We generally take for granted that there will be one of three things happening behind a presenter when he or she is at the front of a group.
1 Nothing
2 PowerPoint
3 Some sort of scribing or visual synthesis. (if you don’t know what this is, see here)
But there is a 4th.
4 Let’s just call it real time Prezi synthesis
What is that? First, Prezi. This is one of the best presentation, or better yet, explanation tools on the market. But don’t think of it as a sequential, page by page system. Let’s use movie making to illustrate the power of Prezi.
In the old days of movie making, artists/editors used to have to watch rolls and rolls of film to find what they wanted and then literally cut it out (with scissors), splice it together (with heat/glue) and see if it worked. Linear editing. This is kind of like PowerPoint, you are stuck in this page by page structure, linear, closed structure.
Enter prezi. You have an open plane. You can zoom into things you put on the page to see more detail… but only if you and your audience wants to. Taking the movie analogy further. Movies are edited on computers. Practically any relevant footage availed with the click of a button. You can put layers of video on top of each other to combine and mix the right level for the conversation in the film. Prezi does the same thing. I allows you to share your presentation at exactly the right level for your audience. Zoom in, zoom out, go right to where you want, but more importunely, where your audience wants.
Yes, you are still the guide, the editor. But it is immersive, interactive…
And now, a new addition (has anyone else tried this? Please let us know in the comments):
How it works:
– Put the Prezi you are working on or wish to take notes in on a screen in front of a group. The screen has to be large enough for the group to read. A 60 inch screen should cover groups up to 40 people.
– Have a framework/do your homework first. What is being discussed in the group? What content or facts need to be known?
– Have a cheat sheet. On your laptop screen, keep a chest of images, quotes, text, notes, ideas, graphics etc. so that you can paste them into the live Prezi screen.
– Be careful about having a full planned presentation that you are just adding notes to. You will find yourself bouncing around between former ‘slides’ and it can get confusing
– Know your topic well. Using markers and images is completely different. Mistakes are acceptable because it is erasable and picture laden. The digital scribe using an actual font has to be very knowledgeable about the topic.
– Know your keyboard shortcuts. Prezi has the wheel in the top left that is very cumbersome if you have to go back to it with your mouse cursor each and every time you make an edit.
– Think across the plane – it is no good to
it changes, and I would argue, improves the entire experience of the group and the quality of the conversation!
