Theos-Talk Archives (November 1997 Message tt00395)

I've done quite a few PC related presentation/trainings, etc to both
technical and non-technical audiences. Here's a few suggestions:

1. Martin is right on target about getting a projector. I would even say
it's mandatory if you hope to hold people's interest for more than an hour.
 A regular projector (such as the one's made by InFocus) is best, but they
can be costly to rent. Here in Chicagoland the going price is $80-$120 a
day. Depending on your connections, you may be able to borrow one from a
business or school. A LCD panel (with the appropriate type of overhead
projector) will do the job, but most won't do GUI or graphics well.
Whatever you use, make sure you practice with it. Another option might be
a web-TV set up, depending on your room size (you might even be able to
sweet-talk a local dealer into lending you one of these as a promo.)

2. Get someone to help you. Someone else should "drive" (be at the
keyboard) while you talk. This will help you recover while they handle any
technical problems than may arise. Also, I've observed that even in heavy
technical presentations, the speakers are more interesting and animated
when they're distracted by the PC.

3. Since you're unsure of the makeup of the audience, I'd be prepare for
all levels. Having some basic definitions on hand outs will help folks not
familiar with the jargon. I'd suggest starting out the presentation by
surveying the audience's experience with computers. This will tell you
what level of basics you need to cover. If you find yourself with a large
variety, people who have never touched a PC through people who have
completely integrated PCs into their lives, encourage the heavily
experienced to share how computers and the Internet have impacted their
lives. This will help personalize the subject for the uninitiated and help
the experienced understand why you're going through the basics. It will
also keep the presentation interactive --and you'll want a lot of audience
interaction if you want to go over an hour.

4. Do a lot with SearchEngines. Search engines really demonstrate how you
can find information without a clue where to look. Consider using Infoseek
because it lets you do a higher level search then a "search these results".
This avoids using complicated search filters. Have some examples ready and
let the audience offer suggestions for searches. Here's an example: a
couple of weeks ago I was interested in finding out more about the poet
Kabir. Searching for Kabir, I found sites that spanned poetry to Kashmiri
saints and philosophers to Kashmir political action groups to individuals
named Kashmir.

5. Use amazon.com to demo Internet shopping. Besides having search
engines for finding books by subject and title and being a good demo of how
Internet commerce works, amazon.com uses the internet to ask the public to
offer book reviews and comments (you'll see this if you look for detail on
books listed). It's a great example of you the Internet encourages new
ways for approaching business and communication with customers. Amazon.com
also has the nice feature that once you have an account with them, you
don't need to re-enter credit card information. This demonstrates who
electronic commerce can be safe.

6. Show sites such as www.gnosis.org which posts new meditations and
collects each week and contain links to great sites like the Virtual
Gnostic Library.

7. Demonstrate how the Internet links us globally by pointing out URLs or
email address that are international and how the Internet allows universal
communication without the prejudices associated with race, sex, handicap,
or country of origin.

8. If you have experienced people in the audience, allow time to discuss
whether/how the Internet has contributed to strengthening the universal
brotherhood. Other advanced topics might be: Does Internet communication
affect psychic or astral links between like-souls? How can the Internet be
used for spiritual advancement (i.e. some email groups do guided meditation
and then compare images and dreams)? Does the Internet reinforce the
distinction between information, knowledge, and wisdom?

9. Be prepared to field questions about computer/internet pricing in your
area.

Hope this helps,
Pam
pgiese@snd.softfarm.com