Discussion on:

Want to have better meetings? Ditch PowerPoint

Once upon a time I had to make a presentation to a large group. Nervous, I'd been provided with all the props, and I attempted to do it that way, but I felt I was losing my audience. I said, "Excuse me," shunted all the equipment aside, then faced them all, talked and gesticulated. Despite the subject being very technical, it went well from that point onward. Yeah, ditch the PowerPoint, and ditch projectors, white boards and all the other things that come between you and your audience. You don't need them; you need personal contact.

Such software existed before PP and several free and M$-free applications exist.

How about the German term 'beamer', as in LaTeX ?

I'm well acquainted with 'death by powerpoint'. It's used for almost everything in our business (if Excel isn't involved!) so the idea of ditching it does pique my curiosity.

Here's the thing though - PowerPoint is a tool and it has it's uses. Should we not use the tool just because other people misuse/overuse it? If we do drop PowerPoint in a presentation or meeting, what are the alternatives to getting a visual point across to the attendees? Or to put it another way why would I use a hammer when it's a screwdriver I need to get this particular job done?

Flip charts won't work and neither will cue cards or picture boards because they have the same issue as PowerPoint - people tune out. Whiteboards are slightly better than flip charts because they appear more interactive to the audience (IMHO, but I don't get why) but it's essentially the same thing. Talking your attendees through statistics of any kind is interminably dull and takes longer than simply showing them.

Does anyone have any tried and true method for replacing PowerPoint in the environment they might otherwise choose it? How do you 'show, not say' in your meetings when PowerPoint has been cast out?

(For context to my thoughts, in my own experience I avoid PowerPoint as little as possible and if I do have to use it it's because I feel it's the best tool for the job. When using powerpoint I keep things concise (using the absolute minimum number of slides to do a job), inject a little humour to stat-heavy or dry presentations and keep things as interactive as possible with the audience to keep them engaged (sometimes even turning off the slides for sections of the meeting). The very work presentations or meetings I go to are those where every slide is a block of coloured text where the trainer, presenter or salesperson is simply reading the text on the screen. I HATE that! I can read myself, dummy - just give me the slide content in a leaflet or e-mail and stop wasting BOTH our times. Grrrrrr!)

dl_wraith you are right in that if you need a tool, why not use it? But although the tool might work perfectly well (I can feel this analogy slowly dying a horrible death) as a TOOL it might not actually achieve what you want to achieve.

So, start with the outcome you want: an engaged audience, an answer to a question, a project moved along. If you need to present key facts to support an argument, how best should you 'deliver' them to the audience? Key facts document, wall poster, 'assumptions' flip chart could all work.

Then, what do you need to do with that audience? Make them respond, inform them, tell a story? That's where you choose your tool. Personally, if I have story to tell or a pitch to communicate, I like prezi.com. Whereas ppt is linear - one thing after another - Prezi is good at context, using zoom levels to go down into detail then back out to show the big picture. for anything with a strategic context, this is very useful. It does require learning some new skills, but not much time before you are able to put a presentation together.

If you are one of the people at your company who actually does work and are required to also attend meetings with the people who just try to look busy all day (they love meetings and stretch them on and on), get rid of the chairs in the meeting room. That will ensure that meetings are always short and to the point.

True, Powerpoint is a tool, but the mistake most people make with it is that that tool takes the form of a crutch. Instead of using other tools, like discussion, visual aids, intonation, passion, etc., they expect Powerpoint to do it all for them. The worst presentation example I ever witnessed was someone who didn't feel comfortable presenting and just showed his slides, expecting the audience to read and take it in. At which point, it becomes less a crutch and more a blunt murder weapon ala Death by PPT.

With due respect Toni, as much what you have scribed is true to a certain degree but please do not blame the tool. That is why they call it "Powepoint". I used powerpoints in many occassion and I do not have any issues with my audience, esp face-to-face engagements. Presentation skill is what one need to focus on and DESIGN the slides to emphasize/supplement your points. Morale of the story, it is the user not the tool.

Face to face? Hmmm...now that's definitely a way to waste time and money...I think we'll find it will all go the other way...remote employees and online meetings...then powerpoints are absolutely necessary...people need something to focus on IMHO...people will tune out regardless...so you just have a very good reason to have the meeting then be compelling in your delivery...ask yourself...do I really need to have a meeting...

