The PowerPoint presentation
BMJ 2007; 335 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38994.480845.DE (Published 20 December 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:1292
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I read with interest the message by Issacs et al (The PowerPoint
presentation, BMJ 2007; 335: 1292). I can not agree more. There could be
no better way to send the message across. A very similar strategy on a
similar topic was used by Smith (1) which was equally interesting. I would
also like to share my views to prevent people having PowerPoint phobia
(PPP), PowerPoint stress disorder (PPSD) and PowerPointlessness.
Microsoft (2) itself advises how to or not to use PowerPoint (PP). PP
is to support presenter, not the other way round. One should not put too
much stuff on PP. The number of slides, the number of lines in a slide and
the number of words in a line - all should be limited, for eg no more than
5 - 6 bullet points in a slide. Try not to use fancy fonts or font size
smaller than 26-28pts. Too much of special effects, colorful animations
and pictures distract the audience. They are often used by people who are
not so good in their content, though these powerful tools can be used
wisely. Don't just read it out, rather use it to emphasize or explain what
you have to say. Remember, audience has come to listen to you, not to see
back of your head. Try to connect with your audience rather than just
throwing slides. Try to make your talk interesting by content and your
communication, not solely by power of PP.
Be clear what you want to include in your presentation and what
cannot be accommodated. Leave enough time for discussion during and at the
end of presentation. A good PP presenter needs to be a good editor. As
someone has said, a presentation should be like a bikini, long enough to
cover all the important aspects but short enough to maintain interest. If
you wish to distribute handouts, do it in the end but announce it at
start. Having some feedback after the presentation from a genuine source
is always very helpful (coming from personal experience).
PP does not give presentations, it makes slides. What you can do with
PP is very different from what you should do. Never mix them. PowerPoint
is to make your point powerful, not to point your power.
References:
(1)Smith R. How not to give a presentation. BMJ 2000; 321:1570-1571
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7276/1570
(2)Wuorio J.
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/business-
software/presenting-with-powerpoint-10-dos-and-donts.aspx
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
A nice contribution. Sometimes, this is the only way we can get an
important message across. This also reminds me immediately of a couple of
other articles that used a similar strategy:
How to get your paper rejected by H Plotkin
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/329/7480/1469, accessed 22 Dec 2007;
How to be a bad teacher, an article I wrote for Advances in
Physiology Education http://advan.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/29/3/182
-a
accessed 22 Dec 2007.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Who wrote the law that mandates PowerPoint?
* PowerPoint is not a pre-requisite for a scholarly presentation. I
give dozens of talks each year, and with a few rare exceptions, I never
use PowerPoint. When I talk, I pass out a handout and talk from the
handout. I am almost always the only person in any research conference who
does this, so I feel like I am swimming against the tide.
* I have found, however, that I enjoy my talks more without
PowerPoint. I don't worry about whether my file will transfer properly to
a strange computer or how it will look at a different resolution than the
computer that I used to develop the talk. I look at my audience more and
don't nervously glance backwards to see if I am on the right slide.
* Whether my talks are more effective or less effective because I
don't use PowerPoint is an open question. There is a vocal minority who
believe that PowerPoint will inexorably lead to bad presentations because
it encourages a simplistic bulletized format that inhibits communication.
The rather provocative titles ("PowerPoint makes you dumb" Thompson 2003
and "PowerPoint is evil", Tufte 2003) draw a sharp line in the sand.
Others will argue that bad PowerPoint presentations are the fault of the
presenter.
* I side with the former group. A satirical attempt to present
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address using a PowerPoint format (Norvig &
Lincoln 1863) shows the problem with PowerPoint. Presenting a talk using
bullet points sucks all the life out of the talk. A brilliantly crafted
speech is reduced to idiotic lines like "Men are equal" and "Government
not perish."
* If you dislike most of the PowerPoint presentations that you see,
you can change this by changing how <i>you</i> present
<i>your</i> material. You can either dip your toe in at the
shallow end of the pool or you can jump in the deep end.
* If you want to start at the shallow end of the pool, try to reduce
your reliance on PowerPoint. Adopt a minimalist approach--no template,
just black text on a white background. It looks boring, but it is by far
the easiest color combination to read, especially in a room where you have
lighting issues.
* Also, try to use fewer slides. One slide showing your general
outline would be acceptable, or slides only of your pictures and graphs.
If you do use text, avoid putting everything in bullets. An occasional
bullet list is not bad, but be sure to mix it up with sections presenting
full English sentences (include both a subject and a verb).
* I encourage any of you who are currently using PowerPoint to jump
in the deep end of the pool. Go cold turkey and give your talk without
PowerPoint. Just prepare a narrative handout--full sentences organized
into paragraphs. Distribute the handout ahead of your talk and encourage
people to read the handout by including comments like "as I noted at the
top of page 2" or "look at the graph in the middle of page 4."
* It is a myth that people reading your handout instead of listening
to you is a bad thing. Anyone who reads your handout during your talk is
showing an active interest in your topic. They may not remember what you
look like, but they will remember your material.
* If you achieve nothing else, you will distinguish yourself as being
the only person at the conference who doesn't use PowerPoint (unless I am
at the conference as well). And standing out from our peers is something
that we all strive for.
* Norvig P., and Lincoln A. (1863) "The Gettysburg PowerPoint
Presentation" http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/ Accessed on December 26, 2007.
* Tufte, E. (2003) "Powerpoint is evil." Wired Magazine (September).
Full free text is available at
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html.
* Thompson C. (2003) "Powerpoint makes you dumb" The New York Times
(December 14). Full free text is available at
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00EEDF163CF937A25751C1A....
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests