Presentation Polarization: Is There A Right And Wrong Way To Use PowerPoint?

If there is one thing we can all agree on, it's that America is becoming more polarized. Public/private, conservative/liberal, the haves and the have nots. We see it clearly in politics where there doesn't seem to be any middle ground any more. The same seems to be happening among digital presenters. I'll call the two camps "conventional" (those who use templates, bullet points, graphs and charts and hand out copies of their slides at the beginning of the presentation) and "contemporary" (no templates, lots of images, few words and a separate handout of the supporting data at the end of the presentation). I propose that in the battle for digital dominance, the two sides can, and should, coexist.

I participate in at least 2-3 meetings a week (some in person but most via web conference) and most of those meetings involve one or more slide presentations. Almost all of those slides are designed in the conventional way (i.e. Title, bullet points, charts, graphs, clipart). And you know what? They generally get the job done. I get the information I need. Are they exciting? Usually not. Are they memorable? Not particularly. Are they informative? Yes. Do they take the presenter an inordinate amount of time to create? No. Those last two points are important considerations in the corporate world. Plus, conventional PowerPoints transmit well online and are small enough files that they can be emailed to people who were not able to attend the meeting.

Now I 'm not suggesting that there is no room for improvement in the world of corporate presentations. But I do think that the principles discussed by Garr Reynolds in Presentation Zen are just not necessary or practical in every situation. If you are presenting at a conference, to a potential new business client, to make a sale or even in the classroom, a more contemporary presentation along with an accompanying handout that is not merely a printout of the slides is likely to be more effective. And in those situations, I agree entirely with Reynolds' suggestions. However, I disagree with the extremists who want to criminalize the use of PowerPoint templates and administer electric shocks through the mouse of anyone who dares to hover over the bullet point toolbar. As with most issues, there is a middle ground. Conventional PowerPoint templates are still useful and appropriate for the day-to-day business meeting.

Having said that, I found the process of taking one of my more conventional PowerPoint presentations and applying some contemporary elements to be very enlightening. Since this presentation was designed for a student and parent instructional setting, not a corporate business meeting, I think the contemporary approach is more appropriate. To that end, I eliminated much of the text, added some more graphic elements and completely revised the accompanying handout. Here's an example of the changes I made:

Before

After

 

As you can see, the original slide has a distracting and unnecessary background and contains no less than 11 bullet points. It also has inconsistent fonts and colors. This information should be mentioned by the presenter and included in the handout.

The revised slide is simplified and much more visually engaging. It uses a high-quality image and a simple title that is direct and to the point. The font and color of the text is consistent with the other revised slides which incorporates the principle of repetition.

The bottom line is I will be using the Presentation Zen concepts, but not in every situation. Future presentations to students and families or at conferences will be more contemporary, but I suspect my presentations to teachers about new procedures for using the Online Enrollment System will look very much the same as they always have.

Same Story, Different Medium

I've always enjoyed a good story and I've always been intrigued by new technology so this foray into the world of digital storytelling has been a fascinating experience so far.
I particularly liked the collection of digital stories from Next Exit Digital Drive. The storyteller does a nice job of incorporating digital tools without losing track of the elements that make for a good story. And I believe that is the key. Just like in the visual arts, the medium should never detract from the message. Rather, it should complement and enhance the message.
Finding that balance will be a challenge for teachers trying to use digital storytelling with their class. It would be very easy for students to get caught up in using video, audio and other graphic tools and lose sight of the elements of good storytelling.
The elements of good storytelling and good, or at least better, presentations are things that make them "sticky" according to this week's reading from Garr Reynold's Presentation Zen. I think the "stickiness" concepts of concreteness, credibility, simplicity, emotion and unexpectedness apply equally to stories and presentations. 
I can envision using digital stories in my role as marketing manager for iQ Academy. One of our biggest challenges is communicating the value of virtual schools to families who in many cases have never been exposed to anything other than traditional public education. To that end, digital stories told by students, parents and teachers could be particularly valuable. They are also easy to distribute to prospective families via email or posted on our website.