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62. PowerPoint Is Great If . . .
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ence. He should have had a simple, bulleted outline of key points. He should have had a low-tech version of his high-tech presentation. If he had a slide referring to a particular study, he should have had a corresponding plain piece of paper with that same information. But the presenter had none of this and missed an opportunity to stand, deliver, and connect with his audience in a powerful way. The technology didn’t break down. The presenter broke down and had no one else to blame but himself. Chapter 62 POWERPOINT IS GREAT IF . . . Iam not a big fan of PowerPoint. Too many people hide behind it in too many situations where they should just be“talking”to people.Yet, I have seen PowerPoint used effectively on a few occasions. One of the best high-tech presenters I’ve worked with is Dr. Harold Paz. Although Dr. Paz is an avid PowerPoint user, he is not obsessed with the bells and whistles of the technology. He uses it only when it enhances his presentation technique. In a recent presentation before a group of medical and healthcare professionals, Paz demonstrated some of the fine points of a PowerPoint presentation. Here were some of the highlights: • Dr. Paz’s presentation was only twenty minutes, which he cut down from the forty he originally planned. That’s editing 50 percent of your content. It required cutting out a lot of slides that were near and dear to his heart, but were not appropriate given the busy conference agenda scheduled that day. The moral is, less is usually more. • There was very little information on each slide. For example, on a bold blue background, Dr. Paz attempted to communicate specific information regarding the number of medical students at his school. He used three bullet-pointed statistics. At Work 129 One was in red, one was in blue, and the other in yellow. Each number stood out and was easy to follow. • On another individual slide where there was a significant amount of information, the doctor went through only certain points that were relevant for this particular audience in this specific setting. The key to remember is that you don’t have to explain every piece of information on a slide. • Keep things moving. Paz didn’t stay on any one slide too long. He didn’t get bogged down in the minutia of his presentation. Rather, he kept his pacing without making his audience feel rushed. This approach also communicates the message that the presentation isn’t going to last forever, which is usually our greatest fear. • The doctor also used a map to signify important pieces of information . This map had certain sections highlighted that helped him make his point about medical education. A map like this is much more effective than simply listing your information on a PowerPoint slide. • A picture can be worth a thousand words. When trying to explain that the medical school incorporated “small group classrooms,” there was a picture of a class with a small group of students and a teacher leading the discussion. This picture is a much more effective tool than simply having a slide that says,“our school has a small number of students in each class.” • Bar charts are a great tool. When attempting to show that the school has taken in an increasing amount of grant dollars, a bar chart from 1992 to 2002 dramatically demonstrated this fact. Again, it is much more effective to visually see the contrast as opposed to having a slide that simply says,“our school has taken in X more dollars in grants in the past ten years.” • Finally, Dr. Paz showed a cover of US News and World Report highlighting the work of his medical school. Again, this is a perfect example of what PowerPoint can be. Saying it is one thing. Seeing it is another. Bottom line? While PowerPoint is often overused and misused, when it is done right, it can add a great deal to any presentation. It’s just too bad that a presentation like Dr. Paz’s seems to be the exception. 130 MAKE THE CONNECTION ...