New Trend Puts Managers in Panik

Powerpoint everywhere - beware! An alarming trend is picking up steam regarding the use of computer presentation software. From fields as diverse as pharmaceutical research, to hospitality sales, more and more senior executives are rethinking the use of PowerPoint - and challenging presenters to go beyond their slides. This trend has a small legion of panicked presenters scrambling to enroll in public speaking courses.

One of the reasons that PowerPoint became so popular is that it enabled even mediocre speakers to become effective communicators. No longer did speakers need to feel so exposed on a stage, with their faults and foibles in plain view. PowerPoint takes the focus off the speaker and places it squarely on an endless variety of visuals - like compelling pictures, handsome graphs, engaging backgrounds, and pleasing colors. In the process, this medium capitalized on the great power of visual culture to seize the attention of an audience.

Unfortunately, the use of this powerful medium has several drawbacks. Because it focuses on the listener the same rules that govern all visual media, PowerPoint has a tendency to make an audience complacent. Think of what is like to watch a movie in a crowded theater. You laugh, you cry, and you scream pretty much on cue. In other words, you bring your reactions in line with those of your fellow viewers.

Another drawback is the tendency of presenters to resort to relentless summary in other to squeeze in information. By now, we have all been indoctrinated in the Golden Rule of Slide Construction - too little information is better than too much.

But what happens when critical information is synthesized in order to fit a slide? NASA was forced to confront this very question when it investigated the most recent space shuttle disaster. In January 2003, the orbiter Columbia suffered damage on liftoff when a piece of foam insulation struck the shuttle's protective heat tiles. While the spacecraft orbited for 12 days, a team of Boeing engineers was tasked to perform an emergency risk analysis. Predictably, the engineers used PowerPoint to present their findings, and NASA based its decision to allow reentry on that very presentation. The outcome was nothing less than tragic. [Get full story ¦ The CEO Refresher ]