Inspiration Mondays: And Now, For Dancing
Interpretive dance has been the butt of my little witty jokes for many years now. "And now," I proclaim, dripping with sarcasm, "I will explain through interpretive dance."
I've never actually managed it. Not yet.
I have sat through hundreds of PowerPoint presentations. Seriously. HUN-DREDS. I once sat through a three day conference, and I swore that if someone tried to click their way through another presentation in my presence, I'd have to scoop my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon, because that would be far more enjoyable.
It's not so much that I'm against the use of a visual presentation. Heck, I make them all the time for work. I think they're useful: they save a bunch of writing, they're easily transferred to people, and you don't have to print out a ton of handouts for people to follow along (although, lots of people do that, too... that's a rusty spoon for another day).
I like to think I'm good at making them, because I don't load them with a bunch of text for people to struggle through and to listen to someone read for them. I like pictures, diagrams, animations, movement. I like to try to make it into a tool to promote understanding through visual demonstration.
So, how about replacing PowerPoint presentations through dance?
It's a shocking title for anyone, but really, it's not so foreign. Check out the commercial below. Whether or not you think it's just a gimmick to make people buy something, you have to admit: you understand how that thing works.
I am also aware that there are people out there who won't ever feel the same way I do... who prefer their information organized in a totally different, more traditional way. That's ok, too.
But we're all different.
Today, I am inspired by people who break through the shackles of what we already do, the things that are "proven to work best," and to challenge what we believe will be effective. I encourage you to watch the video below: it's what brought the inspiration to me in the first place, especially the line where he says:
Ah, it feels good to see things turned on its head. It's my preferred perspective, any day.
I've never actually managed it. Not yet.
I have sat through hundreds of PowerPoint presentations. Seriously. HUN-DREDS. I once sat through a three day conference, and I swore that if someone tried to click their way through another presentation in my presence, I'd have to scoop my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon, because that would be far more enjoyable.
It's not so much that I'm against the use of a visual presentation. Heck, I make them all the time for work. I think they're useful: they save a bunch of writing, they're easily transferred to people, and you don't have to print out a ton of handouts for people to follow along (although, lots of people do that, too... that's a rusty spoon for another day).
I like to think I'm good at making them, because I don't load them with a bunch of text for people to struggle through and to listen to someone read for them. I like pictures, diagrams, animations, movement. I like to try to make it into a tool to promote understanding through visual demonstration.
So, how about replacing PowerPoint presentations through dance?
I am also aware that there are people out there who won't ever feel the same way I do... who prefer their information organized in a totally different, more traditional way. That's ok, too.
But we're all different.
Today, I am inspired by people who break through the shackles of what we already do, the things that are "proven to work best," and to challenge what we believe will be effective. I encourage you to watch the video below: it's what brought the inspiration to me in the first place, especially the line where he says:
"This is the great pleasure of science: the defeat of our intuition through experimentation."
Ah, it feels good to see things turned on its head. It's my preferred perspective, any day.
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