Don’t blame PowerPoint
I’ve harped on PowerPoint enough in this blog. Time to cut it a little slack. Software doesn’t make bad presentations; poor speakers make bad presentations.
That’s the argument made by a post at Presentation Zen. I’ve been saving this post for months now, and attending a research symposium last week reminded me to finally post it.
The first speaker after lunch really stood out. There were two major differences between his presentation and the previous talks. He didn’t use PowerPoint, and he didn’t stand behind the podium. There was nothing wrong with the morning’s talks, but this one has stuck with me much longer.
I’m teaching a workshop this afternoon, and for the first time I’m doing it completely slide-free. My original intention was to use slides only where I needed to show participants something, but as I worked through my notes I decided the only thing I really need to show them is the live demonstration.
I’ll post an update after the workshop and let you know how it goes.
