Subscribe

Using a feed:

Using e-mail:

Your e-mail

Monday, August 09, 2004

In Defense of PowerPoint

conference presenters who merely recapitulate the contents of their paper place themselves in danger of putting their audience to sleep, particularly straight after lunch. A more effective approach uses the presentation to persuade the majority of the audience to actually read the paper, then devotes the question time to those few who have already read it.

Bullet points—PowerPoint's most vilified aspect—are the most misunderstood of presentation techniques. As far as the audience is concerned, bullet points only serve to remind them of the presentation's general context. As far as the presenter is concerned, bullet points replace the mnemonic techniques handed down from the Greeks and the more recent prompt cards hidden in the hand of a formal debater.

posted by Eamonn | 11:35 PM

Elsewhere