Deadly bullet points? Mid-Michigan Battle Decks ‘09

How quick are you on your feet in a presentation before people you don't know well? Or is it harder to be quick when you're presenting to people you know? Can you react quickly when the wrong slide comes up on the screen? Does your speech echo the bullet points or are people reading something different?

If you're good, consider a national contest called PowerPoint Karaoke or Battle Decks that is coming to East Lansing on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. The idea behind Battle Decks is that you get up in front of a group to do a PowerPoint presentation that lasts about 5 minutes — with the kicker being that you have no idea what is in the deck you are presenting. Some of the slides may be serious quotes, another could be an Excel spreadsheet graph, some could be silly pictures. Get the details, including the prizes, in Mid-Michigan Battle Decks ‘09

I won't be there, although I am feeling very good about surviving a presentation I did last week. I tried to find a substitute since I wasn't feeling good and am trying to follow my doctor's advice to avoid people. I knew something was wrong when I arrived to a nearly full parking lot. What a joy to learn I was told the wrong time for the class - it started in 15, not 45, minutes. Fortunately, there was an experienced expert to help set up the projector and computer. I started on time, finished on time and left with mostly satisfactory evaluations. Oh yeah, I should have listened to the doctor.