Giving stylish presentations in digital era<\/p>\n
Rhenald Kasali, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In 1998, as soon as I returned to Indonesia after spending six
\nyears studying in the United States, I was assigned to teach in
\nthe Master's Program for Management at the University of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
At the time, none of the lecturers used a projector and most
\nof them were content with transparent sheets. A technically more
\nadvanced colleague used color transparent sheets to make his
\nlectures more interesting and to lend a smarter style to himself.<\/p>\n
As a lecturer in this program, I obtained teaching materials
\nfrom Prentice Hall, a textbook publisher, in the form of color
\ntransparent sheets. The use of these transparent sheets could
\nmake a distinction between \"branded\" and updated lectures and
\nthose that belonged to the category of \"fungible commodity\".<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, I found this device quite troublesome as I
\nwould need an assistant and a secretary to arrange my files after
\nI used the sheets for my teaching. Otherwise, I would have to do
\nthis job myself. Generally, however, seminar participants or my
\nstudents would not leave the seminar or the lecture hall right
\naway. They would usually stay a little longer to spend some time
\nwith me or to ask me questions.<\/p>\n
Obviously, arranging the sheets in their original order in a
\nfile would mean wasting some 20 minutes. Then I also would have
\nto arrange different files from different presentations. Clearly,
\nthis mounting job gave me a real headache. Although in a way
\nthese sheets facilitated my teaching and presentation, they also
\ncaused a new series of inconveniences.<\/p>\n
Things changed for the better soon enough, though. It struck
\nme one day that my professor at the University of Illinois used a
\ndevice called an LCD. It was then just a piece of bluish glass.
\nThis glass piece was connected to a computer and was placed on an
\noverhead projector (OHP). However, when I tried to use this here
\nthe picture was sometimes not clear enough. After some time, I
\ndecided it was not much of a help and stopped using this LCD.<\/p>\n
In early 1999, a sponsor invited me to give a presentation at
\na seminar to be held in 10 cities. This sponsor was a big firm
\nand was very much committed to this program. They advertised on a
\nmassive scale, which cost no small amount, to draw the attention
\nof participants. They expected my presentation to be not only
\ninformative but also entertaining, so that the participants would
\nbe glued to their seats until the end of the program.<\/p>\n
It was then quite hard to find an excellent device for
\npresentations. Luckily, a colleague from Datascrip -- a company
\nspecializing in the distribution and sale of office equipment --
\nwas able to lend me one. It was heavy and bulky enough, the size
\nof a suitcase. I tested it out during a few lectures. When I felt
\naccustomed to it, I tried it at a seminar and found it quite
\nhelpful.<\/p>\n
I proposed to the sponsor that this device be used at the
\nseminar planned for 10 cities. My proposal flustered the sponsor
\nand the organizing committee as this device (Infocus projector)
\nwas generally unknown.<\/p>\n
There was still a handicap, though. In those days, laptop
\ncomputers still did not come with a disk player. Besides, the
\nmemory was still limited. To rerun particular material, for
\nexample, hotel staff had to do it manually. Obviously, this was
\nreally troublesome as the presentation could not proceed very
\nsmoothly.<\/p>\n
After using this device in two or three places, we found
\nanother constraint. The screen onto which the light from the
\nprojector was limited. As the size was small, what was on the
\nscreen could not be clearly seen from a distance. To cope with
\nthis hurdle, we sewed ourselves a broad screen, which we fixed
\nonto two small-sized PVC pipes, each at the top and at the bottom
\nof the screen. So, before the seminar began, a team member had to
\ntake the cloth screen to a laundry to be pressed. It was really
\nfunny but this actually happened in those days.<\/p>\n
During those less sophisticated days, technologically
\nspeaking, that is, what was important for me was how to get a
\nmore functional projector to replace the modest role of an OHP.
\nAlthough it was heavy and bulky, I did not mind having to pay for
\nits rental. The result -- a more impressive presentation -- was
\nworth the money.<\/p>\n
It is a different era now: the digital era. Presentations are
\nmuch easier and much more efficient than they used to be and, of
\ncourse, in some ways are more entertaining. Most hotels own an
\ninfocus. Their screens are sufficiently large. The audio quality
\nis quite good. Laptop computers now come with various features
\nand audio cables can be connected directly to them. The days of
\narranging and rearranging my files are long gone.<\/p>\n
In the present digital era, with the help of digital
\ntechnology, not only are you provided with an array of facilities
\nand conveniences, but you can also very easily turn yourself into
\na presentation star. It is quite easy for you to make yourself a
\nbranded presenter. This device can create an experiential
\natmosphere during your presentation as it can mesmerize the
\naudience with, among other things, photographs, moving images or
\neven a motion picture, and all with a very high audio quality.<\/p>\n
Certainly technology has advanced at the pace of business in
\nthe way we view these Powerpoint presentations. These days,
\nprojectors have become smaller, lighter, sleeker and able to
\nproduce a better quality pictures on large screens, and that
\nmeans more people at a time can have a good view.<\/p>\n
What you have to bear in mind now is that you can no longer
\nplan and design your presentation alone. You need a team that
\nwill help you and \"prevent\" you from becoming absorbed in
\noperating highly sophisticated digital devices with numerous
\nfeatures.<\/p>\n
Basically, you must remember that these devices are not
\neverything. They are simply auxiliaries. Eventually, the main
\ncontent of your presentation, with useful messages for the
\naudience, matters most.<\/p>\n
-- The writer is director of the Postgraduate Program at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia's School of Economics<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/giving-stylish-presentations-in-digital-era-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}