From the Archives - Cardboard Cutouts or Real People?

 Sharing a post from ten years ago that sadly is still relevant to some genealogy presenters today.

From the Archives - Pointers for Presenters

With all the news about RootstechConnect flooding the geneasphere I remembered this post written in  2010 and offer it to those who are taking to a genealogy stage. I feel that the points I covered are applicable to virtual as well as face to face presentations. As it's ten years since my original post I have added some further comments to the list in Purple.

What would you add to the list?

Monday, August 16, 2010

Pointers for Presenters

Having retired from the world of education I now have some time to devote to my hobby/passion for family history. Over the last eighteen months I have attended a number of seminars and talks on genealogy and related subjects. Some presenters have been excellent and some have been downright woeful. Some of the genealogy presenters I have seen could do well to watch and learn from the presentations I have seen given by Australian students in our schools.

Having knowledge of a subject does not qualify one as a competent and engaging presenter.

Prompted by Thomas MacEntee's announcement that he has published a book " Approaching the Lectern: How to Become a Genealogy Speaker"  I have decided to make a few suggestions for Australian speakers. Each of these points could have helped one or some of the speakers I have heard recently.
  
Before

• Update your knowledge of the topic
• Know your subject well enough so that you will not need to read your presentation
  
• Get prior information on your audience 
• Be prepared, have backups of your presentation
• Prepare a handout or disk for distribution to participants or provide links to the presentation on the internet
• Practice your talk in front of a trusted and honest friend or colleague and use their feedback to polish your work
  
• Maintain regular contact with the hosting organisation
• Dress appropriately for the situation 
• Arrive early and check setup

During

• Set the scene by giving some background information on yourself
• Turn the camera on yourself prior to starting your presentation - attendees like to put a face to a name
  
• State the rules of the game - Are you happy to be interrupted or do you want people to keep questions to the end? Do you allow attendees to take screenshots of your slides?
  
• Start with an overview of the presentation's content - Outline your goals for the gig
• Display enthusiasm or passion for your subject
• State your relationship to products being demonstrated - Some talks are thinly veiled marketing exercises/infomercials - Be honest and upfront about your connections to vendors/products
• Speak clearly, coherently and with animation - Engage your audience through good communication
• Keep your um count low - use pauses rather then ums
  
• Avoid Death by Powerpoint - You are the presenter
• Use original, relevant images to make your points
• Keep text on slides to a few pithy points
  
• There is no need to read the text on your slides - Most of your attendees can read for themselves
  
• Sprinkle your talk with anecdotes and analogies - but don't overdo it
• Use visual aids and artefacts to embellish your talk - Cater for individual learning styles of participants
• Maintain eye contact - Look at the camera
  
• Involve your audience - Ask them questions, get them to comment on a photo or artefact
• When showing internet sites connect to the site - avoid screenshots - use them as backups for times of technology failure 
• When talking about software - Accompany with a live demonstration
• Be honest - If you don't know the answer to a question say so  
• There may be experts in your audience who can add value to the event - Accept their comments graciously

Afterwards

• Invite feedback via a printed or online feedback form - Offer a prize draw for completed forms
• Set aside some time to talk to audience members individually after talk
• Provide contact details for audience followup 
• Use audience feedback to amend and polish your presentation
  

10-20-30 with Guy

Going through the items I had starred in Google Reader I just found a link to this Guy Kawasaki video that had been shared by Mr Byrne on Free Technology for Teachers.

Having recently sat through a presentation in which the presenter read a paper and did not look at the audience I was reminded of those presentations done by my former students who just read out their research assignments instead of  talking about their topic with  pertinent slides as an aide-memoire.

Although this video is not pitched at genealogy speakers it poses some valid points.

Of course for a genealogy audience the rule might be 10-20-40 (watch the video to see why).

Cardboard Cutouts or Real People?

My commitment to CGD is sending me along to quite a few genealogy events where I am able to hear a range of very knowledgeable speakers present on their areas of interest or expertise.

This morning I read a post by Anne Roach where she described her use of auto-tweeting to add an element of interactivity to a recent conference presentation . Anne reminded me that "Benjamin Franklin allegedly said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." When I was teaching I always tried to involve the kids because I believed that children learn by doing; so do adults.

When I attend some genealogy events I wonder if some presenters recognise that they are speaking to real people because they may as well be speaking to cardboard cutouts. I may be old, gray and stiff but I am not made of cardboard.

Is it because presenters draw on their experience of classrooms and universities of the sixties, where the teacher was the 'sage on the stage' and students had to shut up and listen? Education in schools and tertiary institutions has moved on from a time when learners were seen as empty vessels to be filled; it is now commonly recognised that, by involving the learner, a richer learning experience will ensue.

It is daunting to have to get up and speak to a group of strangers; it can be annoying if they continually interrupt with questions and comments and disrupt one's train of thought.  However, we as speakers, have a responsibility to our audience. We should not just tell them what we want them to know we should also try to satisfy their thirst for knowledge or information.

HINT 1: At the outset Ask a few of the attendees: Why are you here? or What do you hope to get out of today's presentation?" 

HINT 2: If it's a small group or an all day seminar invest a few minutes in finding out something about each person in the group. 
 
You will then have some information to help tailor the presentation to audience needs.


HINT 3: If a question is not of interest to the whole group offer to answer it at the end.

HINT 4: Always take a question - if is too complex to be answered immediately put it on a 'parking lot' list to be answered at the end of the presentation.

When faced with a diverse audience recognise that some people in the group may know more about some aspects of the talk than you do. Their contributions can break up the tedium of your talk.


HINT 3 : Graciously accept their contributions and involve them in your discussion. Never put them down.


There has been much written about levels of concentration and how long people can sit still and listen. Once asked what I did all day at school I said "I daydreamed."  Victims of "chalk and talk" type presentations are prone to drift off and may miss important aspects of your talk.


HINT 4: Pepper your talk with questions. Pose a question or problem and give the attendees a minute or two to discuss it with their neighbour. Ask a few to share their thoughts.


HINT 5: For longer sessions set some individual or group exercises.

Just as I love the collaborative aspect of blogging where reading Anne's post caused me to think, comment on her post and compelled me to write this post I recognise the collaborative nature of learning.

Please, genealogy presenters, recognise that learning is a collaborative exercise. Involve your students. You can learn from your them and give them and yourselves a richer learning experience.