Using Strong Visuals to Bring Your Presentations to Life

By Nick Seaver, July 16, 2010

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A lot of us here at Burness are big fans of Hans Rosling, the professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, whose TED talks are always remarkably engaging. He shows his passion for his work that most researchers and doctors share, but are too often afraid show.

He’s also notable for his incredibly creative use of visuals to convey his work (look at the first few minutes of his first TED talk for an example) and his willingness to share the technology and tools for free. In fact, you can create your own graphics using his data and software at www.gapminder.org.

His latest TED talk, however, demonstrates that you don’t need to be a statistician or even computer savvy to put together a presentation that will engage your audience. It simply requires a bit of creativity and, in this case, a few storage containers and toys. It’s worth watching the full 10 minutes and spending a few minutes thinking about ways to make your work as visual as possible.