There's an interesting article about the perils of Powerpoint in the Daily Telegraph on April 19, 2007. Apparently researchers showed that having people read the same information that is on the screen is a recipe for boredom.

No point to PowerPoint, says professor

By Richard Alleyne



Powerpoint presentations, beloved of the business executive, are so ubiquitous that there are even PowerPoint presentations on how to do a PowerPoint presentation. Now research claims to have proved what millions of bored workers have suspected all along - they have little power and even less point.

According to the report, the brain cannot cope with having too much information thrown at it at once. Having someone speak and point to a screen full of facts and figures at the same time causes it to switch off.
The rest can be found at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/19/nppoint19.xml

So think twice before blinding charging ahead with a Powerpoint presentation, especially if all you plan to do is read the slides to your audience!


Tim F

"...there are even Power Point presentations on how to do a Power Point presentation."

This is understandable. I teach a college class on college success, and I try to emphasize what NOT to do on a Power Point presentation, such as:

Fonts too small to read

Gratuitous clip arts

Distracting backgrounds

Font/background color combinations that can not be read

Goofy fonts

Underlining

But, the most important thing I try to teach the newbie presenters is: have a backup! Overheads are expensive, but most colleges still have overhead projectors in the classroom (for the old school instructors). If the file gets corrupt, or the hard drive dies, bring out the plastic. They are indestructible (unless you spill them on the floor...those of you that go back to computer punch card programming days remember that one.) :cool:

There is a point to using it correctly, though. It helps keep the presentation on track, and keeps the content somewhat consistent from presentation to presentation (so you do not forget important points.)

Quite right too in my opinion. 'Death by PowerPoint' is a well known syndrome in training circles. Anyone working with IRCA certificated courses will know that they have been requiring training organisations to move to more accelerated learning techniques which encourage delegates to learn by discovery rather than being told everything.

I must admit though that I still use a presentation as the 'spine' to my courses but the important thing is to use the content of the slides as a prompt rather than to simply read them out.

I run a QMS LA course which has around 80 slides over the 5 days. I recently saw one where they had 120 slides on day 1 alone!

"...there are even Power Point presentations on how to do a Power Point presentation."

This is understandable. I teach a college class on college success, and I try to emphasize what NOT to do on a Power Point presentation, such as:

Fonts too small to read

Gratuitous clip arts

Distracting backgrounds

Font/background color combinations that can not be read

Goofy fonts

Underlining

But, the most important thing I try to teach the newbie presenters is: have a backup! Overheads are expensive, but most colleges still have overhead projectors in the classroom (for the old school instructors). If the file gets corrupt, or the hard drive dies, bring out the plastic. They are indestructible (unless you spill them on the floor...those of you that go back to computer punch card programming days remember that one.) :cool:

There is a point to using it correctly, though. It helps keep the presentation on track, and keeps the content somewhat consistent from presentation to presentation (so you do not forget important points.)

Powerpoint is often used as a crutch for lame presentation skills, and if you object to poor use of Powerpoint (and I certainly do) you have to remember that a presentation by a lame presenter wouldn't be made better without it.

It's useful if you want to show graphics such as charts that are being used to illustrate a point or a concept, but if the presenter doesn't know what he's doing, he still won't know what he's doing if Powerpoint isn't used.

"Me and Jenny was like Peas and Carrots"


A summary quote from the great philosopher Forrest Gump.

Good thread, Tim, and goes along with some of the points I was getting at in the hourly presentation speech thread.

Powerpoint presentations (PP) should be enhancements to what you are speaking. You want the audience looking at you.

You're wanting impact. Sometimes writing on a tripod board is way more effective than using PP. Sometimes PP is the best method to convey your message. Sometimes (are you ready for this??) no PP is the best. The greatest impact is the human contact by people seeing your belief and integrity in your eyes.

If you have a club (one for speaking/presentations enhancements) near you, join. Or drop by and visit. No matter how long you have been doing presentations, there are most probably some quirks you need to work out. If you know anybody in the club, borrow the magazine. There are some really fine articles on speaking and presentations.

Main thing: practice, practice, practice-alone, and with people sitting there. Yes, kids will work. Make sure it's as long (or short) as you think it will be. And for goodness sakes, take out about 2/3 of the stuff in your PP slides. Most slides I have seen are entirely too busy, and people (human nature-too much to process so they tune out) start gazing out the window, or thinking about what is for lunch.

If you just had ONE WORD on the slide, it can be most impacting.

If you have a club (one for speaking/presentations enhancements) near you, join.

With regard to poor presentations, I would change that to read, "If you have a club near you, don't be afraid to swing it.":D

With regard to poor presentations, I would change that to read, "If you have a club near you, don't be afraid to swing it.":D
:lmao:

Another Gotcha from Jim. Good one!

