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Ask Izzy

By Isobel Rimmer (March 2008 Issue)
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Dear Izzy

What’s your view about using (or not using) PowerPoint when delivering training? I have been told by some of my colleagues that not using it is unprofessional, but sometimes I feel it is over-used. What would you advise? What do you find works best?

Sarah, York

There was a well-known phrase from the Clinton campaign (Bill’s, not Hillary’s): “It’s the economy, stupid.” When it comes to PowerPoint – “It’s the learning.” The best training experiences can be with or without.

I started my research in response to your email to see if any solid evidence supported learning – better or worse – when PowerPoint is used as part of the training experience.

Despite the fact that Microsoft claims more than 400 million PowerPoint users worldwide, a conservative estimate is that half of those licensed actually use it. That’s still an awful lot of people producing slides – for training or presentations or, increasingly, instead of MSWord documents for proposals and bids.

Alan Sugar recently said of would-be entrepreneurs that all they think they need is a PowerPoint presentation and money will be thrown at them.
So what works?

The case against

Some of our trainers – and we have more than 50 in our team – never use slides.

The feedback from their programmes is excellent. So, there’s one answer for you. These trainers suggest that flip charts and whiteboards are better for learning because they are much more interactive, harkening back to our school days as students.

Others will tell you that, when trying to explain something complex, a model, diagram, or framework as a picture helps people to assimilate that information because they see it develop before their eyes.

The case for

There are also some industries and sectors in which people have come to expect slides and feel ‘short-changed’ if there isn’t a slide deck and corresponding handout as part of the learning experience.

Just reading the slides to your audience limits their value because the audience reads ahead, quicker than you can speak.

Research shows us interesting findings: rich media – any pictures, graphics, video clips, or animations – help make your message memorable.

Repeating what we say with bullet points on a slide doesn’t make ideas more memorable. However, using a picture as an allegory for the idea helps retain information. Displaying a picture full-screen, without words, is even more powerful.

Humour also helps. When we laugh, we oxygenate our brain more, which means that we might remember things longer. (If that’s true, why can I never remember jokes?) Amusing visuals help, so long as they don’t offend anyone.

The solution

For me, slides are ‘visual aids’ that only reinforce my messages, or are there to help delegates learn more effectively. Ask yourself the following questions before you just load up the slide deck:

  1. What does my audience need to see to help them remember my message or my teaching?
  2. How can I use slides creatively and innovatively?
  3. Is this just a slide-reading exercise? If so, where’s the value?
  4. What would happen if there were a power cut or a system failure – could I still run that workshop or programme without PowerPoint?

Don’t feel pressured into producing a set of slides – it’s what the audience learns and takes away and uses that matters most.

Isobel Rimmer is managing director of the Masterclass training company. She can be contacted on +44(0)1753 676666

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