I recently attended a presentation on a subject of interest. The presentation started on time with PowerPoint slides projected on the screen but so faintly we offered to turn off the overhead lights to improve viewability. A participant worried that without overhead lights the presenter might not be able to see his notes.
“No, problem there,” he said, “I’ve given this talk a dozen times, I don’t use notes.” He then proceeded to repetitively ‘Uh and um” his way through a 60-minute talk. He often flipped through a sheaf of papers for his statistics; he’d marked the page numbers of passages he intended to read aloud on the slides and then thumbed through the book, taking time to pre-read the passage a bit before we heard it. For having given the talk many times, he seemed more the sous chef than head chef with the audience being the recipient of the chopped details of his talk.
But my actual gripe had to do with the verbal presentation. For the thousandth time I wonder, “Why don’t we teach proper microphone usage in high schools? HOLD THE MICROPHONE TO YOUR MOUTH! Is it really that hard? And if you are holding the mike, don’t wave your arms around dramatically WHILE you are talking.
Back to the PowerPoint. Several slides were in black and white and the font was small. Even as he described what I was supposed to be seeing, I still couldn’t perceive what the slide was depicting. The graphs were too small and detailed to be meaningful. The content ones were too detailed to take in. I know it insults some people to have a slide on the screen, and the presenter reads every word to you, however, I have a different take – either give me quiet time to read the slide (if it’s large enough to read) or go ahead and read it to me. Just please, please don’t show the slide and immediately start talking. I admit I am on the older side of life, but I have never been able to read a passage and listen to a discourse simultaneously and comprehend anything meaningful.
Finally, I find it helpful for the presenter to announce at the beginning that there will be time after the talk when comments and questions will be welcomed and addressed rather than making a talk disjointed by allowing comments and questions during the talk. I suspect some will call me too picky, but at least as a presenter exert control of the interruptions for the sake of us note-takers.
That’s it! That’s my grudge against annoying presenter behavior. For now. Stay tuned. Life is glorious and a blessing, and though there are other things in life that bug me, like people who get up from a table and don’t push in their chair, I’ll save them for next time. Be well and remember to “kiss the mike!”
Jane worked for 34 years in the public schools in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Fort Collins. After retirement in 2011, she has spent her time volunteering with the Larimer League of Women Voters, Foothills Unitarian Church, and progressive politics. She loves to have lunch with friends, reads voraciously, and travels.
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