Presentation Review: From Pop-up Books to iPads

Since the dawn of time, the basis of storytelling has not changed, but the novel way that these stories are told is changing every day.

In this TED talk, Joe Sabia depicts how presentations have changed, from the first cave drawings to Facebook pages. With help from his iPad, he engages the audience in a narrative about the man who changed storytelling forever, Lothar Meggendorfer; the creator of the pop-up book.

We all know that if you do not have a truly active imagination, reading a book can
drag on and leave you bored. Lothar Meggendorfer changed this. With the simple
use of colors and scissors, he made books come to life. Readers could now interact
with the book and truly become part of the story through pop-up books.

Ever since then, storytellers are constantly thinking up new ways to involve the
audience in a story. Sabia explains how authors have been able to transform stories
from opera to vaudeville, from radio news to radio theatre and from still film all
the way to the DVD. We may not realize it, but with the use of modern technology
stories, have been integrated into our everyday life.

With every movie we watch and presentation we see, technology is at work to
engross us in what the author is trying to say. Each audience wants to be excited
and surprised, not bored by the same old performance. Modern technology gives us
the power to thrill our audience, humor them and illustrate something they couldn’t
visualize just through words.

Take a second to think about it. Would you rather watch another simple PowerPoint
presentation, or an interesting and unfamiliar presentation like Sabia’s above? Take
advantage of technology to spruce up your next presentation, so that your audience
will be just as eager to hear your story as you are to tell it.

Let us know what your favorite presentation style is by leaving a comment below. Also, Make sure to subscribe to our blog!