Unplug That Projector!

from the yes,-yes,-powerpoint-bad dept

We've had plenty of stories from people saying that Powerpoint is evil. The latest Jimmy Guterman column doesn't go quite that far (though, he does say he's never used Powerpoint), but does suggest that too many business people start to rely on Powerpoint too much. Instead of using it as a presentation tool, people use it to show everyone their speaker notes. This is absolutely true in many cases, but (again) it doesn't mean you should completely throw out Powerpoint. If used properly (it's just a tool...) it can be very useful for demonstrating ideas. It also depends on what you're using Powerpoint for. There are some situations where Powerpoint is absolutely called for, and others where it's not. I know that recently, I've found that I prepare Powerpoint slides for meetings, and then try not to use them at all. If a certain point comes up in discussions that needs to be illustrated, I can pull out the relevant Powerpoint slide and better make my point. I've found this works well for regular meetings, but not so much for presentations to large groups. If I'm simply sending Powerpoints to someone to look over, I assume they're not going to read them, but quickly skim them to get a few major points, and thus prepare them with that in mind. It is simply a tool that some people turn into a crutch, but just because people can't figure out how to use the tool properly, doesn't mean that the tool itself is bad.