Conversational Presentation: It's All About Transitions

I was listening to a knowledgeable speaker talk with a business group about a topic she knew exceedingly well. And, she was comfortable with it. So I began to wonder why I was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

The reason?

Every sentence ended with a "click", a new slide, information, "click", new side, information...

Listeners need to be guided from one thought into the next. The connection may seem obvious to you but unless you build a bridge between slides and their meaning, it feels awkward to the audience. While you are explaining your next point the people around you are missing it because they are busy putting the pieces together.

Do it for them.

Comments

[David Zinger]

Steve:
Click.
I like your focus.
Click.
I appreciate the bridges.
Click.
So I will cluck more before clicking.
Click.
David

[Steve Roesler]

David,

I was about to respond in kind but didn't want our other readers to think this was turning into a clique.

[kim-post resume free]

I find your post very informative and helpful. At present, it is really important to build bridges especially when reaching out to customers. Thank you for sharing this.

[Raj]

Steve, Curious to know if you gave this feedback to the presenter?

[Dan Erwin]

Steve: My experience teaching speech tells me that transitions are difficult for a lot of people. I used to think it was about faulty logic. But it may just be that the notion of "transitions" between ideas is completely foreign to some.

www.danerwin.com

[Steve Roesler]

Raj,

Good question.

Yes, I did. I told her my profession and asked her if she would like to hear a suggestion as well as the explanation behind it. She got it and will probably make some changes, based on my sense of her.

It doesn't always go that smoothly:-)

[Steve Roesler]

Dan,

I would have to agree, based on observation and psychological findings.

Those who have a clear preference for linear thinking and whose minds work like a checklist seem to struggle the most with this. At the same time, the solution lies in the problem. Because of their inherent procedural orientation, they respond well to rules. It took a while to figure this out but, when coaching with these folks, we end up writing out the transitions between thoughts and slides.

It works for them and that's all that matters. However, it would be safe to say that in many instances they still don't have a natural "feeling" for the dynamic. I had to let go of wanting them to "appreciate" the dynamic and revel in the fact that they were "doing" it.

What's your experience, Dan?

[Wally Bock]

Transitions are important enough to me that I make them part of my program outline. If possible I want them to be interactive. That means with more people than me talking and the black slide up on the screen.