Aristotle wasn’t an accountant or auditor but he was an advocate of transparency in accounting.
To prevent the exchequer from being defrauded, let all public money be delivered out openly in the face of the whole city and let copies of the accounts be deposited in the different wards, tribes and divisions.”
Aristotle also identified 5 aspects of persuasion which you can follow when you are creating a presentation:
- Ethos. Start your talk by establishing your credibility and character. Show your audience that you are committed to the welfare of others, and you will gain their trust.
- Logos. Use data, evidence, and facts to support your assertions and statements.
- Pathos. People are moved to action by how a speaker makes them feel. Wrap your big idea in a story that will elicit an emotional reaction.
- Metaphor. Compare your idea to something that is familiar to your audience. It will help you clarify your argument by making the abstract concrete.
- Brevity. Explain your idea in as few words as possible. People have a limited attention span, so talk about your strongest points first.
I created a slide deck about the above using iA Presenter app, which has a function (in beta) to create a shareable version of your slide deck that is responsive depending on which device you use to view it. This is something that you can’t do with PowerPoint or Keynote. Check it out.
