Most of us have multiple versions of our speeches, training programs, presentations, and notes. It’s hard to keep them straight. Frequently, the easiest and best way is to date them. I do this myself. I have my own naming convention for any date-related materials, and it works great for me.But when putting something before the public’s eyes, it’s usually a bad idea to include a date. Watched two presentations today and both of them had the date either in the title, file name, title slide, or handouts (or more than one). This immediately alerted the audience that this material was not originally for them. It was recycled. One presenter even said something to the effect, “I gave this talk to Group A last fall. I hope it’s still current.” Message to audience? “You aren’t worth me checking to see if my material is correct.“There’s nothing wrong with reusing content. It saves time, usually yields a more robust show over time, and is just plain practical. But using a corollary of Rule #1, we MUST make it presentable and fresh to each audience. Rename those files. Clear the title slide. Keep the comments in check. It’s new every time. Or at least it appears such to the audience.
Don’t use dated slides for current presentations.