You know, we'll tell someone frankly they cannot sing, but we seem afraid to instruct someone on how to do proper presentations.

:lmao:

Another Gotcha from Jim. Good one!

You know, we'll tell someone frankly they cannot sing, but we seem afraid to instruct someone on how to do proper presentations.

It reminds me of what my father used to say about bad singers: "I used to wish I could sing, but now I wish he could."

Powerpoint is often used as a crutch for lame presentation skills, and if you object to poor use of Powerpoint (and I certainly do) you have to remember that a presentation by a lame presenter wouldn't be made better without it.

It's useful if you want to show graphics such as charts that are being used to illustrate a point or a concept, but if the presenter doesn't know what he's doing, he still won't know what he's doing if Powerpoint isn't used.

Perhaps so, but on occasion people have the task of giving presentations that are not seasoned professionals - and I would prefer they have a crutch, rather than stumble through reading their notes (the likely alternative). Remember, you used to stink, too.

Also, let us not forget the visual learners.

Powerpoint should be used to present visual aids, with the key word being "aid". PPT should not take the place of the person, nor should it simply repeat the person. PPT should be presenting 1) basic outlines and 2) visuals that can't be adequately described in words.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words (and I would add a graph is worth a thousand data points). Trying to describe certain topics without illustrations is almost impossible. Here, the ability of PPT to present information is fantastic.

However, the "mind-numbing" ability of PPT quite powerful. Somehow both the presenter and the audience tend to stop thinking when PPT slides are present - they go onto autopilot. The presenter quits thinking and simply reads the slides. The audience stops thinking and simply reads the slides. Even if the audience is taking notes, they often are more intent on getting down every little word from the slides, rather than thinking about the actual content.

Tim F

I believe that the point, in it self is right. Holding a course and reading from your slides is boring. But, that being said, I don't believe the problem is in using slides or Powerpoint, the problem is the person holding the course. I have been through a course that used close to 200 slides a day, and the course was fascinating!! I did actually mention the excessive use of slides and the critique was well received. I am looking forward to attending the course again, and see what progress she has made on her presentation.

So think twice before blinding charging ahead with a Powerpoint presentation, especially if all you plan to do is read the slides to your audience!Here, I strongly recommend the old thread Power Point and colour psycology (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=12220).

/Claes

The ONLY thing I use Powerpoint for is graphs and flow charts. But, then again, that may be because that is all I know how to do in Powerpoint. :o

Even if the audience is taking notes, they often are more intent on getting down every little word from the slides, rather than thinking about the actual content.

That is true. That is why I like to provide copies of the slides, so that they can listen more and take notes less. With an entirely verbal presentation they may have been entertained by the lively presenter, but not have much to reference the day after.

I've settled into providing CD's of the power point presenations, but not hard copies. I find people tend to bury their face in the hard copies, and start reading ahead. With giving out CD's, they at least know they may refer back to the slides.

I do believe that power point has been misused by many, and "rules" like no more than 6 bullets of 7 words each are ridiculous. The software does not limit you to what you put on the slides. Power point is no more "evil" than traditional viewgraphs.

Steve,
CDs are a great idea. Cheaper than the photocopies! Thanks! :agree1: It does stiff the note takers, though - but saves some trees for the majority that do not take notes.

A brief timeout for a little presentation humor:

http://elsmar.com/jpg/explainpn2.gif

http://elsmar.com/jpg/closingwq9.gif

I :D Power point.

It keeps my lessons on track,
Enables questions to be framed with answers revealed at a later date,
Allows full graphics
Can be stored to CD, flash or hard rive easily
Can be emailed or uploaded to websites
Allows repetition and conformity of lesson

But there are many secrets as alluded to by many of the posters so far. These 'Secrets' are in fact normal teaching methods. They are, basically, the same rules you would use when using a black/White board.

Keep it simple,
Allow time for note taking,
Don't use gregarious colurs or fonts,
Don't hand out notes BEFORE a lesson,
Too much information can be overwhelming,
use different media to highlight your lesson (Pictures, Sound, Video, Colour, Oral)
Maintain uniformity during the presentation and keep 'tricks' to a minimum

I submit a lot of PP presentations, here on the cove, and I would hope they are easy to follow and don't have too many tricks.

For all the wonders of computers and fancy presentations, for many situations I still prefer information in the form of Bound Optimally Organized Knowledge.

Tim F

Don't use gregarious colurs or fonts,

Did you mean garish?

Don't use gregarious colurs or fonts,

Did you mean garish?

Maybe he meant Gregorian, which I would assume to be black calligraphy on nicely illuminated parchment. Looks nice in presentation, but the monks cost a lot per hour :)