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This month’s T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Malathi Mahadevan ( @SqlMal ). The topic is to pick one thing I would like to learn that is not SQL Server .
I’m going to go a different direction than I think most people will. I spend a lot of time learning new technologies in Azure, but I am also focusing on learning better presentation skills and improving my use of related technologies. Yes, that often means PowerPoint. But sometimes I do presentations directly in Power BI when I am presenting data or mostly doing demos. Building presentations requires tech, design, and speaking skills. And I enjoy that mix.
I enjoy presenting at user groups and conferences, and lately I’ve been branching out in the types of presentations I give. At PASS Summit this year, I delivered a pre-con and a general session , and I participated in a panel and the BI Power Hour . Each one required a slightly different presentation style.
Just like we may cringe when we go back and look at old code and wonder what we were thinking, I have the same reaction when I go back and look at old presentations.
As a data viz person, you would think I would be better at building engaging presentations since a lot of the data viz concepts apply to visual presentation, but it’s still a struggle and a constant endeavor to improve. I have made some progress to date. Below is a sample from a presentation on good report design practices in SSRS that I gave in 2015.
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While it’s not the worst slide I’ve ever seen, it’s definitely not the best. Here are a few slides from my PASS Summit presentation called “Do Your Data Visualizations Need A Makeover?”, which cover the same topic as the above slide.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The new slides are much more pleasant and engaging. I have changed to this style based upon what I have learned so far from Echo Rivera’s blog and her Countdown to Stellar Slides program. I use more and larger images and less text on each slide. This naturally leads to having more slides, but I spend less time on each one. And there is less of a chance that I will revert to just reading from a slide since there is just less text. I get to tell you about what that one sentence means to me.
My goals is to learn how to deliver presentations that are more accessible and more engaging.
I blogged about accessible slide templates earlier this year. I got interested in accessibility when I waslearning how to make more accessible Power BI reports . I want people to feel welcome and get something out of my talks, even if they have visual, auditory, or information processing challenges. So far, what I have learned is that I can be more inclusive with a handful of small changes.
To continue my learning about presentation delivery, I plan to:
Take Echo’s Blast Off To Stellar Slides Read the Better Presentations Book Take a few PowerPoint classes on LinkedIn LearningAnd of course, I plan to give presentations so I can try out what I learn and improve from there. I have already submitted to SQLSaturday Colorado Springs, and I’m sure I will add more presentations next year.
If you have resources that have been particularly helpful in improving your presentation delivery, please leave them in the comments.
Happy T-SQL Tuesday!