I agree with most of the other comments here as well...

Good points made. Have noticed for some time that many people seem to roll their eyes when someone is about to make a "short" power point presentation. Still in this visual age a good image to illustrate a more verbal prestentation can be of help. This also includes the use of quotes (only one per slide) to help frame a point made verbally by the presenter.

... this is so classic. The lights dim, the printout (of the Powerpoint) is already crumpled in your hand, you're looking forward to a snooze. Someone should take a survey of this, more often this is what happens than not.
Just don't present it as a PP presentation... LOL

A picture paints a thousand words, and that goes up to a million if the picture is an architecture diagram or a workflow. By all means ditch the bullet points, they should be no more than aides-memoir for the speaker anyway, and please ditch the "humorous" animations, but if your attendees aren't seeing the same depiction of what is under discussion you are going to sow confusion and waste a lot of everyone's time.

Also how do you do "face to face" when the attendees are split across three or four timezones?

It is not a matter of PowerPoint itself, but one of creating good slides and presenting properly. And who says the lights have to go out? With modern projectors one can have plenty of light in the room.

And *never* give out hand-outs at the start. Leave them to the end.

Don't blame the tool! If you don't tailor your communication to your audience, every presentation will be just a frustrating and agonizing experience. I agree with a lot of the comments being made here but from personal experience, I also disagree with quite a few of them. Not saying that they are wrong or right, it depends on the people you have to reach and the topic. Some prefer diagrams, some prefer tables with a lot of numbers and other prefer short bullet point lists but all are in the same room with you! Usually I try to anticipate this and have backup slides up in my sleeves just in case somebody doesn't get it. In general I use as less slides as possible but as a rule of thump I try not to use more then one slide per 3-5 minute presentation. Use large, sans serif fonts! If you have to excuse yourself because the slide is unreadable then don't use it or rework it until the last mole in the room can read it! Animations are a waist of time, unless they are absolutely necessary and serve a specific purpose but that's my personal view. The same for colours: Don't go too artistic! Once I had a project status presentation and it turned out that one guy couldn't differentiate between the colour red and green I used as status indicator (BTW: About 9% of men are affected but only 0.8% of women!). In the next presentation I added text to represent the status

Sometimes Powerpoint is indispensable, like when you want to make a presentation of facts and figures which other just need to have a know about.

But powerpoint as a tool for engaging the audience is where most presenters and presentations fall flat. They forget that they need to engage the audience. If the presentation is made keeping this in mind, I am sure, the tool (powerpoint) will not come in the way of the presenter or the presentation.

Making some bold and or controversial statements is the best way to engage the audience.

You stated correctly in your article, it's not about ditching PowerPoint it IS about using it correctly. While I totally understand people making you fall asleep it is not PowerPoint that is the issue. Coming in with a face to face with NOTHING in your hand will make for ANOTHER unproductive meeting as not only are people not willing to stay awake, they are not willing to THINK. So if you come in with a blank slate and no proposals, which they will only look at in visuals because they have no time. Sorry Strongly disagree and as a consultant that travels from Corporation to Corporation it is the same theme line.
Keeping the PowerPoint to a high-level with the point and not a lot of text, ANDDDDDDD learning how to PRESENT is the way to go.

PowerPoint is not the real issue (although I think Prezi is a better tool). If the message is delivered to an appropriate audience in an appropriate manner, then Powerpoint is a useful tool. There are lots of presenters who need some proper presentation training and need to listen to critique to hone their skills. It is like any activity and needs practice if you want to engage an audience fully. Think about the message you are trying to convey and pick out the key threads. Do not overload the audience and definately don't read from the PowerPoint slides (especially from the screen - as your back will be to the audience). Know your subject and deliver the message with confidence. Don't blame PowerPoint - It didn't cause the car crash if the presentation went badly!

Part of the training should be HOW to present with powerpoint not just how to fade between slides or add music. But before you talk about ditching it just imagine all those presentations with just a talking head and nothing else to look at! We don't want to return to those days...

