Author Archive: ffolliet

At work I'm a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon. That involves Surgical Oncology, Neonatal Surgery and Trauma. There's also a lot of teaching and mentoring. None of this actually makes me particularly clever. I'm pretty heavily into improving presentations and long for the world to lay down the weapon of bulletpoints and embrace creative and engaging presentations. I lead presentation workshops and am currently working up a book on presentations. I did a wee thing at TEDx Stuttgart in 2014 of which I'm quite proud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFza3W87eDg Outside all of that I struggle to keep fit, cycle a bit and the odd triathlon. I'm a father, singer, laugher, learner, sharer, blogger, thinker, strummer and much more.

image search

image search

Image search on Google is a very good way of finding images for a presentation as discussed earlier. As the BBC would say, “other free image sites are available.” Listed below are a few of the sites friends from Twitter…
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Take home message

take home message

A take home message can only be one item. We cannot remember more than three new items and most people at a presentation are not actively trying to memorise things. So even three is too many. The latest fashion of…
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The Matrix

the matrix

The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction film in which humans experience a world that is not real. Morpheus explains to Neo that his perception of the world is computer simulated and the true world is The Matrix. He explains…
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Give the message early

give message early

Give the message early in a talk so the audience will want to pay attention. If the message has value and relevance for them, they will follow the presentation. If the value is only delivered at the end, few will…
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don’t overlay

don't overlay

Don’t overlay multiple images. Images can only be viewed in isolation. Superimposing one image over another is visually confusing and may lose the value of both. Consider carefully if all images are required at the same time and either fully…
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lists of facts

lists of facts

Lists of facts do not make a good presentation. Sense is made by structure in an argument. Lists of facts impose a structure and hierarchy. Indenting text makes it sub-ordinate to the preceding text. The majority of text on a…
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What colour is a zebra?

What colour is a zebra? Is it white and black stripes or black and white stripes? Ask Marty, the funky Zebra from Madagascar. When it comes to slide design a question that comes up often enough in discussion relates to…
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Running over time

running over time

Running over time in a presentation is unforgivable. There is no presentation ever that has been made better by going longer. Worse it steals time from the audience and potentially from following speakers as organisers struggle to maintain their schedules….
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show some emotion

show some emotion

I was recently privileged to speak at a conference with colleagues from disciplines outwith medicine. I was humbled at the level of wisdom, scientific endeavour and sadly at the level of presentation skills displayed. If it is any comfort, many…
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