Firstly, I would say it is critical to remember that “to present” is not an intransitive verb . There is a an object to whom it is directed – i.e. you (and I don’t mean the audience in general). What I’m saying is that a presentation can be fascinating or boring because of your interest in, and understanding of, the subject matter. This is probably the single most important issue colouring your experience of the presentation. So the same talk can be success or failure for different members of the same audience. For example, I attended a talk the other day on the development of fishes’ brain. The speaker was good and the audience seemed interested – but for me it was impenetrable as the academic level and jargon was above my understanding of the area.
I believe also that the same factors will influence heavily your experience as a speaker. Namely your own interest and enthusiasm and knowledge of the subject will make your talk far easier and more enjoyable to give, you actively WANT to impart this knowledge. This in turn, you can be sure, will transmit itself to your audience.
On more specifics, one thing I’ve come to appreciate more here is the huge value of having something to break up the monotony of slides. As an audience member these moments are often a balm to the drifting mind. In the past this had to involve either a demonstration or some kind of audience participation “Can anyone tell me..”. This latter technique is universally unpopular with audiences although it serves its distracting purpose. The former is universally popular with the audience but not with the speaker as it is often doomed to failure, usually in spite of extensive preparation. Indeed it is often the sight of the struggling demonstrator that is most succulent . Now however a jewel has appeared on the horizon that solves all these problems at a sweep. Let us sing its name with great praise – It the embedded video clip.
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