We have several guys who use a Mind Mapping tool to present their info. In this case MindManager although there are many other options such as FreeMind, XMind and the Brain.
A presentation using a mind map shows the evolution of the idea and thought processes rather than flat facts. It is not for every situation but can be a much better way to present your ideas - especially if this is a work in progress.
One of the guys actually takes his meeting notes as a mind map so that it give more info on how the team reached a decision rather than a one line statement in isolation.
PowerPoint has it's place and can be very effective in the right hands. One thing that transforms it is to use a cordless presenter (20-30 sterling) that allows the presentation to be advanced remotely. This allows the presenter freedom to move around and talk flowingly without having to run back to the PC. Most devices have laser pointers and some have addtional features like presentation blackout (stop looking at the screen and listen to me!) and can give timers with vibrate alerts at 5 and 2 minute to end.

I do all that, and more, and use PowerPoint

PPT is a tool and like any other can be used efficaciously or not. It seems that effective meetings is a cause celebre at the moment and frankly, why not? In my long history in the workplace it's been hit and miss but something I have a passion about attempting to do effectively. Frankly this conversation is in my opinion another nibble at a complex and pervasive issue and not too much help.

Powerpoint is a powerful tool in the right hands, but it will not turn a poor speaker into a genius who captivates his audience. You have to craft a presentation so that it's concise and delivers your message with impact. You have thirty seconds max to make your point with a slide; after that your audience won't be listening to you any longer. What you NEVER do is read what's on the slide or overpower the message with useless animations. The message is the thing, and your delivery and presentation have to work together to best get that message into the minds of your audience.

Seth Godin is the internet marketer guru. He addressed this years in several blogs (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/10/nine-steps-to-p.html) and a PDF e-book that he allowed to download for free once. His point is to use the power point as a cinematic extra that emphasizes the points of your lecture. I did this once for a creation science lecture I gave and it had a profound impact on the audience. What Toni says is basically in agreement with Seth.

Respectfully, face-to-face meetings are not really needed. Direct communication is a much more efficient and productive way to communicate. This can happen via remote communications like video calls. People tune out in traditional meetings because they are too long and most of the information does not pertain to them. You could have the world's best dog and pony show and most will tune out. Keep meetings short, to the point and involving only the information needed for these specific people that need to know this information. Powerpoint is an informational tool not entertainment. It you need to entertain the attendees, you should not be having the meeting.

Las quejas sobre el PowerPoint, son las mismas que la de la izquierda por la derecha; solo ideolog??a por medio. Es como muchos no podemos entender que haya fan??ticos de tal producto, pero los hay; los gustos, gustos son y hay que aceptarlos.
Si millones, usan esta herramienta, bien o mal, la usan y sin importar las cr??ticas filos??ficas de los que se oponen, cada a??o hay mas usuarios; no ser?? el momento de aceptarla, guste o no, de admitir que somos un crisol de opiniones, gustos, cada uno con sus puntos a favor y en contra.
Tambi??n s??, que si filtramos de estas listas de oposici??n al uso del PowerPoint, a todos los que no tienen ninguna o poca simpat??a por Microsoft; seguramente la lista quedar?? muy reducida; pero al final es lo que menos importa, como toda herramienta, se puede usar bien o mal. Pero lo que le?? en algunos sitios en Internet, de comentarios sobre dicha herramienta; es como si fuera el mal en persona, el instrumento demon??aco de Microsoft para arruinar las mentes, destruirlas.
Cuando uno ve luego la publicidad y el tipo de art??culos de dicho sitios, lo entiende y puede interpolar los comentarios y porque tal campa??a; pero lo importante, es que antes que existiera el PowerPoint, el ser humano uso muchos medios gr??ficos de comunicaci??n, que solo se fueron adaptando o remplazando por otros con el tiempo; pero al final todos bajo el mismo concepto: ???Una imagen, vale por mil palabras???.

I agree with many. This problem has always existed, even in the days of the OHP - remember that thing? We have good tools, let's learn to use them well. I also agree with Toni with respect to keeping the session useful and engaging. A useful book on this is "The winging it logic system" by Keith Spicer. It is about engaging mentally with the audience - you can use PowerPoint with it, but it is designed to work without visual aids. I have used it to make a multi-million dollar proposal that was accepted.

