Intro to UXD

by CHRIS RIVARD :: SEP 20, 2006 :: COMMENTS (1)

On Saturday the 16th I gave a presentation, "Introduction to User Experience Design" to the Society for Technical Communication at Ktech in Albuquerque.

This was the first time that I had given this presentation and I used the occasion to practice the Lessig Method of presentation. I am a big fan of the principles in Tufte's "The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint" and have been trying to find a presentation style that is more engaging than reading bullet points and watching the audience drool on the conference table. Presentation Zen gives a great overview of different styles including the Takahashi Method, of which I borrowed from as well. The first example of this style that I saw was Dick Hardt's presentation at OSCOM 2005 (online, I wasn't there).

The goal when presenting this way is to use the words (or images) on the slide to highlight what you are saying. It works best with a subject in which you are well-versed and can go off on tangents and come back. I rehearsed the presentation a couple of times Friday night and Saturday morning, and figured that I would pause at some of the interface screens and discuss them in depth. That happened, but the presentation still ended very quickly. I think I got through everything in just under thirty minutes. There was only one transition, and there are a total of eighty slides. One challenge that I found was that you really have to have the complete concept on deck in your mind before you begin the slide series. In the future, perhaps I'll give myself a visual cue to remind me of the upcoming concept. If you aren't sure what slide is coming and where it fits into the series, there is a tendency to just grind to a halt. Another idea is to actually write the presentation and mark a printout where the slides need to change. This could work, but may disrupt the flow too much.

The audience feedback afterwards (from a friend), was that I spoke a bit too fast. It's a very fluid presentation style and it's easy to get in a groove and punch through concepts. Also, this is not the best style for audience participation. Presenting this way is certainly a lot more fun for the presenter, and hopefully more engaging for the audience too!

Slides and resources can be downloaded here. Enjoy!

tags: ALBUQUERQUE, ALBUQUERQUE EVENTS, DOCUMENTATION, EVENTS, INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE, INTERACTION DESIGN, KEYNOTE, PRESENTATIONS, PROCESS, TECHNIQUES, USER EXPERIENCE, WIREFRAMES

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