Every project brings a lesson. Every lesson contributes to perspective. The blog Re)verb is our perspective – on work and life. Be notified (through RSS) when it's updated. Be heard by posting a comment to an entry.
May 3, 2010
PowerPoint doesn’t have to be the enemy
Posted by Kathleen Turaski
I got a half-hearted chuckle out of last week’s New York Times’ article, “We Have Met the Enemy and He is PowerPoint.” The article provides several vignettes of military leaders lamenting the program’s limitations. Commanders are concerned that critical thinking and analysis are lost or downplayed in the bulleted lists on slides. General Petraeus, head of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, says PowerPoint briefings are “just agony,” and other officials joke about purposely using the program to lull the media to sleep during briefings, so they are less likely to ask questions.
While the idea of our military missing key points because of bad PowerPoint is serious, we laugh and we understand, because all of us have sat through way too many mind-numbingly bad PowerPoint presentations.
But the article fell short in explaining why these presentations aren’t as effective as they could be. The bottom line is that PowerPoint isn’t the enemy. It’s our lack of understanding of how to best utilize this presentation tool that hurts us.
That’s the key – PowerPoint is only a tool. The real presenter is still the person talking to the audience. Here are five truths that optimize the use of PowerPoint for any presentation:
- PowerPoint isn’t meant to carry the speaker. Use words to accentuate main points, not to list every single thing that is being said.
- PowerPoint is visual, so let’s see pictures! Diagrams, charts and photographs help the audience visualize what is being said. They also break the monotony of the presentation, keeping the audience engaged.
- Keep it simple. This includes the template design as well as the content shown. The audience should stay focused on the speaker and what is being said instead of trying to figure out a complicated slide.
- Use contrasting colors. Because different projectors skew color in different ways, make sure there is enough contrast between type and background so that they won’t blend into each other if a projector alters the colors.
- Make type large enough to be legible from the back of the room.
Remember: PowerPoint can’t make a bad presentation better, but it can make a good presentation great. Understanding the strengths – and limitations – of PowerPoint will help ensure that you’ll never be accused of putting your audiences to sleep.
April 22, 2010
Earth Day Redux
Posted by Kathleen Turaski
"The Earth is wise. It has given itself into the keeping of all, and all are therefore accountable for it."
- Alice Walker
One year ago, we were offered the opportunity to help the paper company Appleton Coated publish a practical guide on how to practice sustainability when developing print communications.
Published on Earth Day 2009, The Green Outlook opened our eyes – and our business – to changes we could make and conversations we could have with our clients about moving towards more sustainable communications.
Fast forward to Earth Day 2010: How has Resonance contributed to the green conversation in the last 12 months? What more can we do? How can you join us?
For starters, 99.5% of our print projects are now on FSC-certified paper. So the paper we used on almost every project was tracked from the forest where it was harvested through the final print process to assure that it originated in eco-friendly practices. Our specifications are also for paper manufactured in the U.S., meaning the footprint eliminates overseas transportation.
We’re now using alternative energy, too, on 75% of our client publications. This helped us save an estimated 60 trees and 20,000 gallons of water along with a reduction of 18,000 lbs of CO2 emissions – just from Resonance clients in the last year alone! And the cost different to use these energy sources is minimal, with very little upcharge. For instance, a print run of 2,500 brochures will likely have added charges of just a few hundred dollars – a very small percentage of the overall creative and printing costs.
We’re committed to even more environmentally sound options:
- We're paying more attention to optimal use of press sheets. For instance, evaluating self cover options to save the additional run of a cover sheet saves not just paper, but also printer plates, energy and ink from additional press time.
- We're increasingly opting for digital printing where it makes sense, not just because these print runs are smaller, but also to save printer plates, paper and ink.
As we help our clients adopt these practices, they join the growing list of organizations that understand that the status quo is changing. Consumers are becoming more engaged in the environmental conversation and our clients are finding benefits from promoting their stewardship.
Sharing these developments isn’t intended to be an exercise in self-congratulation. Rather, we’ve come to recognize that the individual change all of us bring about, one project at a time, is the way towards a more sustainable future.
And when we see that the small steps that Resonance takes are multiplied by thousands of other marketing firms also taking steps forward, we can see that real change is happening.
Onward!
September 1, 2009
Calling all gardeners
Posted by Kathleen Turaski
Guerrilla gardening happens when someone seizes an opportunity to cultivate an otherwise unused or neglected public space.
I recently stumbled across this example in downtown Kirkwood. I enjoy that someone noticed this abandoned phone box and found a way to use it to add beauty rather than letting it remain an eyesore or be torn down for the landfill.
This “urban flower box” is also a reminder that we can find inspiration in unusual places. Most people would only see a broken phone booth on a busy street. But someone saw potential … and took the time to make a vision come alive (literally).
This work also makes me consider what else might be ripe for renewal.
The phone box had a purpose, but it became obsolete in the age of ubiquitous cell phones. Likewise, other communication techniques that have worked just fine in the past need to be reevaluated in the present media context.
The gardener who grew these flowers has also planted a fresh perspective in me.
In-the-box gardening (out-of-the-box thinking)
August 18, 2009
The nature of paper
Posted by Kathleen Turaski
I find Steven Siegel's artistic depiction of the life cycle of newsprint especially engaging and clever.
"To See Jennie Smile," a piece on display in the sculpture garden at the North Carolina Museum of Art, uses two trees as structural posts to hold together a towering stack of several tons of old newspapers.
Because the papers will slowly disintegrate, the installation is an organic, ever-changing commentary about man-made elements and their natural origins. And because the papers are literally made from trees, the sculpture feels just right within this wooded, natural landscape.
I enjoy the artist’s intention of returning these newspapers, these altered trees, to their native environment. That his sculpture resembles a tree is intentional. But the real beauty of the art is that his “tree” has just as much of a life cycle as the natural ones that surround it.
TO SEE JENNIE SMILE: This "tree" brings newsprint back to its original environment.
August 2, 2009
False Promises
Posted by Michael Baxter
A promise arrived in the mail the other day.
It appeared on the outside of a spring green envelope: This is not junk mail. The envelope had no return address – just a company name and logo.
We wondered: If it’s not a commercial offer, which is what our culture generally classifies as “junk mail,” then what was inside? A check? A letter? Results from blood work?
(We hadn’t had any blood work recently, so we figured it had to be a check.)
So we opened the envelope. The promise that “This is not junk mail” was clarified instantly: “It’s a way to get super fast mobile internet.” Three pieces of paper inside explained that this internet service is now available in our market.
In the view of the sender, mission accomplished. They got us to open the envelope.
In the view of the customer, game over. The brand looked bad.
The promise was false – the piece was junk mail.
The three pieces of paper were wasteful.
And the experience made it unlikely we would ever choose this provider if the need arose.
Our recommendation: Identify a promise of relevance and value to the audience, and lead with that.
