Being unable to think about something to blog I thought I would write about a PowerPoint article I recently read in Library Journal (March 2009). In the article, “The Power of PowerPoint,” Christopher Harris discusses the bad rap PowerPoint has gotten and argues that is not the fault of the software. Harris blames the user as being the cause to bad presentations, and says; how we deliver a presentation is the key. In this article, Harris refers to a presentation given by Palm at the Consumer Electric Show in January 2009 (http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/ces-video). In Palm’s presentation, Jon Rubinstein, the presenter, treated the presentation like a story in order to connect to his customers. And avoiding a common mistake a lot of presenters make, instead of using bulleted information filled with facts, Rubinstein used full screen images and very little text. Harris also points to an Al Gore presentation as using the same idea of full screen images and suggests a few references for people looking for PowerPoint tips.
I found the article interesting and the portion of Palm’s presentation that I was able to view, visually stimulating. Not only was I able to envision the product Rubinstein was selling, but by presenting it in a story style with full screen images he was able to keep my attention. Another aspect of the Palm presentation I liked was how simple the images were. I was able to follow what Rubinstein was trying to present and did not get distracted by the slide show itself.
I can see how using PowerPoint in this fashion would be beneficial and successful to a director or someone presenting some sort of expansion of the library or a new program at the library to their board. The Palm presentation was a beautiful presentation; however, it is a sales pitch being presented on a theater size screen. I have to admit, I am having troubles envisioning such a PowerPoint being used in one of my Pratt classes. I wish Harris would have given a library oriented presentation as an example. I do recommend this article and watching the PowerPoint presentation to anyone who delivers PowerPoint presentations. I know I will be reviewing this article and the sources provided again before giving my next PowerPoint presentation.
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I'm in the middle of creating a powerpoint (ppt) for a sales conference and I find it a rather mechanical and disjointed process. Of course, I'm not the creator of the "story" so I am disconnected from it. If it were a topic I cared about I know I would be more invested in it. I think sharing information via the story format is always more compelling to us because the format is familiar and we appreciate the element of intimacy conjured up by storytelling.
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