tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354418957262058264.post3030411915309785927..comments2024-03-28T10:05:43.509+00:00Comments on Brian O'Donovan (aka BOD): Are Powerpoint slides an essential part of every presentation?Brian O'Donovan (BOD)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10652457466416412942noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354418957262058264.post-1709821211336015322009-11-01T19:42:07.573+00:002009-11-01T19:42:07.573+00:00I don't underestimate the power of the visual ...I don't underestimate the power of the visual system. However, a typical deck of powerpoint slides containing a title and a series of bullet points don't do much to leverage the potential power of visual messages.<br /><br />I recently attended a very interesting virtual presentation by Dan Roam the author of the book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Back-Napkin-Expanded-Problems-Pictures/dp/1591843065/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257103508&sr=8-2" rel="nofollow">The Back of the Napkin</a>". His slide deck contained very little text and was mainly pictures including some which he had drawn himself. As he spoke he doodled on the slides to highlighted the parts of the picture relevant to the point he was making.<br /><br />His audience was very engaged and there was an interesting discussion during the Q&A section.<br /><br />A traditional slide deck of bullet points would not have been capable of getting this reaction.Brian O'Donovan (BOD)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10652457466416412942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354418957262058264.post-9951970277198930912009-10-31T18:03:02.219+00:002009-10-31T18:03:02.219+00:00I think you are missing one important point here. ...I think you are missing one important point here. Visual system in humans is very powerful. Many people rely on it significantly in memorizing and structuring things. If you try analyzing your time planning, for example, you might be surprized to find out that actually every time you plan for a week, you "virtually" close your eyes and imagine your computer screen with calendar on it or even a page of the planner you used in school. Visual support can be very important in certain types of presentations, especially if they introduce new concepts or operate with complex relations. Your audience may simple miss the point. Slides were always there - and for a good reason. First as a blackboard, then as projector slides. (You can still see that the PowerPoint icon is loosely based on the image of a projector slide. Well, even the term "slide" comes from there.)<br />Totally different question, though, is - when did the presentation style changed and started relying on slides rather than using them as a collection of visual references? Certainly it had at least something to do with the ability to add easily a lot of text there, which changed the presentation style, which, in turn, slowly changed the style of thinking...<br />Actually, few years ago I run into a similar discussion and was pointed to this guy with an <a href="http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1" rel="nofollow">interesting angle</a> (he also sells his <a href="http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp" rel="nofollow">full report</a> there).nevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09484865504262885628noreply@blogger.com