Comments on: Take This Template And…

By: CU Water Cooler » Blog Archive » CU Water Cooler – 12/21

CU Water Cooler » Blog Archive » CU Water Cooler – 12/21 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:53:34 +0000

[...] • Take This Template And… « Marketing Tea Party by Ron Shevlin [...]

By: Jodi Torres

Jodi Torres — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:49:21 +0000

And I guess it would help if people would proof read their handouts or posts as the case may be (for me anyway!) ……it would decrease typos and improve on the message…..good night all!

By: Jodi Torres

Jodi Torres — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:43:03 +0000

While I agree that the handouts do not need to be a slide deck -I believe they need are tools to help with the take away from the session. They can be used in many ways – sometimes I use them to help beforehand to determine if I want to attend a session – and good handouts can help keep me focused on what the speaker what the speaker is saying and to keep me more engaged. I don’t typically get to go to a conference for personal enrichment – I often have to share the message and these supplemental materials hopefully make the take aways richer.

It is my hope that the speaker is dynamic enough that what they say brings their message alive and provides more meaning.

Depending on the topic, venue and type of session sometimes handouts are not needed – they might even spoil a surpsie. At the end of the day, it is about the topic, the speaker and the message. Getting the handouts in advance for me does not typically detract from my experience.

By: Christopher Stevenson

Christopher Stevenson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:24:10 +0000

Ron, You’re right that the value of the session is in the presentation and not the handouts. I’d argue that if attendees are able to get the gist of a session through the handouts, then the presenter needs to work on his handouts a bit.

I also believe that handouts don’t have to be the slide deck; they can be other learning tools that enhance the session and promote interaction.

By: Ron Shevlin

Ron Shevlin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:13:49 +0000

Jodi: While I intended this post to be a bashing of the presentation templates, you raise another point that bears addressing. You said that:

“…as an organizer, we do need the information ahead of time to get it to the attendees in a timely manner. It is after all for their convenience – and they are the folks paying to attend.”

I’d challenge this point. Why would they ATTEND the conference if they could just get slides in advance? As a presenter, not only do I not want attendees looking at the slides on paper, and thumbing through in advance, but I strongly believe that it detracts from their experience to do so.

The value in the session (please back me up on this one, Denise Wymore) is in the presentation, NOT the handout.

By: Jacques Warren

Jacques Warren — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:08:58 +0000

Oh Man, that really gets the beast in me out in the open.

My template is no template. Just the message.

By: Jodi Torres

Jodi Torres — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:12:39 +0000

Ok I have to agree with some of Mr. Stephenson’s comments. We organize conferences and provide all content electronically. We provide it to the attendees via a secured website so they can view it during the session, print it whenever they want and use it for reference after the session.

But as an organizer, we do need the information ahead of time to get it to the attendees in a timely manner. It is afterall for their convenience – and they are the folks paying to attend.

Now speaking as an attendee, it is really annoying not to have copies of presentations available during the session. When they are not available I find myself taking notes on the slides and not listening as much as I would otherwise – I spend too much time trying to capture content, because it is not provided.

Finally, as a presenter, PPT is not that creative to start with and to stifle the creativity of the presenter serves no one – I give a much better presentation when I like the materials and when I can use them to help me present as well as inform the attendees. Overcrowded, dry PPTs are not a good place to start!

By: Ron Shevlin

Ron Shevlin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:35:34 +0000

Did I mention that the presentation template I recently received WAS NOT from CUES?

By: Sara Dyer

Sara Dyer — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:24:02 +0000

I’m just here to remind you Ron that your handouts for a conference where you’ll be presenting in June were due a week ago. I’ve been watching my email waiting and waiting for it – where is it??

By: Christopher Stevenson

Christopher Stevenson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:17:44 +0000

Hi All, A couple quick notes.
From an organizational perspective:
–CUES doesn’t use templates for our speakers–never have, never will.
–We’ve done a ton of work to reduce paper at our events, including providing handouts on Flash drives and posting handouts online.
–We still need to get presentations weeks ahead of an event so we can get the handouts loaded on the Flash drives and shipped.
–Some less tech-savvy audiences still demand paper handouts (and I’m a big fan of providing the best conference experience I can), which require longer lead times for printing.

From a personal standpoint:

–I don’t care if you give me the paper handouts or an electronic version that I can print, but I like to have a hard copy of the presentation in front of me when I’m in a session. I take notes like crazy, sketch diagrams, draw arrows to connect ideas, and so on. Handouts help me do that.

Recommendation to speakers: If you truly “can’t possibly have a presentation ready any sooner than the week of the conference,” work with conference coordinators to provide an early draft or an outline of the presentation for the flash drive or printed materials. Then provide the final draft in electronic form at the conference. Easy solution.