How to illustrate effectiveness
October 3, 2014 6:04 PM Subscribe
I will be giving a presentation tomorrow. I feel pretty good about it, except for one part. I talk about how something is 60 times more effective than something else. How can I illustrate this for maximum effectiveness? It can be a verbal example or using a prop or picture (I will not have a computer available).
If there will be 30 people, use their hands.
-One person snapping their fingers sounds like this - 60 fingers snapping sounds like THIS.
-Would you rather have one hand fanning you on a hot day? Or 60?
-Have them clap - "This is the sound of 60 hands clapping" after they stop, say, "This is the sound of one hand"...um..wait, no, don't say that. You get the idea.
posted by NoraCharles at 6:16 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
-One person snapping their fingers sounds like this - 60 fingers snapping sounds like THIS.
-Would you rather have one hand fanning you on a hot day? Or 60?
-Have them clap - "This is the sound of 60 hands clapping" after they stop, say, "This is the sound of one hand"...um..wait, no, don't say that. You get the idea.
posted by NoraCharles at 6:16 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you are using PowerPoint, and if the example comes near the end, take 1/60th of your total slides used so far, (so probably less than one whole slide) and say, it is as though instead of having to give the entire presentation you just gave, you only had to present that third of one slide, or whatever it is. You can show them an amusingly photoshopped slide that has 2/3 or whatever the appropriate percentage is cut off.
Or you could just use the current slide you are referring to, and say that it is as though you only needed 1/60th of that slide to make your point, and then show a version of that slide which has all but 1/60th of it masked out.
posted by lollusc at 6:16 PM on October 3, 2014
Or you could just use the current slide you are referring to, and say that it is as though you only needed 1/60th of that slide to make your point, and then show a version of that slide which has all but 1/60th of it masked out.
posted by lollusc at 6:16 PM on October 3, 2014
Response by poster: I will be talking about 60 times stronger, as in reducing by 60 times as much.
I am looking at a crowd of probably 10-20 people.
No power point available.
posted by Lost at 6:32 PM on October 3, 2014
I am looking at a crowd of probably 10-20 people.
No power point available.
posted by Lost at 6:32 PM on October 3, 2014
If you were sixty times stronger, you could easily lift a cow.
posted by teremala at 6:45 PM on October 3, 2014
posted by teremala at 6:45 PM on October 3, 2014
What used to take an hour, can now be done in a minute (or minute/second).
For instance, maybe think about a local commute that takes an hour, and say something like "Imagine doing this in a minute!"
posted by carter at 7:47 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
For instance, maybe think about a local commute that takes an hour, and say something like "Imagine doing this in a minute!"
posted by carter at 7:47 PM on October 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
"reducing by 60 times as much?" Is that 60 times an absolute amount or 60 times a percentage? How does the math work out? Like, is it something that kills 99.9% of bacteria (leaving 0.1%) where Brand X kills only 94% of bacteria (leaving 6%) ?
Or is it something that kills 60% of bacteria where Brand X only kills 1%?
I'm picturing bringing 100 pennies and sweeping all of them off the table except 1, but it depends on how the math works out.
posted by RobotHero at 8:53 PM on October 3, 2014
Or is it something that kills 60% of bacteria where Brand X only kills 1%?
I'm picturing bringing 100 pennies and sweeping all of them off the table except 1, but it depends on how the math works out.
posted by RobotHero at 8:53 PM on October 3, 2014
Use a clock. One with a one-minute wedge colored red & the second with the entire face colored red.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 3:44 AM on October 4, 2014
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 3:44 AM on October 4, 2014
Bucket of water and 60 pennies. Drop pennies into the bucket one at a time. Plop, plop, plop.
Then drop all the pennies into the bucket at once. KER-SPLOOSH, with water splashing everywhere.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:50 AM on October 4, 2014
Then drop all the pennies into the bucket at once. KER-SPLOOSH, with water splashing everywhere.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:50 AM on October 4, 2014
hmmmm i think the metaphor here is getting mixed.
There are examples of "sixty times less" but most of those examples are of less input, which would also produce less output.
There are examples of "sixty times more" but most of those examples are of more output, which requires more input.
I think you need a metaphor that literally is 60 times stronger.
For example (and these are impractical, but perhaps will inspire): create a lever such that the weight on one side is sixty times more powerful than the weights on the other side. Or a pulley system that will make an audience member literally sixty times stronger.
Your presentation could go something like "Our current process is X (hold up lever), which means if we do one of A (hold up a 1 ounce weight), we get one of B (hold up a one ounce weight). So, if we want to lift sixty B, we need to use sixty A. But, with the new process (slide the fulcrum over into the new configuration) look at this, a single A will still lift 60 B."
I think that's a little belabored, but maybe it will help you think of something!
posted by rebent at 10:42 AM on October 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
There are examples of "sixty times less" but most of those examples are of less input, which would also produce less output.
There are examples of "sixty times more" but most of those examples are of more output, which requires more input.
I think you need a metaphor that literally is 60 times stronger.
For example (and these are impractical, but perhaps will inspire): create a lever such that the weight on one side is sixty times more powerful than the weights on the other side. Or a pulley system that will make an audience member literally sixty times stronger.
Your presentation could go something like "Our current process is X (hold up lever), which means if we do one of A (hold up a 1 ounce weight), we get one of B (hold up a one ounce weight). So, if we want to lift sixty B, we need to use sixty A. But, with the new process (slide the fulcrum over into the new configuration) look at this, a single A will still lift 60 B."
I think that's a little belabored, but maybe it will help you think of something!
posted by rebent at 10:42 AM on October 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by RobotHero at 6:11 PM on October 3, 2014