PowerPoint Preparation is Good

This month's big question on the Use of PowerPoint has already sparked some discussion and some good links. We'll likely get agreement that PowerPoint itself is not evil, but poor use of PowerPoint is. However, I'd also want to add that in my experience presenters who don't use slides often don't do a good job providing information, they are often ill-prepared, seem to ramble through stories, don't necessarily draw it to a conclusion, and make it really hard on the audience to extract the meaning.

Now that I blog, I often sit at a presentation and capture notes that are of interest to me and that would be of interest to blog readers. What you quickly realize is that speakers who don't use slides are often very high on the inspiration, entertainment side of things, but they don't get into much content beyond very superficial statements. I've attended quite a few keynotes like that and even more panel sessions. There have been brilliant exceptions such as a recent Peter de Jaeger keynote on change management.

Karyn said that one of the best presentations she attended was someone who had created the PowerPoints and lost them. So, it was likely a great preparation tool. Which is a great point. PowerPoint forces you to think through the real message of the presentation. It's a great way to see if you are going to be successful getting it through.

I happen to also believe that seeing a list on a slide helps me (being a predominantly visual learner) feel comfortable that I'm getting the intended message of the speaker. A pretty picture with a story - did I get the point?

I'm looking forward to continued discussion on this topic.