One-Minute Communications Tips Archive
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January 2010: Wake Up the Post-Lunch Crowd
February 2010: How to Adapt Content to the Web
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2010
Wake Up the Post-Lunch Crowd
Wouldn't you know it, they've slotted your presentation into the first spot after lunch. Not only will your audience be numbed from a morning full of PowerPoints, they'll also be nodding off in a post-prandial haze.
Short of spraying everyone with a water gun, how do you keep them awake during your talk?
Get the audience involved. Make them think. Ask questions. Call on an audience member by name. Request a volunteer for a demonstration.
If you're conducting a training session, lead the participants through an exercise that will make them get up and move around.
Modify your presentation style. Move around the stage or the front of the room. Vary the pitch and volume of your voice.
Instead of relying only on slides, add in a few relevant audio and video clips. If appropriate, use props.
Don't dim the lights. If you must, try to lower only the lights nearest the screen.
Access Consulting is a marketing
communications and technical writing firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
Sign up for Access Consulting's One-Minute Communication Tip at http://www.AccessConsultingInc.com.
Once a month, you'll receive an actionable idea or technique on an aspect of
business communications, distilled into about 150 words.
How to Adapt Content to the Web
It's tempting to
take text-based content from an offline source, such as a report, and load it
onto a web page unaltered. But if you rework the material a little, as outlined
below, you'll take better advantage of the web's capabilities and make the
information easier to comprehend online.
Reduce your word count. Use graphics to illustrate complex ideas. Instead
of defining a term, provide a link to a glossary on another page.
Add internal links. These help viewers quickly navigate between sections
on the same page or on different pages.
Use more subheads than you would in a paper report. The reader should get
the gist of the content by reading the subheads.
Ask yourself, "Where can I add white space?" Try to break up long
paragraphs into one- or two-sentence chunks, or split long sentences into
bullets. Increasing the page's length is fine, as web users don't mind scrolling
down (they dislike scrolling side to side).
Access Consulting is a marketing
communications and technical writing firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
Sign up for Access Consulting's One-Minute Communication Tip at http://www.AccessConsultingInc.com.
Once a month, you'll receive an actionable idea or technique on an aspect of
business communications, distilled into about 150 words.
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