Social Media 101 In Ten Slides

alphabet chalkboard Social Media 101 In Ten Slides

Tomorrow morning at 7:30AM, I’m doing a presentation in Boston for the American Burn Association 2010 Annual Meeting. I’ve been asked to give an overview of social media, Facebook and Twitter, and include time for Q&A. And I only have 60 minutes.

After trying to compile slides from other presentations I’ve given, I decided to create a challenge for myself.

10 slide limit

I realized that it’s much better to present a few ideas that might stick rather than too many ideas that they’ll forget. So I set a challenge for myself: No more than 10 slides.

WWYD?

If you had ten slides on social media to talk about, what would you do? Which ones would you include? Mine are below. I’d love your input! Please comment below.

Posted March 8, 2010
  • Brilliant, wish I could be there to hear your presentation.
  • Thanks, David. It went very well.
  • John:

    I read this too late to be of any help. So how did the presentation go? I'm sure it went well as I suspect you are a dynamic presenter.

    I actually wrote a long reply and then realized it was too late. For the future, I leave you with this.

    I highly recommend that you read Brain Rules by John Medina on how the brain learns and recalls information. I also strongly recommend that you read Garr Reynolds' Presentations Zen. As a frequent presenter, these two books will change the way you prepare and present for an audience.

    Here's a perfect example of a 60 minute slide deck that is memorable, follows good adult learning principles and applies some great brain rules about the neuroscience of presentations. And, it's for presenters like you!

    http://www.slideshare.net/garr/brain-rules-for-...


    Less slides is actually not better for the brain or for the attendee. Less text on slides is better for the brain & attendee -- 10-20 words max. And that means actually more slides, with great visuals and more time spent on preparing the visuals. It's all in the best interest of the attendee and learner.

    And as Joe already stated, retention in presentations and lectures is low, very low. German psychologist and memory researcher Hermann Ebbinghaus is best known for one of the most depressing facts in education: people usually forget 90% of what they learn in a class within 30 days. The majority of this memory loss occurs within the first few hours after the presentation. So your job as a presenter, is to present in a way that the attendee walks out remembering three to five points max. All the content of the presentation should uphold those three to five points. And, you have to figure out how to design the presentation so that the brain remembers it one hour, one day and even one month later. That is the challenge...should you decide to accept it...each time you present.
  • @JeffHurt - Just catching this now. Thanks for the recommendation on Brain Rules! So the number of slides is not as key as having less text on slides. Got it.

    I did add one more slide based on Sally G's recommendation, but I'll blog about that tomorrow.

    Thanks, Jeff - for always having such thoughtful comments here. You really amaze me.
  • Dude, this is quite simply brilliant. I can't really add anything to the comments already left. Great stuff.

    PS - okay, actually, I can add a little. I second Joe's view about ten times. :)
  • Thanks, Danny and Joe. The prezo went very well. People said it was "amazing" and had a lot to say about networks vs. connections.
  • Yeah I'm loving the comment stream here too. Good luck on the presentation!
  • Looks good, John. I'm sure they'll appreciate the straight forward advice. Always remember that people only comprehend about 50% of what you're saying. After two days they forget half of that. The lesson: find one residual message and drive it home again and again. Or, in your case, ten times.

    Good luck tomorrow.
  • Joe - you are always spot on. Check out the added info Jeff provided: http://johnhaydon.com/2010/03/social-media-101-...
  • First, I want to tell you that I was telling @sarahrobinson how completely awesome you were just last Friday. You are such a WEALTH of valuable information and you share it so generously with others. I'm so grateful to have 'met' you online. This leads to my 2nd point.

    I've actively been on Twitter for just over 3 months, Facebook a little longer, an online social community for just over one year and I've recently created a Facebook Fan Page. This is a medium whose potential is best understood once experienced. It's like telling your first-time pregnant friend that she really should take advantage of all the rest and quiet she can NOW, because once the baby's born - everything will change. She nods, thanks you -- and then tells you months (or years) later that she didn't really GET what you advised until she was there.

    My ignorance and lack of experience limited my ability to fully comprehend the power of Social Media until I put my presence out there, opened my heart and wisdom to others ... and received SOOOOO much back in return.

    Social Media is like a Kaleidoscope - with each new twist, a beautiful array of possibility and potential reveals itself to you in brilliance and clarity. You can 'imagine' it in your mind as I've just described it ... or you can hold it up to your eye, examine it for yourself - and be forever dazzled by the wonder.

    I love your work John - 10 slides is perfect ... and I sure hope I one day offer something of value to you, as you so often have gifted to me.
  • By the way, do you like my comic relief LOLCats slide?
  • I liked it on a few levels John - and meant to comment on it (darn that aging, failing memory of mine). First, a cat slide was completely unexpected. My eyes saw the visual first and thought, "what do lounging cats have to do with anything?" If I had been following along with a view to dispute you in any way, you'd have interrupted my thought train quite succinctly.

    Then I read the caption and laughed because IT was unexpected too. People are more receptive to new ideas when they're in good humour. Laughter is a brilliant collaborative tool. AND, the cats totally reinforce your message of 'putting yourself out there for others' -- that Social Media is so much about Go Giving.

    Rock the presentation you Communist Paratrooper you!
  • Thanks!
  • I loved the cat slide! took me a second to read the top (that is was comic relief) made me really LOL! :)
  • Thanks, Shelly!
  • I love the Kaleidoscope analogy, Sally. I see the emphasis on taking action (twist), because each of us approach the web in such different ways - all limited only by our creativity. But if we don't twist the Kaleidoscope, we just see the same limited possibilities.
  • Holy cow Sally... I was going to comment on John's slides (great by the way) - and then I read your comment. I can't put it any better than that! You rock!
  • Thanks, Shelly!
  • Cool presentation my friend. I think I would focus a lot on two important slides:

    "Give before you take"

    "Be a connector"

    For me, these are the underlying foundation of all good social media. Get these right and the organization, business, individual, or nonprofit will be well on their way in the social media game.
  • Thanks, Frank! I'll be focusing a lot on the idea of social capital in the presentation. Maybe I'll stick an image of a bank beside these ideas.
  • A bank image is a good idea - or perhaps even 'unbalanced' scales, if that's not too overdone. Stephen Covey speaks to the concept of Emotional Bank Deposits -- and how critical it is to make lots of them before asking for, or expecting, withdrawals in his book The 7 Habits. Maybe $$ signs on one side, and images representing Thoughts, Ideas, Heart, Time and Information on the side representing the weight?
  • Sally - Perfect idea. I'll use a picture of a bank. Thanks!
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