I'm starting to think there should be a test you have to pass before you present at a national conference Or a course you have to attend, maybe run by @ffolliet.bsky.social
ffolliet
@ffolliet.bsky.social
Paeds Surgeon, that #presentationskills guy. gives a few talks- invite me! Improving with age, apparently. sings. #ally 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️, #HeForShe #htdap he/him
Your presentations don't work. If you knew and accepted this, you would change. Why haven't you?
The future of presentations is not about slides, it never was. The future of presenting is not about more tech, more ai, more polish, it is about clarity of message, audience engagement and ultimately, effective communication. It was never about… https://ffolliet.com/2025/08/29/never-about-slides/
New post: Never about slides https://ffolliet.com/2025/08/29/never-about-slides/
It might be a research funding panel, a conference plenary or your first research presentation but you want to get it right. It's too important. So you add more: more slides, more bulletpoints, more references because it's too important. This… https://ffolliet.com/2025/08/27/its-too-important/
Post Edited: It’s too important https://ffolliet.com/2025/08/27/its-too-important/
Post Edited: Being an expert https://ffolliet.com/2025/08/14/expert/
Expertise in a topic does not make you an expert in presentation. You may know more than anyone else in the room. That does not necessarily mean they will understand by reciting that. Nor does not mean they will remember. It does mean they will not act. This… https://ffolliet.com/2025/08/14/expert/
Kintsugi The way presentations are currently constructed, delivered and received is not the result of laziness on the part of presenter or audience. Presentations are built with effort, intention and time but with a concept that breaks the result. The Japanese art of kintsugi recognises the value…
Kintsugi
The way presentations are currently constructed, delivered and received is not the result of laziness on the part of presenter or audience. Presentations are built with effort, intention and time but with a concept that breaks the result. The Japanese art of kintsugi recognises the value of a piece of pottery and in its damage, it is repaired, often with gold. Presentations are broken but should not be thrown in the trash. They can be repaired with kintsugi and returned to intended function and experiences of real value.
ffolliet.com
New post: Kintsugi https://ffolliet.com/2025/08/07/kintsugi/ The way presentations are currently constructed, delivered and received is broken. kintsugi recognises the value of a broken piece repairing it with gold. Presentations can be improved to experiences of real value.
Useless Most presentation feedback is useless. "Thank you for your excellent presentation. I very much enjoyed it." This really is not the critical review you hoped it would be. Feedback needs to be actively sought, shared in the spirit of improvement and as part of a conversation. Vague, polite…
Useless
Most presentation feedback is useless. "Thank you for your excellent presentation. I very much enjoyed it." This really is not the critical review you hoped it would be. Feedback needs to be actively sought, shared in the spirit of improvement and as part of a conversation. Vague, polite platitudes unsolicitedly offered and based on what the listener felt are useless when it comes to development of presentation skills.
ffolliet.com
Proximity Poor presentations break proximity with a message that simply lists data. Slides that are beautiful but unrelated separate understanding from meaning. A fluent spoken message from a speaker disconnected from the audience loses impact. Great presentations have proximity.
Proximity
Poor presentations break proximity with a message that simply lists data. Slides that are beautiful but unrelated separate understanding from meaning. A fluent spoken message from a speaker disconnected from the audience loses impact. Great presentations have proximity.
ffolliet.com
Poor presentations break proximity with a message that simply lists data. Slides that are beautiful but unrelated separate understanding from meaning. A fluent spoken message from a speaker disconnected from the audience loses impact. Great presentations have proximity.
