This is an excerpt from my book, "The Pen is Mightier than the Slide".  You can buy your very own copy here.

I don't hate PowerPoint I just think it’s misused.

Why? Most people are unaware of the true purpose of PowerPoint and therefore unable to use it to its true potential. I believe this lack of understanding is the number one reason audiences become disengaged before presenters even open their mouths. 

Here’s a brief history lesson. Before PowerPoint we had slide projectors hence the term "slides" in PowerPoint.

Slides were first used when a speaker or lecturer wanted to show pictures. Rarely, if ever, were there words used on slides. If lecturers or presenters wanted words, they wrote them on a black or chalkboard, flip chart and in some cases a white board.

Along came the overhead projector with film that you wrote on with special markers, to project onto a screen or wall. Some institutions were still using these well into the 2000’s. In my view, this heralded the beginning of the end for engaging learning and presentation environments.

Why? Because then came ink jet printers and special (porous) film that could be put through the printers so you could print your material and project it....and thus the birth of the misuse of PowerPoint. 

Designed as a presentation tool, PowerPoint was never meant to be a word processor. We had, and continue to have, Word for that. Sadly, many use PowerPoint as a word processor and simply project documents onto a screen, overloaded with content and graphs/tables that are so small as to be un-readable.

Unfortunately, many organisations believe that a meeting cannot take place, an idea cannot be expressed or skill be taught without a "deck" of slides. And why is that, do you think? Security blanket? Confirmation of knowledge transfer? Reduced attendance at meetings (“I’ll send you the deck”)? Covering your $%#@ (“it was in the deck”)? 

I don't hate PowerPoint, I just think it's misused.

So when CAN you use PowerPoint? Many presentations would be more engaging if they contained more pictures and fewer words. I think it’s also useful for one-page summaries, provided it’s not just a page full of very small writing.

I spent a couple of years working in China, with many audience members who had English as a second language. Many times PowerPoint was necessary for the audience to follow along, AND YET… when I went to the chart, and wrote or drew a picture, they were more engaged.

This is an excerpt from my book, "The Pen is Mightier than the Slide".  You can buy your very own copy here.