The Workshop on Audiovisual Media in Presentations is a short, two-hour and intense workshop. In order to pack as much useful information and work into the time allocated some preparation work is required on the part of the attendees so that we do not waste our valuable time together.

The preparation work should not take too much of your time, but please get started now. Do not wait until the day before the workshop to get all of this done. If you run into any snags contact Theo Economides via email or call 312.436.1883 for help.

Attendee Preparation Assignments

• Bring your own laptop computer. You will be working on your own presentation on your own computer. Greenline Emeritus will provide an Internet connection during the workshop (both wireless and wired). We recommend that you not use a computer with a small screen (a netbook for example), it is easier to work on presentation graphics with a larger screen.
• Bring your own presentation. Every attendee will be working on their own presentation during the workshop.
  • If you are currently working on a PowerPoint (or other presentation graphics program) slide set, bring that.
  • If you have a presentation that you need to develop but haven't created any materials for it yet, see the next item.
  • If you don't have a current presentation need but have someone else's presentation that you like and want to emulate, bring that.
  • If you have other AV media (video or audio clips, for example) which you need to incorporate into a presentation, bring those.
• Create a story. An important aspect of a good presentation is that it conveys a message to its audience. One of the most powerful ways to engage an audience is to tell a story. Your whole presentation is a story, and you might also tell stories within that story. Prior to the workshop you need to define these aspects of the story you intend to tell:
  • What role do you play? Are you merely a story teller? Are you a sales person? Are you teaching or dispensing information? What is your relationship to the audience?
  • What role does your audience play? Your audience should be a part of your story, not a passive viewer. Why are they there to listen to you? What are they getting out of this presentation? Do they have a problem that you are solving?
  • What is the plot of the story? How does the story start ("You, my dear audience, have a problem that I am here to solve.") and what is the climax? ("Look at how our sales can skyrocket!") How does it end? ("We are all having a party on the beach of Waikiki funded by the great profits that we will enjoy!").
• Download and install the AnyVideo Converter program. One of the exercises in the workshop will be to download and use a YouTube video. We will be using the free software, "AnyVideo Converter" to do this. We do not want to spend workshop time getting it loaded onto your computer so you need to do this prior to the workshop. Here is the download page: http://www.any-video-converter.com/download-avc-free.php