A500.9.4.RB_MilliganSteven

This course is my first course on the way to receiving my Master of Science in Leadership.  I learned a lot of valuable things during the last nine weeks.  I felt the course load was pretty heavy but not necessarily overwhelming.  It definitely taught me to get a jump start on my coursework.  One of the things I like most about the course was the work itself.  The readings weren't there just to read and dump.  It was there for a reason and in order to do most of the coursework I needed to do the readings.  I felt that the readings weren't boring either.  There was a lot of good information in them that I was able to use while accomplishing the various assignments.  One of my favorites was the Amelia Earhart assignment.  I think I may have looked up at least five other crazy conspiracy theories that week just because it got me interested in them. 

I enjoyed the research project also because it allowed me to focus on an aspect of critical thinking and how to expand my own ability to think critically in a way that I felt I needed the most.  For me learning to be more creative and being able to apply this to critical thinking and complex problem solving is definitely something I would like to be better at.  The research project took a lot of time and effort but it was a great way to really learn and understand the topic.  This was much more enjoyable than just reading about it in a book.

Some improvements in the course I would like to see are probably just some links to help those of us that aren't used to APA style or writing a literature review have something to reference when doing these.  When looking at these online there are a lot of sources but not all are very helpful.  I was able to find some good ones though and share them with the class.  The way it was set up did allow me to problem solve and class members were expected to help each other out.  This is generally the way it is at work so I can’t complain too much about this being this way here.  Actually, I usually get a lot less instruction at work than I do here. 

I found the topics incredibly useful and hopefully will apply these in future courses.  I have already found myself looking for ways to apply them at work to help others learn some of the cool and useful things I’ve learned over the last nine weeks.

The most difficult part of taking a course in critical thinking is that you are afraid that you are not thinking about your assignments enough, so you are always trying to think about how you are accomplishing the assignment and hoping that you did it right.  I guess this is something I should have been doing throughout my college career though.    

Overall this was a great course and a great online experience.  I especially liked some of the new tools I discovered for presentations.  I like to do presentations in person and I felt that the tools enabled me to feel like I was able to do a more personable presentation rather than just making a PowerPoint and script.  I liked being able to record and embed the presentation.  In the future I hope to be able to spend more time on the material and less time wondering if I'm doing the assignment correctly.  I think that would help me to learn the material better and enjoy the learning process more.  

This was a great course and I appreciate the time and effort that was put into it by both the professor and the other students.     

A500.8.3.RB_MilliganSteven

Great Presentation Design

There are a number of ways to create a well designed, thought out, memorable presentation.  To do this there are some key principles and rules to remember.  If these are followed and some practice and effort is put forth the next presentation you do could be spectacular.

In the book Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds there are 4 principles that make a good presentation.  These are Contrast, Repetitions, Alignment and Proximity.  Contrast refers to making whichever item is different than the rest truly standout.  When making a point it is important to show that point clearly.  There needs to be a design contrast to show the difference between elements.  You want the listeners to be able to glance at the presentation, understand the point and quickly know what you are referring to. 

Repetition does not necessarily mean to just say the same thing repeatedly to beat it in to the audience’s brain.  It does however mean when presenting there needs to be a design theme.  You want to theme of the design to add value without distraction.  You want to keep the listeners interested without making them think too much about the slide instead of what you are saying.  The theme and design should have similarity in color, font and style.  This helps give the presentation a theme that can be interesting without distracting if done well.

Alignment is the visual focus on a specific slide.  This helps add harmony to the slide and keeps it looking cleaner and easier to read.  This is something that someone with a photography background may understand more than others.  Good alignment in a slide can direct our eyes where we want the most attention to be.  This will make the slides easier to understand for the audience.

The 4^th principle is Proximity.  This is grouping items that relate to each other near each other.  The farther apart the more the audience assumes they are unrelated.  There is generally a limited amount of space on a slide and this makes the idea of proximity and careful selection of what goes on the slide even more important.  Choose wisely; the audience needs to see the most important items and make sure they are close together with a clear distinction between the items that don’t relate.  

Kipp Bodnar from hubspot.com has some great tips for creating a memorable presentation.  Here are my favorites and how I think they can help out the most. 

   

1.      Avoid Bullets.  All through school when doing presentations you are told to create short bullets that get the point across quickly and cleanly.  This is ok but it would be great to completely do away with these.  You want attention focused on you and your presentation.  Avoid bullets like you would in a firefight. 

2.      Paper.  Sticky notes are a great way to get started.  They will force you to slow down and write it out.  Patients and thought are both virtues.  It’s like penciling out a drawing before applying the final ink.  Write it down on some sticky notes and map out the presentation before you sit down at the computer.  This will save time in front of the screen and your eyes will be happy they’re not strained anyways. 

3.      30 pt fonts- When presenting on a screen remember that people are farther away from the screen then you will be when creating the presentation.  Make it big!

4.      Avoid weird meaningless graphics.  These don’t help anything out and are distracting

5.      Keep it to one thought per slide.  Too much going on in a slide gets confusing.  Keep it easy.  1 Slide 1 Thought

6.      If there is no slide limit it’s ok to have a bunch.  This way it keeps the slides simple.  You don’t need a ton of info on each slide.  Just something to spark a thought and you can explain the rest. 

7.      Simple charts and stats: Just like before, simplicity is key.  Avoid complex charts only rocket scientists understand. 

8.      Remember the purpose of the presentation.  You are telling a story.  Whether that story is your life, how a product came to be or tips on buying a home, these are all stories.  Keep the focus and avoid tangents.   When all is said and done the story is what they will remember and this is the most important part.  Tell the story and make is great!

These tips should help you to create a great presentation design and hopefully give a great lasting impression.