Restraint Simplicity Naturalness of Presentation Zen

Garr Reynolds is a presenting legend. His Presentation Zen instructional truly game changing.

So imagine the delight to see him give a Ted-style 18-minuter on how to present a slide deck over video.

Doing so promoting a recently launched option in the video creation space, it’s worth the watch if for nothing else to realise you really needn’t be hung up about performing over video.

My post title above refers to an interesting concept he deploys.

Renowned for his framing ‘zen principles’ triplet Prepare-Design-Deliver, what I liked is how he now further offered an alternative word for each. Deliberately singling out a ‘keyword’ for each one.

A theme that runs through each, if you like. What the element is all about. The personality driving them.

Restraint – Simplicity – Naturalness

There’s much to enjoy about his steers.

If I were to highlight just one, then I’d go with an early learning shared.

He noted from personal experience of seeing zoom presentations, that the setting making most sense and impact was that of the tv news reader.

Yourself to the side, on blank background mostly, with slide as relevant covering the opposite upper corner.

Which you can briefly toggle to full screen slide when required.

The screenshot up-top shows this treatment. Where he showed a photo of his books in a Japanese store. Interestingly not in the typical landscape orientation, but ‘insta’ square.

You don’t need to be a whizz with the latest app to replicate such effect.

Provided you sit in front of blank, flat wall, a virtual background prepared beforehand to this template is perhaps the easiest ‘hack’ which can quickly do the job. An update to Zoom also allows this via its ‘share screen’ capability. Both are demonstrated in another of Garr’s youtubes, just six minutes long.

Many more essential tips await in the video, labelled ‘simplify to amplify‘. As well as accompanying commentary from his own site, with a dozen tips for when ‘presenting yourself online‘ documented.