On Monday September 8th, Dr. Armstrong was able to bring in Dr. Oliver Schlake to talk to QUEST students about developing effective presentations. The workshop was intimate but students got a lot out from their time. For Q19 student David Kravitz the biggest takeaway was that “if your slides can function without you, you’re not doing PowerPoint right. It is your job to bring the slides to life.”

Dr. Schlake emphasized the importance of storytelling. Stories keep the audience engaged and interested. What presentations should not be are an accumulation of facts.
He then discussed the importance of the planning stage for any good presentation. Often times, people go straight to the PowerPoint but the best strategy is to stay away because the constraints created by the limitations of the software close down the ideation period too early. He recommends either using post it notes or a blank PowerPoint slide handout. The biggest considerations when planning are time, audience, venue, expectations, medium, and purpose.

According to Q21 member Bobby Fitzgerald, “the best part of the workshop was the presentation transformation.” Dr. Schlake showed slides from a past students’ PowerPoint and give them a makeover. It was incredible to see how much design can have an impact on the perception of the material by the audience.

The students at the workshop took away a lot of neat tricks and techniques to give their PowerPoints that something extra.