I’ve never been a fan of using slides for presenting information, for sharing knowledge. My preference, always has been for for interacting with people in the most human, basic form possible: through listening, talking, questioning and discussion. 

But times they are a-changing.

With the advent of a different style of interactive presentation software, I’m suddenly finding myself looking forward to using the technology to create sessions that not only meet the needs of my audiences, but also ones that I quite like too. 

Of course, this technique demands more than a little teccy know-how, and I am certainly no stranger to a little IT experimentation and the occasional wearing of an anorak to enthuse about the technology out there that makes me jump up and down (even when others aren’t doing so).

So I’m noticing now that I CAN suddenly use the technology to my advantage but also for the benefit of the poor audience who has to listen.  So, interactive word clouds?  Bring them on.  Voting in the moment?  Yes, let’s be brave enough to test the waters around the mood in the room, right here, right now.  Post some free text, tweet, let me know online what you’re thinking – most definitely, let’s have more of it. 

I’ve reflected on my previous resistance. Asking people to stare at a slide on a screen has never been top of my list as a technique for connecting with the people in a room. And I will never, ever let go of that belief. But I can adapt. The slide and the screen suddenly become worthy once an interactive element is added – it becomes a way to engage people, to co-create, to facilitate something that makes sense of them giving up 60 minutes of their busy time to come to listen to you. And that seems a pretty good reason for accepting change and embracing some wonderful technology in the world around me.