From the Data Table to the Kitchen Table

“This was the best presentation I’ve seen in 37 years.” I didn’t ask for the feedback but I did tell her I was going to write it down.

My other favorite comment : I couldn’t help noticing that this presentation is not as content heavy as the ones I see in academia. I am making a personal commitment to change the way I present.

This was feedback from the session 'From the Data Table to the Kitchen Table: Translating and Disseminating Results' at the WIPOD (WI Preventing Obesity and Diabetes..or something like that) event. ( hat tip to Kyle for the session title)

Key Points
Clear: Less is more
Easy: Show don’t tell
Meaningful: Touch emotion. People only take action on issues they care about.

I told the story of Dr O Neil as an example of the power of story and its ability to trump data. There were teary eyes.

I also showed the LaCrosse “Kids Cheer for Veggie” story to balance a sad story with one that shows we can touch emotions by inspiring.

Participants really enjoyed the LaCrosse story. Maggie joined the session so she introduced the project. Initial response was : loved that it was positive. You can see that your program is successful by looking at the response of the kids.

The video started an engaged discussion on Farm to School ( I was glad Maggie was there): what were they learning, were they evaluating…etc. Maggie described sharing the video with food service directors and two more schools want to start the program.

At the end of the session, I had participants go around the room and share one take away. Making information meaningful and the power of story won as the most important learning participants were taking away.

Tech Notes:
I asked Alan to help me load the video on the lap top the day before so I could practice. Both the high and low res video played choppy from within PPT. ( my first choice was a link in a PPT slide). The high quality video was also choppy when played on the lap top. The low quality worked fine.

Is there any way we can play these videos from within PPT? Otherwise presenters have to toggle back and forth.

The session was in a distance technology room. I went in early to try out the equipment. There was a staff person on hand to help and he was helpful. He showed me how to hook up the lap top and the video played with audio on the first try ( and worked without a hitch in the session)

( How do I get a screen shot...of a video story..into a blog post :(