Developing Your Own Media Presentations

Whether you survived drinking six zillion orange Fanta's on your short- term mission trip church building trip to Mexico, or whether you've gone for a year to the hyena infested plains of Africa as a health care student missionary or perhaps you've battled it out as a colporteur in the trailer courts of Wyoming-no matter where you have been, if you have been there working for JESUS, then YOU have power to encourage others to serve by telling your story. Your experiences are the springboard for others to say, "Wow! I wish I could do that." The Holy Spirit can take your story and give it power to push others to extreme endeavor for God.

Of course, to share your experiences you don't need to complicate things with a multi-media presentation. Gadgets have a way of draining the flow of spontaneous energy that makes improvisational speaking so hilariously interesting. However, with the explosion of digital camera sales and the accessibility of video projectors, I know many of you returned missionaries are going to be lured into making your point with the pixel.

And since a picture is worth a thousand words, using a computer can save you a lot of words. PowerPoint can be a powerful tool to help convey your ideas and experiences to an audience. It is possible that you already have Microsoft "PowerPoint" or WordPerfect "Presentations" or some other slide program loaded onto your computer. The principles shared here can apply to whatever software you use.

As a missionary, making a good presentation at home is as important as doing a good job in the field. Really, the impact is the same . . . it can save a life. You owe it to Jesus to do your best. When Power Point is misused, it can detract from your presentation and actually be a barrier to your communication. Knowing some basic principles can make your presentation "shine" and help your audience learn and remember the message your are presenting. So, stretch your mind to imagine yourself sitting with the apostles gathered in Jerusalem to learn how to make a good Power Point presentation. (If you can picture that, you've got a better imagination than me!)

The first thing you need to do is learn Power Point. The basics are easy, but unless you are a computer guru and were born with a trackball instead of thumb, you'll probably want to sit at the feet of someone who is or does and have them give you a quick demo.

Secondly, you need to scan your best pictures. Good pictures can help your audience understand and remember your message. This means you either need a scanner or a very patient and gullible friend with a scanner. Choose your best pictures. Choose close ups, smiling faces, and things that will make people curious. Try to avoid lots of pictures of people standing in a row with their arms around each other. Avoid pictures that are dark, fuzzy, or confusing. (If your reading this before you travel, shoot your pictures in lots of light, and get more head and shoulders than knees and toes.)

Thirdly, try not to make PowerPoint itself "the show." Don't put in funny sounds (no one can hear them from your laptop.) Don't have pictures and words flying all over the place. Remember your pictures are there to illustrate your stories and PowerPoint is only a tool to convey the illustration. Too many bells and whistles will detract from your message.