The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint
There's an old Dilbert comic, which I'll avoid posting here due to copyright problems, that featured a presentation where an audience member collapses due to “PowerPoint poisoning.” Another strip has Dilbert critiquing a presenter, accusing him of having a “PowerPoint disability.”
In the course of my work I encounter a heck of a lot of presentations, many made with OpenOffice but more often than not it's PowerPoint. It's a tool where a little knowledge and default templates are an agonizing thing.
Recently, because I read Tufte's blog, “Ask E.T.”, I read a review of The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint in the Marine Corps Gazette column “Survival for Briefers.” It reminded me that I have not yet ordered this book and consumed it. (Many who know me might scoff at the idea of an interesting book that I do not own.)
A search for the Dilbert cartoon, I found this article on scoring PowerPoints. More good reading beyond the well-recommended $7 book from Tufte.
With the sheer number of presentations that go through our office, I plan on working on presentation skills with my group. With any luck, we can have a viral effect on the rest of the organization.
Amazon.com links:
Josh Poulson
Posted Wednesday, Jan 26 2005 04:23 PM
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