SLCC 07 (the Second Life Community Convention) was held in Chicago; it’s my second Second Life convention. I died by Powerpoint twice at the business track. Two people in advertising who should know something about communication inflicted brutally slow talks, reading each slide as they went. They should learn about Pecha Kucha. Look for me in the front row of your next Powerpoint presentation. Know that if I stand up and walk out of the presentation, it’s not because I need to go the bathroom.
Here’s another thing. Do people come up to you and say, ‘you are a brilliant presenter’? Because if they DON’T, you are NOT. This means that when you’re on a panel you need to be CONCISE. You don’t need to RE-PHRASE it.
The normal protocol at question time in conferences is for questioners to line up and ask questions of the panel who remain comfortably seated for the duration. This protocol should be reversed. Those who wish to ask questions should take seats on the panel and the panel members should stand. Standing while answering questions puts pressure on panelists to be concise. And that will reduce the risk of my shooting one of them through the head.
