PowerPoint, A Comedy or a Tragedy?
Published by Niall Devitt, Btb Business Training
I was over at David Stein’s blog and came across a very funny YouTube video on PowerPoint from a comedian called Don McMillian. Having previously worked for IBM and At&T, Don is now a stand up comedian who specialises in corporate events, has appeared on American TV shows, and commercials including one for Budweiser.
Here’s the video
Now as readers to this blog will already know, I am not a big fan of PowerPoint, along with Fair City (Irish TV Show), cruelty to animals and slow drivers hogging the passing out lane, few things get to me as much as having to watch someone labour through a PowerPoint presentation.
(Here’s comes the rant)
In fact, if I was to be honest, I would compare having to watch some Powerpoint presentations as the business equivalent of watching slow drying paint. I have observed Powerpoint slides suck the souls from an audience much like a virus feeds off its host, while at the top of the room some ejgit continues to attempt to dazzle with his use of animation. Badly used PowerPoint is simply terrible, and even when it used properly, it remains a very limited business tool.
My experiences have affected me to the extend that when I coach people to present, I invariably try to limit the use of PowerPoint to the absolute minimal, and sometimes succeed in getting rid of it altogether. Perhaps this is as a result of my training in acting and my belief that a business presentation also requires performance, not to mention interaction or perhaps this is because I’m just down on PowerPoint.
When I watched Don’s hilarious (but none the less fair) take on PowerPoint, I’m reminded of an interview I watched with comic genius Billy Connolly ,in which he said, that the very best comedy is borne out of suffering and misfortune. In all seriousness, could this be the real reason why it a such a good subject for comedy.
PowerPoint, A Comedy or a Tragedy, What do you think?
Tags: power point, powerpoint, powerpoint presentation, presentation skills, sales presentation training, sales presentations
August 5th, 2008 at 4:14 am
[...] Why Powerpoint just doesn’t cut it for presentations. [...]
August 7th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Hi Niall
I am a professional speaker who spends most of his time across Ireland, the UK and recently mainland europe doing motivational talks and talks on Guerrilla Marketing, Networking and Presentation Skills. You’re absolutely right………. Powerpoint can put people to sleep and bore even the most determined attendee, it’s whats called in the trade, death by powerpoint.
But lets not throw the baby out with the bath water, I use it for 99% of my talks, simply because I have a terrible memory (haemachromatosis suffer!) and the powerpoint keeps me on track.
I would also add that (in my humble professional opinion) my presentations and colourfull, relevant, interesting and they add to and support that which I am saying.
Keep up the good work, enjoying your blog.
Gerry
August 7th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Hi Gerry,
Firstly, I would suggest that your profession puts you in the category of expert. Take out PP and you remain a professional performer, in this case a business speaker. If we make this your starting point, it then becomes easy to see how you could utilise PP to support and even (dare I say it) add to the structure, education and entertaintainment values of your talks.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of presenters do not possess a similar starting point, if anything, they are uncomfortable with even the idea of having to deliver presentations. This means that rather than using PP to support the presentation, its the presenter that ends up facilitating the PP. You end up with a situation where the presenter allows PP to become the focal point of the exercise. Because of its limitations, PP used in this way (crutch) becomes destructive rather than construction.
I believe that the vast majority of presentations are delivered in this manner. I also believe that If you take away the crutch, you have to start to learn to walk. So take PP away from the presenter and the presenter has to learn to present. Once these skills are learnt and honed, PP can then absolutely be used correctly to support the person doing the presentation.
Often presentaion training merely serves to confound the above problem, in that it is guilty of exactly the same thing, focusing on delivering PP slides rather than skills needed to present. Ironically, I often wondered about some presentation trainers, what if you took away the PP, could they actually present?
There is an opinion out there, that’s its a kinda nessecery evil which I completely disagree with. I don’t want to have “sit through a presenation”, I desperately want to be be educated, entertained, and involved but most presentations Ive attended just never gave me the opportunity.
Thanks so much for your comments and input.
Cheers,
Niall
September 1st, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Great post! The real problem of Powerpoint, I think, is that it relieves the audience of the responsility to listen actively. If I can read what you’re going to say without listening to you, it’s easier for me but it makes for an unengaged audience.
Thanks!
Nathan
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:13 am
Hi Nathan,
Great point, you are right, One non-interactive aspect of PP is that it makes it easier for people to not listen.
I would add that if PP is able to attract audience attention to this extent, then it also surely calls into question the presenting skills of the person giving the presentation.
Thanks for your comments,
Niall