XtremeASAE Blog

Amen to stopping the bad PowerPoints! The illustration with the Gettysburg Address is priceless.

The few that produce great PowerPoints should continue, however.

I can fully understand your diatribe against Microsoft’s PowerPoint product and yes, I agree that it has allowed many to feel capable in producing what they believe is a powerful presentation based on the relative simplicity of the program.

However, like a gun that is blamed for the shooting, I suggest that it is the lack of real education on developing dynamic presentations that is the cause of these poor communication efforts.

Granted, within all industries, there are those whom have no problem creating compelling discussions and speaking fluently to thousands in any given room. Nevertheless, in many cases, we are dealing with highly regarded “experts” within a given field that do not have the training in public speaking (or nerves of steel), and their knowledge of PowerPoint is to replace note cards.

Yes, it would be great to have exceptional orators in every field of endeavor but let’s talk about reality. Engineers, scientists, medical specialists are just three of the many that are called upon based on their expertise to impart wisdom and/or case studies to willing attendees. I suspect that not one of these educational majors included public speaking with presentation aids as a prerequisite for a degree.

Since so much of the success of an association is based on the delivery of education, it is incumbent upon groups such as ASAE to develop an educational strategy about giving motivational and interactive presentations that can be passed onto each group’s potential speakers.

By adding an educational session within ASAE that teaches conference organizers about the good, bad and ugly, you can help them motivate better presenting amongst their individual Knowledge Leaders. While there you could touch on things such as copyright issues and intellectual property rights.

I agree that the one publication you offered up has some insightful information, but there are many resources for building a compact guide that can help speakers make better use of the resources available, including PowerPoint.

Imagine creating an ASAE sponsored publication that could be sent in quantity to each member association’s educational director, which could then be distributed to each presenter selected to speak at their event. This guide would give a series of useful tips and some lighthearted do’s and don’ts for building a compelling session. While it might not turn every individual into a power presenter, it might just improve his or her skills enough to make a difference.

Want to know how to fund this? Since we are picking on one particular product, why not approach Microsoft on helping to fund the publication as well as the committee that compiles and edits the material from an association’s point of view. Secondly, look at another meetings industry giant VNU, which publishes Presentation Magazine. Again, they can provide hundreds of excellent examples on everything from presenting rules to full-color case studies where PowerPoint presentations are picked apart and put through easy makeovers. Between these two industry leaders, you could most certainly find resources and funds to make this a great tool for all soles willing to impart wisdom at the front of the room!

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