Category Archives: Simplicity

2 is the new 3

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a new iPad app called Haiku Deck.

At the time, they had graciously created a quick deck for me based on my Twinkie theory of presentation. 

Now, they did one better, creating a Haiku Deck based on my 2 is the new 3 post.

If you haven’t checked out Haiku Deck, swing by their site and download the app. It’s a cool way of very quickly creating a simple text-lite presentation. It might even be a cool tool to use when training people to create more visual, less text-dependant presentations.

 

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Haiku Deck


When I tweeted, “Yet another pres app…” I got called out by the makers of the latest presentation app, Haiku Deck. But instead of a lame, “You should really give it a try,” they replied by almost instantly creating a Haiku Deck presentation from one of my blog posts. Here it is: “Make Your Presentation Like a Twinkie.

Well played, sirs. Well played.

So, I took the new iPad app for a spin, creating my own presentation. Learning the app and creating the presentation took less than 15 minutes, which I thought appropriate for the subject matter. Here’s my Haiku Deck: 15 Minutes. 

So, What’s the Verdict?

I like it. With each new presentation alternative to Keynote & PowerPoint, I always question the business model, target audience and usage scenario. I’m currently playing with StoryPlanet, and I’ve previously written about PresentationLink and SlideShark. I still think the iPad is in its crying infancy when it comes to creating and delivering presentations on the iPad, but we might be getting there slowly but surely.

Haiku Deck is a very basic app that allows you to pull in a single image onto a slide (creative commons, your own pic or photos direct from your iPad), choose a template design and then add in very minimal text. There are no charts, bullet points, multiple images or animation: 1 image and 1-2 lines of text. In setting these restrictions, Haiku Deck actually forces you to think simply and visually in telling a story. How could I not like it? One of my colleagues remarked that it would be good as a training tool. Even I found it forcing me to simplify in the few slides I created.

I like Haiku Deck with one big caveat. Treat is as you would treat a haiku. If you aim to write poetry, know the differences between free form verse, iambic pentameter, sonnets, epics, ballads and…haikus. If you’re the kind of person who can present haiku-like, consider Haiku Deck.

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Categories: iPad, Simplicity, Storytelling.

The Power of Presentation Metaphors

Here at Edelman, we just held our annual all-staff meeting for our 650 New York employees.

Because I was out of the office in the weeks immediately preceding the event when much of the presentation content was written, I had a fairly fresh experience as a viewer the day of. And what struck me was how many presenters made use of metaphor to incredible effect.

Metaphoric vs Literal Imagery

Presentation imagery can either be metaphoric or literal. The style these past few years has been for heavy metaphoric imagery such as an artistic photo of a lightbulb in a field of grass to discuss “energy innovation.” A literal version of the same slide might be a picture of an actual concept solar car or a new type of wind turbine. In general, I think literal imagery is strongest and stickier, but it is often harder to come by.

Lots of metaphoric imagery in a presentation can tend to blend together and distance a viewer from what’s actually being communicated: “Wait, are we talking about funny cats, kids with lemonade stands and high jumpers or are we talking about our firm’s 3rd quarter sales strategy?”

However, if metaphors (visual and otherwise) are deeply ingrained in a presentation’s story, they can be incredibly powerful…and they were on excellent display at our recent meeting.

Comic Book Hero

Visual Storytelling is a significant and developing focus for Edelman’s PR approach (video, infographics, etc.), so most of our presenters this year were already well ahead of the PowerPoint game in shunning bullet points and extensive on-screen text. 

But one presenter used a comic book metaphor (with an actual custom-drawn series of comic book scenes) to explain some of the challenges the industry has faced of late with regard to pharma clients. Instead of endless charts and numbers explaining the details, what our employees were given was a metaphor: this financial trend anthropomorphized into “Pharmageddon,” a comic book villian. Simplistic? Yes. Sticky? Absolutely.

Olympic Hero

Edelman’s New York Health practice has two open secrets. The first is the above mentioned industry “Pharmagedon” challenge. The other is that the practice’s awesome General Manager, Bruce Hayes, is a former Olympic gold medalist in swimming. 

Bruce doesn’t talk much about his Olympic history, but decided that the story of his relay team’s come from behind win at the 1984 Los Angeles games was a perfect metaphor for the resiliance and adaptation his division is currently showing. Again, no charts, no numbers, no cute pics of kittens “hanging in there.” In this case, literal imagery and video of his famous win was used along with an instrinsic overall metaphor for his message. 

Add the fact that the London Olympics were a few days away, and Bruce’s presentation simply brought the house down.

Captain Morgie

Perhaps Edelman’s current metaphor trend was kicked off by our own Richard Edelman who last year created an unofficial mascot for us he calls a “Morgie” or “Captain Morgie.” This is short for Morganucodon, a small prehistoric rodent and the first mammal.

Morgie makes his appearance in Richard’s planning presentations not because he is the cutest of extinct creatures, but because his story of adaptation and survival in the land of dinosaurs serves as a perfect metaphor for how Richard sees our company’s past, present and future. I’m asked all the time if I think Richard’s presentations in which this prehistoric rat often plays a starring role are effective. And I always say, “Compared to endless slides of bullet points and charts? Compared to a 100 slide PPT deck filled with business jargon? Compared to a presentation you wouldn’t even be talking about now four weeks later?” Yes, I think they’re very effective. Consider me a fan of Morgie.

And consider me a fan of metaphors in presentation.

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Presentation Summit Discount Code

On an unrelated note, if anyone is considering attending this year’s Presentation Summit 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ at which I’ll be speaking, the organizers are offering my readers a discount. Just use the code “NH75” when registering here.

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“Good” Info Designed Unexplained

I was about to applaud this McDonald’s french fry box and the nutrition information design until I really started to look at it.

I eventually figured out that the gray shading represented percent of daily allowance, but what do the dotted lines signify? And what’s up with the iconography? Granted, I’d be hard pressed to come up with an icon for carbs, but maybe they should have taken the easy route the way they did with “Cal.”

Fortunately, the fries still tasted as awesome as ever.

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An Afternoon with George Lois

I just spent a wonderful couple of hours with George Lois. George is an advertising legend and is rumored to be one of the inspirations for Don Draper (in a purely proffessional way, not a moral one!)

Edelman is promoting his current book, Damn Good Advice, and he spoke to a group of us here in the office today about his life, his work and the book.

The book is a collection of 120 rules for “unleashing creative potential,” and many are as brash and uncensored as George himself is. Some of my favorites…

#19: You can be Cautious or you can be Creative (but there’s no such thing as a Cautious Creative)

#43: Tell the Devil’s Advocate in the room to go to Hell

#58: If you think people are dumb you’ll spend a lifetime doing dumb work

#104: Learn to write one singular, coherent, informative, insightful, spectacular sentence to replace your illiterate off-the-cuff twittering!

Here is a pic of George presenting, showing one of his iconic campaigns. Yeah, he did that…

Oh, and he designed Esquire covers for years as well, including this famous one…

And here’s me giving career advice to George…not really…

 

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Categories: Books, Design, Simplicity.
visual training presentation