I apologize for my protracted absence from the um, well, from here. This boy has been busy. Lately I’ve found myself shuffling from one meeting to another to be force-fed the glow of hideous Powerpoint “decks.” We sit there like zombies as many well intentioned folks read their slides to us. About the only time I’m awakened from the trance is if a hot babe in a tee-shirt runs by swinging a sledgehammer. Kinda like this.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Powerpoint and do quite a bit of them myself, but damn… It’s intended as a visual medium, so why not use some pictures? I have a new favorite blog called Presentation Zen. It’s devoted to “professional presentation design.” One recent post compares the presentation styles of two high-tech heavyweights, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates:
Which speaker do you think would be more compelling? Somewhere I read that “communication is the transfer of emotion.” Bullet points sure don’t evoke any, but a good storyteller can paint vivid images in your mind so the point really sticks. Isn’t that the um, point? Recently I had the pleasure of watching Barb and Joe present. They both presented naked. Well, not literally, but without the security blanket of slides for people to go zombie on. They were both great because they know their stuff cold and speak passionately about it. That’s communication.
Oh, if you’d like to improve your PPT’s, check out Seth Godin’s Really Bad Powerpoint.
Hey Leo, thanks for being such a good sport about getting up at 4am to complete the powerpoint I would later not use. You did an awesome job.
i’m trying to wean people at the company I work with off the powerpoint nipple, myself……can be a good tool, but it doesn’t get deals. people do.