To be or not to be Most of us have heard, even recited, the start of the soliloquy from Hamlet. "To be or not to be? That is the question." Few of us would consider that recitation had any impact. Anyone can download and read the piece. It isn't the same as being delivered by an actor, on stage,…
To be or not to be
Most of us have heard, even recited, the start of the soliloquy from Hamlet. "To be or not to be? That is the question." Few of us would consider that recitation had any impact. Anyone can download and read the piece. It isn't the same as being delivered by an actor, on stage, in costume and in the moment. A presentation is not simply a script, read out on a stage. The delivery of a presentation (p3) demands much more than that.
ffolliet.com
New post: To be or not to be https://ffolliet.com/2025/07/31/to-be-or-not-to-be/ Delivery of a presentation is more than just reading it out
I know In the Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back, there is a dramatic and romantic moment where Princess Leia calls to Han Solo as he is about to be immersed in Carbonite. "I love you!" she calls. His response has become iconic. The slide below shows how most presentations would relate that…
I know
In the Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back, there is a dramatic and romantic moment where Princess Leia calls to Han Solo as he is about to be immersed in Carbonite. "I love you!" she calls. His response has become iconic. The slide below shows how most presentations would relate that scene as below. "I know". Subtitles are not required. Like your powerpoint
ffolliet.com
Change So now what should we do once we have recognised that there is glitch in The Matrix? Change. Having seen that we fall into the trap of using the slidewear to construct a powerpoint rather than a message, what should we do? Understanding the Presentation Paradox that we do what we hate in…
Change
So now what should we do once we have recognised that there is glitch in The Matrix? Change. Having seen that we fall into the trap of using the slidewear to construct a powerpoint rather than a message, what should we do? Understanding the Presentation Paradox that we do what we hate in the construction and delivery of a presentation, what should we do? Seeing that science describes the problem, even if we see the problem all around us so now what should we do? Change.
ffolliet.com
Wallpaper Choosing wallpaper for a room involves decisions of colour, pattern, and density. Buying wallpaper before you have even bought the house it is going in makes no sense. But you probably decided on the template for your last presentation before you considered the content. Presentations are…
Wallpaper
Choosing wallpaper for a room involves decisions of colour, pattern, and density. Buying wallpaper before you have even bought the house it is going in makes no sense. But you probably decided on the template for your last presentation before you considered the content. Presentations are not about the decoration.
ffolliet.com
Juggling Everyone can toss a ball up and catch it. Many people can do that with two balls. When there are three balls it is officially called juggling. Personally, I can juggle three balls with lots of patterns. The world record for "toss juggling" that is balls successfully in a pattern, caught…
Juggling
Everyone can toss a ball up and catch it. Many people can do that with two balls. When there are three balls it is officially called juggling. Personally, I can juggle three balls with lots of patterns. The world record for "toss juggling" that is balls successfully in a pattern, caught twice, is 11. The average presentation is like the Sonia Bravia advert of bouncing balls falling down the streets of Los Angeles. Our brains weren't built for this. Juggling is fine for three balls (or facts).
ffolliet.com
Blue wave The blue wave is everywhere you look, and it defines presentations. Not from a design perspective because it sucks but because it defines how you and the world have learned to give presentations, by copying. If presenting feels hard, it is not because something is wrong with you. It is…
Blue wave
The blue wave is everywhere you look, and it defines presentations. Not from a design perspective because it sucks but because it defines how you and the world have learned to give presentations, by copying. If presenting feels hard, it is not because something is wrong with you. It is because no one ever showed you how to do it differently. You inherited a format, the template. The software opens with a title box, a bulletpoint list and the default template background. You went with the blue wave because everyone else does. You're not lazy or careless, you are just doing what the system does; the blue wave.
ffolliet.com
In a mirror, darkly The phrase ‘in a mirror, darkly’ comes from the Bible. It describes a first-century mirror, not made of glass but of polished metal. What that showed was a poor, dark reflection, not a true one. Blurred. Distorted. Partial. As a presenter at a conference you will have rehearsed…
In a mirror, darkly
The phrase ‘in a mirror, darkly’ comes from the Bible. It describes a first-century mirror, not made of glass but of polished metal. What that showed was a poor, dark reflection, not a true one. Blurred. Distorted. Partial. As a presenter at a conference you will have rehearsed your script, loaded the slides, stood in front of the mirror and checked your appearance before confidently walking onto the stage reflectiung that everything was in place. What if the mirror doesn't show what actually matters? What if the reflection is like looking in a mirror, darkly?
ffolliet.com
New post: In a mirror, darkly https://ffolliet.com/2025/07/16/in-a-mirror-darkly/