| Responses | Date | Author |
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Thank you all so much - this is really interesting. I totally agree that any electronic aid such as PowerPoint should only be used to support and enhance what you are saying. It would be quite refreshing to teach without it but I wonder if ditching it entirely is possible. It is certainly useful for briefings. I will see if I can trial these other systems and will challenge myself to take off the training wheels of pre prepared slides whenever I can. |
| 02/12/2015 | Kirsten |
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Thanks, Nicki and Jan, it's lovely to know there is some support out there! I love the Peter Norvig quote and your IPPP idea, Nicki. I once persuaded an insurance professional to ditch his 32 slides of facts and figures that he had developed for a presentation on School Arson and use just one, a photo of a school in flames with various onlookers and the fire brigade trying desperately to put the fire out. All he did was tell the (very moving) stories of the people affected by the arson attack. I learnt recently that he is still using the same presentation as he keeps being asked to present it again - and that's ten years on! So I absolutely agree that a great picture and a great story can lead to a great presentation. Kirsten, is this helpful or just not at all what you wanted to hear?! |
| 02/12/2015 | Tim |
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Tim How refreshing to hear those views and for you to have the courage to voice them!! I'm absolutely on your side. Jan. |
| 30/11/2015 | Jan |
Hello Tim and Kirsten
I just wanted to lend support to your argument Tim, but also to offer another recommendation for Kirsten. One of my favourite quotes from Peter Norvig is "PowerPoint doesn’t kill meetings. People kill meetings. But using PowerPoint is like having a loaded AK-47 on the table: You can do very bad things with it."
Having tried Prezi and looked at Haiku deck, I don't think these offer anything different from Powerpoint - just a different way of putting the info together and presenting it. I do believe that PowerPoint has value as a vehicle for enhancing presentatios (for example, showing a photograph which bring to life the story you are telling), but other presentation software doesn't really have anything additional to add to this. I agree that using props, body language/gestures, storytelling, visualisations etc are far more powerful.
My recommendation for an alternative to PowerPoint is something that I call an IPPP - "Internal Personal PowerPoint Presentation". I advise people that they are going to create their own IPPP and ask them to close their eyes and then to visualise whatever image or sensation that I want them to experience in order to bring the presentation to life - it can be far more powerful than a PowerPoint (or Prezi etc) slide and people respond really well to it.
Best wishes
Nicki |
| 30/11/2015 | Nicki |
HI Kristen,
I know I am getting onto a hobby horse of mine here, but why waste your time exploring, let alone using, any of them? Why not spend your time investigating more interesting, compelling and creative ways of helping you present or train? Glasstap runs very good Cartooning for Trainers workshops; or start using props; or even just use a flip chart - much more dynamic. Have you ever been to the theatre and seen an actor deliver "To be or not to be..." with the words appearing behind them on a screen? The simple fact is, if you are a competent presenter, you don't need PowerPoint or any of its ilk. There has been research in Australia that shows very convincingly that PowerPoint is in fact a hindrance to an audience's understanding, not a help, which really goes to show that most presenters use it as a crutch for themselves, not because it actually adds anything to what they are saying. Try looking at Peter Norvig's version of the Gettysburg Address on PowerPoint to see what I mean: http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/
Of course, you're right, people are fed up with PowerPoint and Death by PowerPoint - but they would be just as fed up with Death by Prezi if it were as prevalent. PowerPoint and Prezi (and the others) are different from each other - by the same token, cyanide and strychnine are different from each other, but they are still both poisons.
I suspect none of this is what you want to hear - but I challenge you to take a stand against the iniquity that is PowerPoint and try to rid your organisation of it! I'm fighting what sometimes feels like a one-man war to rid the world of PowerPoint and its ilk - do please come and join my side!
Tim |
| 26/11/2015 | Tim |
Hi Kristen
I'm a big advocate of Prezi. I've recently delivered training in the States and they loved it and it certainly wasn't 'death by Prezi'.
I've just had a look at Haiku Deck; looks simple, yet effective. Might use this sometime. Still think I prefer Prezi. Just my opinion.
Best of luck!
Shirley |
| 26/11/2015 | Shirley |
Thank you Nigel, I will look at these and consider the seasick issue!
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| 23/11/2015 | Kirsten |
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PowerPoint is pretty good. More about how you use it than the software. I'd recommend looking at 'Presentation Zen' and 'Beyond Bullet Points'. Be careful with Prezzi - can make people feel seasick if you overdo it (yes - I did)! I also had some issues around portability of content in Prezzi. Not used Haiki Deck or Projeqt. |
| 20/11/2015 | Nigel |