Monday, July 27, 2009
The Days of Talking Heads Are Nearly Over
I ♥ David Byrne.
I even ♥ David Byrne's "I ♥ PowerPoint."
Really, I do.
But the days of the Talking Heads are over.
I'm not talking about the band. I'm talking TV. And presenters. And presentations.
We have social media to thank.
Interactive presentations are in.
Authoritative anchors reading dispassionately from teleprompters are out.
Teachers and professors lecturing from on high? Also on the way out.
Note your TV news shows asking, "What do you think? Talk back. Send us your video. Talk to us at Twitter. Comment on our blog...."
Walter Cronkite, bless his trusted soul, didn't ply his trade in an era of interactivity. He was a talking head, appropriate for the decades he served. A deep authoritative voice coupled with a kind-looking face served him well in his time.
Today, Jon Stewart is the most trusted man in TV news. Well, not really. People just voted him as the most trusted newscaster.
In an online poll.
By Time Magazine.
See what I mean? Online polls. Talking back. Old-school journalism meets citizen journalism. Opinions. Interactivity. It's all the rage.
Burning down the house. Last week, Stewart jokingly called his second-place poll rival (TV news anchor Brian Williams) a "teleprompter monkey."
Does that make the new style of news anchor, a "hyper-interactive monkey?"
And how are you using social media to make your presentations more interactive, compelling, and contemporary?
I ♥ David Byrne.
I even ♥ David Byrne's "I ♥ PowerPoint."
Really, I do.
But the days of the Talking Heads are over.
I'm not talking about the band. I'm talking TV. And presenters. And presentations.
We have social media to thank.
Interactive presentations are in.
Authoritative anchors reading dispassionately from teleprompters are out.
Teachers and professors lecturing from on high? Also on the way out.
Note your TV news shows asking, "What do you think? Talk back. Send us your video. Talk to us at Twitter. Comment on our blog...."
Walter Cronkite, bless his trusted soul, didn't ply his trade in an era of interactivity. He was a talking head, appropriate for the decades he served. A deep authoritative voice coupled with a kind-looking face served him well in his time.
Today, Jon Stewart is the most trusted man in TV news. Well, not really. People just voted him as the most trusted newscaster.
In an online poll.
By Time Magazine.
See what I mean? Online polls. Talking back. Old-school journalism meets citizen journalism. Opinions. Interactivity. It's all the rage.
Burning down the house. Last week, Stewart jokingly called his second-place poll rival (TV news anchor Brian Williams) a "teleprompter monkey."
Does that make the new style of news anchor, a "hyper-interactive monkey?"
And how are you using social media to make your presentations more interactive, compelling, and contemporary?
Labels: fun, Presentation, social media
¶ 7/27/2009 01:08:00 PM
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Presentations are not my forte, but I try to use PowerPoint slides as conversation starters, not long lists of bullet points. One thing I try for is brevity. The Talking Heads offer good advice on this score as well -
"When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
"Say something once, why say it again?"
"When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
"Say something once, why say it again?"
Yeah! Let's start a presentation revolution. No more death by PowerPoint!
# posted by 
: 10:01 PM, July 31, 2009
: 10:01 PM, July 31, 2009
Hi, great point. it's really thought-provoking. :)
i think that's the trend today, introducing interactivity in presentations and I think it's great because it opens up other issues to discuss and also poses a great challenge for many great speakers.
i think that's the trend today, introducing interactivity in presentations and I think it's great because it opens up other issues to discuss and also poses a great challenge for many great speakers.
Not only are the days of talking heads over, but social media is turning marketing into a conversation, which is EXACTLY what presentations should be. Most people feel like a presentation is a one-way street, speaking at the audience instead of with them. This one-way street is often a cause of fear because of the inherent loneliness, standing behind the podium, all eyes on you. Presentations are less scary when you envision them as they should be - a conversation between a group of like-minded (or at least semi-interested) people.
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