Thali technique

Thali – what does this mean? No, I am not referring to the ‘taali – the mangalsutra’ – the equivalent of rings in marriage.

Thali simply means plate, but that is an understatement!
Thali is a fascinating way to present food.

Picture courtesy:http://niyasworld.blogspot.com/2009/03/indian-thali-meals-and-calories.html

Being a person born and brought up in south India, I present to you today the south Indian thali.
So what has thali to do with visual story presentation?

Lots actually!

SIMPLE: a plate with a banana leaf
VARIETY: Different items of food – papad, chapathi, rice, vegetables, pickle, chutney, curd and sweet
CONCISE: Each item comes in its own container, with a certain quantity. But if we need more then we can get more. So it is choice based!
AUDIENCE ORIENTED: The customer has the choice of what all to consume and how much to consume
EXTRAS: Ghee, chutney powder, Vadagam, Banana, salad etc – These are add-ons based on one’s choice

Now, think! – what if we can use this ‘thali technique‘ to create our own presentations?

The medium could be anything – PowerPoint, whiteboard etc but what is important is the way it is presented to the participants:

1. Simple: A clear objective with a simple transferable goal
2. Variety: A story that incorporates a lot of styles, which lead the participants to emote with the subject.
3. Concise: Each segment is packaged in a 10-15min time frame
4. Participant-oriented: Ample time to discuss Q&A and delve deeper into a specific area (If it is in the interest of all and if it adds more meaning and clarity to the objective)
5. Extras: Activities, quizzes, games, exercises, puzzles etc to add stimulating value to the presentation

VISUAL: They don’t give you a paper with lots of bulleted descriptions of each food item! They show you the food in a neatly packaged container!

So observe the thali when you eat out and then plan your presentation with that in mind.

Of course, you also have the north-Indian version which is also an art in itself! (And that simply reveals that you need to customize your thali too for the needs and demographics of the audience)

Happy Presenting using the Thali technique

Picture courtesy: http://www.lecheftiffins.com/corporate-thali.htm