Since Friday I have managed to get quite a few things done ... or at least, started.
The talk about Rabbie Burns (which includes a number of PowerPoint slides*) is finished, and all I have to do before I deliver the talk is to print off the script. I like to script my talks (even if do not always rigidly stick to it) I so that I know when to move from one slide to another.
Regarding the VCOW session I am doing with Gary Sheffield, I have written the scenario for the demonstration of THE PORTABLE WARGAME we are putting on, and drawn the gridded map that we will use. I now need to produce a QRS for the participants, and to prepare a short introduction to the development and basic structure of the rules as well as how they can be used for distance wargaming during the current pandemic. This will involve creating yet another PowerPoint slideshow*, but I hope to keep the number of slides to a minimum.
If I do not get diverted by the need to do other things during the course of the day, I hope to complete the preparations by the end of the day. If not, then I cannot see a reason why it will not be finished by tomorrow evening.
It's really great to feel that after a period of doing very little, I am getting things done again!
* I am very aware of the 'death by PowerPoint' phenomena, and like to keep my slideshows brief, pertinent, and easy to read. I never, ever just read what is on the slide to my audience, as the slides are intended to be 'hooks' for their interest. I regard the text and illustrations that appear on each slide as being paragraph headings for what I am saying, and nothing more.
Planning and Preparation! Vital steps.
ReplyDeleteRoss Mac,
DeleteI don’t know if the Canadian Armed Forces ever used the 7Ps (Proper Prior Preparation Prevents P*ss Poor Performance), but the British Army does ... and it is a excellent guide to getting things done!
All the best,
Bob
Good advice! Slides should be clues or reminders for the audience as to what you say. Graphics of one type of another are great. I don’t always do that myself though!
DeleteNundanket,
DeleteCheers! I prefer to use as little text as possible, and as many images as I can ... but finding relevant ones can sometimes be difficult.
All the best,
Bob
StuRat,
ReplyDeleteI once attended a presentation by a literacy expert whose first slide said something like ‘Up to 20% of adults are functionally illiterate, and could not read this statement without assistance. They may even need it read to them’ ... and could not understand why we all laughed when she proceeded to read it out to us!
All the best,
Bob
I hope you've been practicing your accent for the Burns presentation (I'm available on a consultancy basis! 😀)
ReplyDeleteAlastair,
DeleteI’ve been practicing my ‘Doric’, although I’m not quoting from many of his works as I concentrating more on his life as a Freemason, and the support given to him by the Lodges of which he was a member.
By the way, did you know that two of Burns’ sons joined the East Indian Company’s army? They both reached the rank of lieutenant colonel, and survived into the 1860s.
All the best,
Bob