presenting is not working
- Do not prepare your slides first: Slide Focused Presenting
- Do not write every single word on your slides
o Deliver little information with clear messages
o Follow your own natural way of thinking
o Do not speak the written word
- Simplify your message & have impact
- Talk about what the audience cares about at the right time, in the right way: Audience Focused Presenting
o Profile the audience
o Structure your messages: storytelling framework
Stop and think
Sort through your data
Slow down your fast thinking for a short time
Give yourself a structure for your messaging
Be simple & meaningful
o Design visual aids once you have relevant structured messages
Slides are not tools to structure content
Chapter 3: Presentation 101
- Speak clearly
- A great presentation…
o Grabs the mind of the audience at the beginning,
1
This is some background literature on presentations.
Ledden, E. (2017). The presentation book: How to create it, shape it and deliver it! (2nd ed.). Pearson Education.
The chapters provide a hands-on approach to making good presentations. The list of take-away messages can
function as a to-do list for your presentation. I hope that this exercise will get you thinking about why you are
presenting on the topic that you have selected and how you can create a 'connection' with your audience. Bear in
mind also the discussions in class on presentation structure and the assessment criteria for your presentations for
this course.
Chapter 1: The presentation that tried to save lives
- Do not wait to deliver your key message until the very end (deductive reasoning). Lead with your strongest point
instead of building up to it.
o Key information can be so buried and condensed in the rigid format of a PowerPoint slide that the crucial
message can be completely lost, e.g. because of an abundance of data or a presentation structure that
does not account for how we listen and engage as human beings.
- A PowerPoint should not be an obstacle to clear/internal communication and should not have a dampening
effect on clear thought and expression.
- A good PowerPoint should…
o Make the crucial message clear
o Be clear & concise
o Not focus too much on data, facts, statistics: give only critical detail at the early stages of the presentation
o Deliver key messages
- Simplify your message
o This does not mean that you cannot use specialised terminology.
- Relate to your audience
Chapter 2: The way we are presenting is not working
- Do not prepare your slides first: Slide Focused Presenting
- Do not write every single word on your slides
o Deliver little information with clear messages
o Follow your own natural way of thinking
o Do not speak the written word
- Simplify your message & have impact
- Talk about what the audience cares about at the right time, in the right way: Audience Focused Presenting
o Profile the audience
o Structure your messages: storytelling framework
Stop and think
Sort through your data
Slow down your fast thinking for a short time
Give yourself a structure for your messaging
Be simple & meaningful
o Design visual aids once you have relevant structured messages
Slides are not tools to structure content
Chapter 3: Presentation 101
- Speak clearly
- A great presentation…
o Grabs the mind of the audience at the beginning,
1
