When computers get in the way of presenting

We see too many presenters stuck in a long loveless relationship of convenience with... their computer. 

Falling back on your recycled set of Powerpoint slides once again is not enough. Wasting the audience's time with long tales on what you do, what your organisation does, what should be done, bla bla. We are bored. So bored that people actually only go to conferences in order to get out of their office, be invited for lunch, meet people and travel to a sunny place. They don't go because they are looking forward to your presentation. Unless you’re Obama's spokesperson or Sir Ken Robinson ( 19 million views!) they simply do not care.

So how can you make them care? Change your way of thinking. Why were you invited to speak at this event in the first place? Do you really need to speak at this conference? Is there any other benefit obvious to you apart from getting a free trip, getting paid to speak ( extremely rare) and having your picture and bio on the conference website? And will your presentation help the conference reach its objective? Oops, you never bothered to check what the organisers want to achieve with this event. Well, please do. Think why your presentation will matter that day in the whole order of things. Put meaning in EVERYTHING you do.

Imagine yourself getting the audience really interested in what you are saying, the points you are making, the ideas, the observations, the solutions... Put your old powerpoint in the trash and press empty. Done. Start from scratch. Go to the origins, use little cards, use a pen. And once you are up there please stop fidgeting with the computer, the cable, the beamer, the mike. Just talk to us. We are here, we are waiting. For you to challenge our mind.