Member Article

Missing the (power) point!

It isn’t that many years since 35mm slides were the main way of presenting your images and bullet points to a business audience. Of course, PowerPoint and other computer packages have made a huge impact by allowing almost anyone to create their own slides as well as make last minute changes.

“Death by PowerPoint” has become a term widely used by communication professionals when referring to extensive and inappropriate use of the technology. The mistaken belief that lots of animated slides means a good presentation is one which we often witness.

Last week I was privileged to spend time shooting a DVD for a large organisation in the South West. They are a great business with over 1000 colleagues, some fantastic HR processes and a top Communications Director. One of the scenes we filmed was of a short staff briefing session during which 5 senior managers presented to small groups of 15-20 staff in a round robin series of snappy updates.

The rules of engagement were simple. The presentations were to last no more than 7 minutes and PowerPoint was banned.

The use of props and flipcharts was encouraged and presenters had generally grasped the challenge well. All except one that is. One functional head, appreciating that PowerPoint should not be projected, had nevertheless prepared a series of colourful slides using the software. By printing them on curling A4 paper and holding them up for the audience to squint at she clearly believed that this would count. It may have almost fitted the brief – it just didn’t get her message across!

My point here is that even this incredibly smart organisation failed to spot the pitfall in banning PowerPoint. The ban had been brought in following feedback from other staff at previous sessions yet clearly it does have its uses. And if you are going to get your message across without it you need to work on your content and use some props. Do something outrageous or maybe even wear a fancy dress!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by R&B Group .