This second action step picks up where the last one left off, and gets you to the point where you have a slide deck that you can present and record.
1) Plan your lesson structure
Use the method from the Creating Your Slides module to break your lesson down into 2 - 7 main areas.
Remember, each area is the equivalent of a single index card with a heading at the top. Taken together, the different areas are like a small stack of index cards for a talk that covers the same ground as your lesson.
Each area can be:
- a subtopic that needs to be covered
- a question that needs to be answered
Tip: If you’re planning your lesson directly in your slides software, create a new slide for each area and use the slide title for the subtopic/question.
Relevant lesson(s):
2) Add your lesson substance
Once you’re happy with the overall structure, it’s time to fill in the essential details, a.k.a. the substance.
That means adding 2 - 5 short “talking points” under each heading – just a short phrase or sentence that you feel confident you could expand upon when presenting.
Remember, your bullet points will typically be one of the following:
- Sequence of statements – you lead students to a conclusion via a series of short statements (like a mini-essay)
- List of items – you present a collection of related items, such as: options, reasons, examples, etc.
Relevant lesson(s):
3) Add some extra spice
Once you have created a functional slide deck, it’s time to add a little “spice”.
At this stage, we’re just talking about adding a few extra talking points to make your content more engaging and effective.
Here are the five types that we covered:
- Examples – real or imagined examples to make an idea more concrete
- Analogies – explain one idea by “piggybacking” another
- Data – present facts and statistics to add weight and credibility
- Quotes – include quotes that resonate with ideas in your slide deck
- Tips – additional “side coaching” to support core content
Review your slide deck and look for opportunities to add one or two additional points like this.
Relevant lesson(s):
4) Make your slides more sexy (optional)
If you want to give your slide deck more visual impact (which will take more time but move your lesson up the production value “ladder”) you can use one or more special moves to evolve your initial deck.
Remember, there are two types of moves you can make, as described in the lesson.
Type #1: Make the current slide more interesting
This type of move means taking an existing slide and making some changes to enhance that specific slide.
You can do this by:
- Adding animations and/or transitions
- Adding a quick image to one side
- “Pimping” your slide background
Type #2: Add a new slide
This type of move means taking an existing slide and breaking one or more of its bullet points out as separate slides.
You can do this by:
- Supersizing one idea
- Adding a simple icon
- Adding a handy visual
Relevant lesson: