This week’s readings transition us from visual design to information design. While I was a little disappointed with Kumpf’s focus on just the metadiscourse of student, print papers and found his use of visuals a little inconsistent, I found Tufte’s “The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint” (though largely focused on derailing PP instead of exploring in depth a better option for presentations) very useful, entertaining, and informative. I was both intimidated by Tufte’s obvious intelligence through experience, but I also trusted his voice. Because his article focuses primarily on critique  (necessary critique), but not so much a new presentation style, I’m going to use this reading response to collect the more concrete directions he gives for presenting. Some of the applications are my own ideas extracted from what Tufte implies. Others are his direct suggestions.

1) Focus on presenting relevant and well-researched content without relying on “smirky commercialism” or PP Phluff to make your material look like a product (4).

2) Avoid turning “information into a sales pitch and presenters into marketeers” by allowing for conversation (4).

3) Use paper handouts to give the power back to the audience, who can then choose how they take in information depending on their preferred thinking style: listening, watching, or reading (6).

4) Provide a context for the information you provide so that listeners have increased memorability. Our memories work best when we can place a piece of data or information into a larger story or picture, not when we were given a list of < 7 power points (6). (Context, I think, can be achieved by a number of tactics, my favorite through relating to the audience. When I teach, I always see students eyes and ears perk up when I say “When I was an undergraduate . . . ” I suppose another way to provide context is to ask listeners targeted questions or to present a problem. One could also use slides to show some images to get us oriented. All the same tactics for introducing a paper seem to apply here. Don’t argue in a vacuum. Be direct about what the issue is and share examples, so the listeners are on the same page.)

5) Be less self-aware and more audience-aware (7). Don’t go into a presentation thinking that you must demonstrate your dominance or authority (too much). Know that your job is to provide listeners with a distinct context that you happen to be an expert in (because you’ve been thinking about it more thoroughly and more recently than they) and to present the information as clearly and appropriately as possible. If you do this, you will likely gain credibility because you will believe you are an authority on the topic. You give yourself credit; you earn credit.

6) Use the “core ideas of teaching—explanation, reasoning, finding things out, questioning, content, evidence, credible authority” (7). Although not exactly a concrete suggestion, this idea of relying on your teaching persona seems useful and would calm nerves.

7) Allow room for discovery in the very room of presenting. Just like leading a discussion, allow the spontaneity of the moment to compliment your presentation, if possible.

8) Choose narrative over choppy and authenticity over hierarchy (12).

9) Formal documents are tried, true, and necessary (13). Don’t shy away from them because you think they’ll be boring or that your audience won’t grasp them. If too much data, give your audience “concisely written reports on paper” (14). Give your audience credit, too. Give your audience credit; they give you credit.

10) Use PP for full-screen images and videos. They are “necessary” (14).

11) Be skeptical of sentence fragments. There’s nothing wrong with the sentence (16). Sentences specify relationships and comparisons, the most sophisticated processes of thought.

12) Choose the appropriate graphs for you data to demonstrate relationships more clearly (23).

13) Allow your style and tone to enhance the presentation experience. Respond to the rhetoric of the situation and of your material to decide on proper and even innovative style (28). An interesting question to consider is, what does Tufte mean by style? He compares presentation style to historical art styles. I think style would vary widely depending on the rhetorical situation.

While I still feel somewhat of a lack of concrete places to start, these instructions can apply to many a presentation format we encounter daily. I know I will refer to it the next time I present! We also learn from Tufte that just like establishing teaching philosophies, it is important to establish a presentation philosophy, to give every aspect of your presentation style careful thought and decision.

Another take-away question: Is design a synonym for style?