Promise and deliver — that rule applies to any presentation. But, presenting to people of cultural backgrounds different from our own demands special attention. What people expect from a presentation might differ from culture to culture. Germans admire a logical structure, they think the best presentations are in-depth, detailed, and have enough evidence, facts and documentation. Others will only listen to us if our facts are brief and selective — Americans for instance. We should never assume that our international colleagues will share our view. Continue reading...

Bottled water, or tap water? “Who would demand a less sustainable, less tasty, way more expensive product — especially when you can get it for almost free in your own kitchen?” Annie Leonard reveals some inconvenient truths about our economical system and the way we handle the resources of our planet. Telling the story of bottled water, she explains how the image of tap water got tainted, what that means for big business, for the environment, and for all of us… Continue reading...

What makes a genius a genius? Today, superlative attributes such as genius, artist, or master, are so generously used that it seems almost impossible to recognize true ingenuity. We know about creativity, about Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), and the Element (Ken Robinson). But, what does really happen when a masterpiece emerges, when something meaningful appears? In this 1969 Iowa Public Television broadcast we get a glimpse of that magical moment when Jim Henson explains about his puppets. It happens in plain sight: They come to life. Continue reading...

From time to time we hear people using the term “presentation artist”, implying that inspiration, creativity, and genius play a major role in designing visual aids. But, that is a gross overstatement. Works of art are created “to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power” (New Oxford American Dictionary), they serve no practical purpose, whereas presentation slides serve the very practical purpose of displaying information in the most adequate and efficient way. Continue reading...

The amount of information available to us over the internet grows rapidly. Recent advances in computer technology as well as software design make it easier than ever before for anybody with a computer to visualize all kinds of data. But, the same data can be visualized in very different ways — to serve very different purposes. Alex Lundry, Vice President and Director of Research at TargetPoint, talks about the political power of data visualization and offers a few short lessons about visual literacy. Continue reading...