I have to agree with the others...PowerPoint is just a tool to convey information. How people use it is what causes "death by PowerPoint." Many people use PP as a teleprompter because they're so ill-prepared to present. There's a lot of steps you can take to make meetings livelier and more engaging, not to mention more productive.

You are totally right. Most PowerPoint presentations are a TORTURE, people start to sleep or fall in blanked mind.

I use PowerPoint slides as an aid by putting a maximum of three points on a slide. Those points are limited to a couple of words that describe the subject of my conversation with my audience on those points. I want my audience to know what we are discussing and I want them to be involved in that discussion. This has always worked well for me in my presentations and it has turned Death by PowerPoint into a Road Map for a Conversation.

Last year I was asked to moderate a presentation at an IT event that featured content almost exclusively delivered by Microsoft MVPs. In order to differentiate my session I decided to showcase a tool which I was certain was unknown to the audience. That tool was Prezi.

If you too are unaware of Prezi, you can check it out at http://prezi.com/ . Although it may not resonate with you at first glance I can tell you that it was very well received at my presentation. It has a wealth of tools that allow you to use imaginative ways to engage your audience and provide memorable content that reinforces your presentation. As compared to PowerPoint, Prezi is a much richer presentation platform. Check out some of the presentations to get a fell for what's possible.

I agree that PowerPoint is sometimes misused with poorly prepared slides and overly long presentations.
I think the the alternatives your presenting are not when PowerPoint would be used anyways.
Meet Face-to-Face - well most PowerPoint presentations are face-to-face. If you're presenting something to an audience, what else would you use?

Ask questions about problems, etc. - you may want to use PowerPoint to present problems, but is a presentation the right forum for problem solving?

Watch the tangents - This has nothing to do with PowerPoint. You can have tangents with or without PowerPoint

Make a PDF instead and ditch the meeting. Imbed You-Tube videos as part of it. Include colorful diagrams.

Use Information Mapping.

Put the PDF into Flipping Book.

Provide either an email address, or better yet, some kind of form associated with FAQs.

You can also use an interface for SitePal avatars.

If you are going to have a meeting (why?), plan it to have multimedia presentations.

Well, OK, there's a bit of sarcasm and irony to this, but a boss early in my career told me, "If you want to be productive, stay out of meetings".

If you absolutely must have a meeting, decide on which kind it is -- status, decision, etc -- and stick to it. For staff meetings, have the staff chime in for topics and put them up on the white board and cross them off as you address them in order.

In my professional opinion and experience, Managers and Directors are addicted to meetings and simply don't know how to conduct business any other way, even when it makes no sense at all. While it is true that concensus does produce better results (and when do managers ever seek to find concensus these days?), it is probably better to have the workers hash things out (with a manager listening in), rather than holding the narcissistic monologue.

Businessess seem to have forgotten that the role of the management is to provide resources for the workers to do their work -- certainly dysfunctional ones have.

Before using a Powerpoint presentation, ask yourself the question, "Is the effort worth it?".

It might just be better to move into the 21st Century.

Exceptional way to get your content right and keep the chunks meaninful. Too bad it seems to be off the radar.

Toni's description is good for a staff meeting where no training or detail investigations are required. Toni, meetings diverge because there is no good thread or agenda - not because there is a Power Point! Power points are used to teach and inform. The "101 Level Class" is plebeanly misleading. Again - Toni, Most Power Point presentations ARE "101 Level Class". Majority of people in business are 101 level! An example I've been in is " Elementary Quantum Physics" Do this one face to face without a blackboard/whiteboard or at least something to demonstrate your points! Power Points make good handouts with the notes printout. Sorry Toni that you do not understand presentations, training and the difference between conveying information and a meeting that is just a party!
In closing, I've seen this type writeup several places and they are all mislead. However, it must be a good business to spin out something useful and argue against it. Maybe I should clean out and oil up my old manual typewriter?

And other printed content should be delivered before the meeting, allowing those interested to study the material and ask more focused questions. Saves time during the meeting as either the material can be covered more quickly or even skipped jumping directly to questions. Those less intestered generally spend less time.

GMP (Good Meetings Practice) 101.

Reading material distracts from the speaker. People will fidget and not pay attention.

Prezi is a flash based presentation tool with zoom and pan ability. Very agile - take your presentation in any direction (as long as you know your content).

