powerpoint design has something of a notorious reputation: ‘Death by Powerpoint’ is by now a familiar phrase among office workers who have had to endure countless meetings and presentations in which someone more senior than them takes it upon him or herself to deliver a stream of information that does little more than raise a yawn. Indeed, when that phrase was invented by Angela R. Garber it spoke to a wide audience who had simply had enough of being treated in this patronising way. In Switzerland last year, the Anti PowerPoint Party formed, vowing to decrease the use of Powerpoint amid claims that it decreased the quality of presentations in 95% of cases. This party advanced the revival of the flipchart as a way of getting us more engaged with information again. This would perhaps signal a reactionary move too far the other way, however; the Swiss party might rather look at instructing people how to use Powerpoint presentations more effectively. After all, sales presentations delivered on a flip chart would most probably be deemed deficient in images in this day and age.
In 2012 it has been estimated that some of us look at between 5-7000 images per day, most of them on our laptops. A figure like this suggests that it would simply be anachronistic to revert back to drawing diagrams and messages with pen and paper. What’s more, you cannot make simple transitions to film clips when you’re using a flip chart, while you absolutely can, seamlessly, With Powerpoint. It is time to focus on how we use Powerpoint, then, not whether we use it or not. Perhaps the most crucial thing to recall is that this piece of commercial software is merely a tool, not a thing with a fixed usage. Granted, it is not easy to remember this, given that we’ve been conditioned to experience Powerpoint used unimaginatively. But it is possible to change our ways for the better.
We might start improving our Powerpoint presentations by thinking about how we take in information on our screens. Just take a moment, next time you are reading an article online or watching a YouTube clip, to assess whether you are taking in what you are seeing, whether you are enthused by the content, and whether you could improve on your habits in any way. All of these considerations will feed usefully into your intentions for improved powerpoint design and sales presentations.
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