Sure, you know your topic inside and out and probably have done this project several times. However, fumbling along while trying to remember a step or working on your project in silence while you wonder what to say is going to show. What it shows is a lack of preparation.
A storyboard will help you organize the flow of your presentation, and help you recall critical details without memorizing a script. It’s an additional step to consider after designing your training project plan.
A storyboard contains typically a place for you to put a picture as well as a place for you to write your words. In the picture area, you might draw the area of the project in which you’re working on at that point in time. In the area where you can write words, you can choose to scribble a short synopsis of what you’ll be discussing, such as areas of difficulty, your thought process or solutions for building something, etc.. What you write and how much you write is up to you.
Perhaps you come to a point in your project, and you want to give a short story about how you learned this particular task or a problem that gave you a headache for days. You could draw a picture that reminds you of the story and a few short words that will cue you in on what you wanted to say.
Once you begin to put the storyboard together and can visualize how the project is flowing, you might see where you want to change things around. That’s great! You’re getting those thoughts in your head on paper, so you can make sense of it. So again, take some time, build a storyboard, structure your workflow. You’ll be glad you did.
Here is an example of a storyboard format that you can use.
Category: <Category Name> Module: <Module #> Title: <Module Title>
Topic: <Topic #> User Group: <Target Audience>
VISUAL | SCRIPT/AUDIO |
Intro. Splash/title. (5-10 seconds.) | (Intro Music: Copyright free) Talk about what was accomplished if there was a previous session and then talk about how that connects with what is about to take place in this session. |
Give a short description here of the corresponding visual. Or, insert a thumbnail | Enter additional scripted text in this column. Use one row per paragraph or main thought. |