One thing that the current lockdown has done is to introduce a lot of people to the possibilities of using their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs to communicate visually and verbally with other people in real time.
Over the last two months, I have begun to learn how to use FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom, and I am part of the group within Wargame Developments who are planning to use these and similar programs to stage a Virtual Conference of Wargamers (VCOW) in early July.
Tonight I will be using Zoom to present a short Masonic talk ... and learning how to do this has certainly opened up the possibilities for me to use this program to present a session at VCOW.
Rather than subject my audience to looking at my ugly mug and listening to my voice, I have prepared a PowerPoint slideshow that I can 'share' with the audience whilst I talk, and its title page looks like this:
Now, I am sure that a lot of you have been to sessions where the speaker has used such a slideshow, and the phenomena of 'death by PowerPoint' is well known. I have therefore been very careful to use as few words on my slides as possible (they are there to act as introductions to what I am going to say), and do NOT intend to insult my audience's intelligence by putting up a slide ... and then reading what is on the slide to them! (I'm sure that you've all seen and heard that done at some point!) I have also kept the transitions from one slide to another as simple as it can be (they will fade from one to another), and the text and illustrations will also fade in. (I absolutely HATE presentations where things spin in, whirl about, or do somersaults. I want information, NOT a circus show!)
Over the last two months, I have begun to learn how to use FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom, and I am part of the group within Wargame Developments who are planning to use these and similar programs to stage a Virtual Conference of Wargamers (VCOW) in early July.
Tonight I will be using Zoom to present a short Masonic talk ... and learning how to do this has certainly opened up the possibilities for me to use this program to present a session at VCOW.
Rather than subject my audience to looking at my ugly mug and listening to my voice, I have prepared a PowerPoint slideshow that I can 'share' with the audience whilst I talk, and its title page looks like this:
Now, I am sure that a lot of you have been to sessions where the speaker has used such a slideshow, and the phenomena of 'death by PowerPoint' is well known. I have therefore been very careful to use as few words on my slides as possible (they are there to act as introductions to what I am going to say), and do NOT intend to insult my audience's intelligence by putting up a slide ... and then reading what is on the slide to them! (I'm sure that you've all seen and heard that done at some point!) I have also kept the transitions from one slide to another as simple as it can be (they will fade from one to another), and the text and illustrations will also fade in. (I absolutely HATE presentations where things spin in, whirl about, or do somersaults. I want information, NOT a circus show!)
Assuming that everything goes well tonight, I will give serious thought to presenting a session at VCOW. If it goes badly ... then I will go back to the drawing board!The final slide of my presentation.
I agree wholeheartedly with your “death by PowerPoint” assessment. Using PowerPoint correctly is both art and science.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Freitag,
DeleteYou are absolutely right! Used well, they are a learning force multiplier: used badly, they are the quickest way to get your audience to mentally turn off.
All the best,
Bob
Hi BOB,
ReplyDeleteYou certainly are getting into hi-tech presentations. My expertise is confined to using an old Overhead Projector, Transparencies and Felt Tipped Pens...this was the technology back in the 1970s so I'm feeling a bit dated! Good luck with your Masonic Presentation and later on for COW. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI also used OHPs, transparencies, and non-permanent felt tip pens ... and never, ever felt as confident in the technology when using data projectors and white boards. OHPs rarely went wrong - although the bulbs could be temperamental if you moved the whole thing whilst it was still hot! - whereas the data projectors often went out of whack ... and I seemed to be plagued with colleagues who wrote all over the whiteboards with permanent marker and left it to me to clean up afterwards!
All the best,
Bob
Death by PowerPoint: guilty m’lud.
ReplyDeleteAs for the video chat/conferencing tools, I think not only do they enable games between remote opponents but I think they have the potential to enhance the wargaming experience (without wanting to sound like a tech salesman). The tech can support the type of game where you want to limit what the players can see, without the need to have 3 separate rooms.
Nundanket,
DeleteWe’ve all done it ... although there are some ‘offenders’ who are worse than others.
I once attended a presentation about functional illiteracy where a local education inspector put up a slide that stated the most functionally illiterate people needed things read to them so that they could comprehend what they were reading ... and then read it to us! She got most irate when we fell about laughing, not realising what she had done.
I think that you are right about how the technology could be used to provide an enhanced wargaming experience. It would certainly make it easier to introduce fog of war into a game.
All the best,
Bob
I agree with Jonathan whole heartedly. The villification of powerpoint is misplaced. A crummy presentation will be a crummy presentation, regardless of platform. In "Ye Goode Olde Dayes" I've seen (and perpertrated) plenty of lousy presentations using an overhead projector and/or a butcher board tablet. By any measure, powerpoint is superior.
ReplyDeleteEd M,
DeleteVery true, A good PowerPoint presentation will enable great understanding ... but a poor presentation can be a real turn-off.
My biggest gripe is the use of transitions and animations that add nothing to the information being conveyed. By all means, use the bells and whistles ... but only if they are appropriate.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob, When using Zoom, do you restrict your presentation session to under 40 mins (the limit, I understand, for more than three people on the free version) or do you you have the paid service? + Good tips on Powerpoint!
ReplyDeleteSimon
Simon,
DeleteWe will be using a paid for service, which allows us to have up to 100 participants for as long as we like. It isn’t that expensive if you are going to use it regularly.
All the best,
Bob