How to Present a Travel Lecture Slide Show

The allure of a Chinese garden and the man who makes it so

One of the joys of traveling is sharing your journey with others. A lecture slide show is great way to do this. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be a night of boring hell (everyone knows that stereotype) . Follow a few simple guidelines and you may even have requests for an encore.

Things You'll Need

• Slides or digital pictures
• Projecting machinery (laptop, slide projector)
• Screen or blank wall
• Artifacts, souvenirs, other memorabilia

Instructions

1. Narrow down the topic. A slide show titled “South America” is perfect for a fifth grade geography class, but to appeal to travelers, the more specific the better. “The Galapagos Islands” will bring in a bigger audience than “South America,” and “Astonishing Animals of the Galapagos Islands” would bring in the most people. Write down talking points as a guide.

2. Play to your audience. Say you are presenting to a fifth grade classroom. What’s going to interest them more, a close up of Galapagos blue-footed booby or an Ecuadorian guinea pig? They've likely seen a guinea pig as a classroom pet or at a pet store. Go with the blue-footed booby as showing spits of roasting Ecuadorian guinea pigs would just be cruel.

3. 

   Keep ’em wanting more. The key to a successful show of any kind is to leave the audience wanting more. The entire travel lecture slide show should not last one second longer than 59 minutes. If some people want to hang out and ask questions and you are willing, so be it. Let the others exit without feeling they have to sneak out.

4. Show the unexpected. Must a travel lecture slide show on Paris include a shot of the Eiffel Tower? If your answer is yes, then make it a memorable shot, not the tired old one everyone has seen ad nauseum.

5. Share the floor. No one wants to listen to a windbag drone on about their vacation. Invite questions. Solicit information from others in the audience who have been to the same destination.

6. 

   Logistically speaking. Decide the date and time. Choose a place—public libraries often have a multi-purpose room for free, as does a public school. Check with service clubs such as the Rotary or Lions clubs. Make sure the equipment runs smoothly and you know how to operate it. Have a friend be your assistant.

7. Publicize the event. Send a press release (don’t worry about it being perfect) to your local newspaper’s community calendar. Don’t forget public access television, too. Electronic bulletin boards are another effective, free advertising outlet. And posting good old fashioned flyers still draw a crowd.

Tips & Warnings

• Narrowing down a topic is good, but careful about being too specific. You could alienate potential participants by being too academic.

• Refreshments always endear a speaker to the audience. Think about supplying some. If bringing artifacts or souvenirs, make sure it is something you wouldn’t mind losing or have broken.