I am heading off to a meeting next week. I’m excited to be able to wander among the top CIO’s on the American (and, to some degree, the rest of the world’s) scene. It’s energizing and presents an opportunity to learn and discuss matters that are not part of the normal conversation.
But, I am also worried. Why? Because so many speakers have failed to learn the rules of public speaking. (G-d, do I have to speak to a 1000 people? Really?) And, the general public associates this failure with problems with PowerPoint. There are many things to complain about Microsoft- some legitimate, some due to ne’s point of view. But, PowerPoint per se is NOT the problem. It’s the speakers!
For some reason, a generation or two (can you believe that PowerPoint is 24 years old) have not understood what is and does. While it was first designed for the McIntosh (Presenter), within a year it was purchased by Microsoft and underwent a major metamorphosis a decade later. But, the users generally never figured it out.
PowerPoint is NOT a teleprompter. And, you all know when you watch a politician speak (oh, wait, read), he/she is generally relying on that crutch. It’s why I prefer to read the speech in the media the next day. It takes a fraction of the time as listening, it provides all the information someone (the speechwriter, the “big money” behind the candidate, the lobbyists, and, on rare occasions, the speaker) wants us to hear.
But, the teleprompter has evolved to be a small item either out of view or part of the lecturn. We, the audience, do not see the unit and are not generally distracted by it. (Yes, I have lived in a small city and been subjected to more than one newscaster who obviously never learned to read properly.)
That is NOT the case when one is at a meeting. When one posts the PowerPoint slide on a (very large) screen that is the focal point. Why would the speaker read the slide to us? Does he/she really believe every one of is the “child left behind”?
PowerPoint was designed to be aide to explain issues, matters, and complex relationships. It was a visual means to amplify one’s verbal or written expressions to communicate. It is NOT a teleprompter.
Be nice to your audience. Give us a wonderful speech. And, leave the PowerPoint slides to help persuade us, NOT to give your speech. If that were all we wanted, everyone else would do what I do for political speeches: skip the rubber chicken and read your remarks tomorrow, at my pace and leisure.
Speakers are there to entertain the audience between the drinking sessions. PowerPoint has become the crutch for people who do not know how to talk to people and worse who really don’t know the key message they want to convey
Thanks, Roberta- I’m glad to see that folks on your side of the globe can be as carked as we. I’ll meet up with you next Sunday night at 10 (my time) 🙂
I totally agree with the plea to inform others that a power point presentation is not to be read as a book. I also hate it when it appears before our eyes and it is brushed to the side quickly as to not be important enough to focus on and it is skipped (very distracting to me) as a listener. I enjoy the use of power point because I am a visual learner and I like to “see” something to hit home a point. But, I too do not like to see it in front of me read word for word. For many of my art lecture days, when teaching, I used power point and imbeded many art samples to illustrate what I needed to say. I also was blessed to have use of a “smart board” at one school in PA and it enhanced my lesson presentations greatly.
I use PowerPoint, as well, for my teaching career. (And, the kids all b…..ed and moaned that I was not reading it. I told them that was their job, it was my job to teach- and it takes three times for someone to learn a subject matter. This was time 2….)
Thanks for sharing, Ms. V! (I had to use some PURPLE prose, to honor your website post.O
I, too, use PowerPoint for my lectures. And, I admit to having done a very poor job (actually Pre-PowerPoint days) early on by doing just this with my slides. I realized it when I was done. It was too late then, but I never repeated it… (I am sure my audiences have thanked me under their breath…)
Giving a good PowerPoint presentation is a skill every business person should know. I can’t believe the software is 24 years old. I’m trying to remember when I gave my first PowerPoint presentation. No, it couldn’t be that long ago.
Great minds and all that. My latest post is about public speaking as well.
Haven’t you noticed as we age, we think things are much closer in time. 🙂 (There actually was a study showing that older folks (i.e., those over 40) underestimated time – they had a minute guessed about 40 seconds…
Hi Roy, and thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog post yesterday. In looking around your website, to get to know you a little more, I came across your very “spot on” post on Power Point. I thought I’d share a similar post I made last year: http://jeannekolenda.com/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-using-power-point
I enjoyed reading some of your articles. I’ll be back.
Take Care! ~~ Jeanne
Thanks, Jeanne:
Glad you found my “rant” of interest. Every once in a while, I have to get those out of my system.
Regarding your #6- some technical societies DEMAND the presentation be available just prior to the session, some let you deliver it afterward. However, if I am using the slides for a lecture (higher education), I have found that the presentation of the slides prior to my lecture lets the students take better notes, ask better questions, and learn the material better.
FWIW!
Have a great day…
Roy