Free to use if you want to leave your content accessible on line.

Have a look at one of mine online. Step through the planned presentation or just click anywhere in the picture to go to content related to that area.

http://prezi.com/wdzmdjd1skdj/pmo-to-epm/

The pros and cons stated are all, of course, valid. We all have the experience. Further to this, I generally prepare a PowerPoint show and let it run while everyone is waiting for the session to begin. The content is directly related to the agenda that had been sent out. It occupies the audience whether they're in the session or remote via Webinar. The PPS stops when the session begins, sans PowerPoint. The PPS is sent to the attendees after the meeting, updated with any additional points made during the meeting/training.

I have found that if you just put the title on a slide then leave the points all blank it keeps the presentation on target and as the interaction takes place with the audience the presenter can easily type in the most relevant points on the power point.

When you talk about it and then they see you type it onto the slide it seems the audience will retain more of the conversation.

If you want you can then save the presentation to make it available to everyone.

Toni, I think you have missed the real value of tools.

For example, some 15 years ago I was asked to train two sets of 25 folks in a range of complex technology in one day in La Gaude, France. The audience was multi-cultural in they were from all over Europe.

In the bar, the night before, my competitors (other chip companies) were somewhat boasting about the number of slides they had, both were in the 100's. They asked me how many I had, my reply 1 (one, in case you think its a mistype).

Now, that one slide that I used twice in the day, once in each session, took me hours to create. Far more hours than simply putting Features, Benefits, Advantage lists and pages of products. To capture what I wanted them to know, how I would get them to understand it so they can repeat it to their customers took hours.

The one slide showed just pictures, only a few pictures, but it outlined a scenario of inter-related equipment that had various demands on the product. For example the hand held device need low power, the networked device need a network interface, and so on.

The week before I had met a team of 10, the facilitators, and I asked them to familiarise themselves with a range of documents and white papers.

On the day, I divided the 25 in 5x5 with one of the 5 being a facilitator and then set each group the task of putting a presentation together to share their implementation and the reasons why they made certain choices. They all had a pile of reference documentation on each desk to provide the product set to choose from.

At the end of each session we had 5x 20 minutes question and answer sessions with the whole room on what the teams had made.

So, 6-slides per session, 11-slides for the whole day and 10 of those built by the audience.

yes, we could have used white boards, but this way everyone had a hard copy of the activity and had actually thought through the whole session.

Its not the tool, is the tools user that needs to think how to build discussions with the audience that have them engaged. In the above example the huge range of languages and cultural differences needs something like PowerPoint to address the Honey & Mumford learning styles in the room. So, don't knock the tool, educate the user.

Dave

I think few people really and truelly know how to use PowerPoint, when creating the presentation and actually presenting it. And more so when they present it. Seems the presenter fumbles through the presentation. However, I don't know if this is lack of prepardness on the presenters part or the PP creator doesn't effectively make the PP flow.
And, of course, these comments don't apply to every presenter but a large percentage of them. So, is it PP or something else? I don't use PP for presentations for the above reasons.

I'm not sure anything changes if you take away the slides.

It's hard to flesh out a big idea in a conversation with a group of people. Giving some one a formal time to present the entirety of their thought, facilitates more vigorous and productive conversation.

The real problem is the argument behind the slides. Not having a point, or not delivering it in clear, logical, persuasive fashion is the real problem. Before they are designed, presentations must be written. http://www.goodwordsrightorder.com/?p=1244

It's just easier to get upset at the tool than at the presenter. "These arrows are useless. They always miss."

I agree that you don't blame it to the tool but it is on the person presiding the meeting itself. The tool is only used for a presentation like if you need to show to the people especially the figures. The person presiding the meeting should make your meeting interactive and you can even do it even your using the tool.

The whole premise of this article was that most people use PowerPoint poorly. I've worked in the US and Japan and the Americans do not corner the market on poor presentations.

1) Simplify slides
2) PLEASE preview them from a projector. Blue text on a black background might look Tron-chic on your monitor, but projected on a screen, you'll just have mush.
3) Engage the audience. If you read to them in a dark room, they will go to sleep. Stop hiding behind the podium. Move. Speak naturally with motion. you dont have to be manic as Howard Dean, but neither do you have to be a zombie.

Use the tool properly.