My PowerPoint makeover
A few days ago, Cliff Atkinson, author of Beyond Bullet Points and the Beyond Bullets blog, posted a request for PowerPoint makeover volunteers. I stepped up with the lame presentation that our office has used and recycled for years. Cliff accepted the challenge and we’re off to a running start! I think the whole process will take a few days, but it should be very interesting to watch it unfold. I’ll post updates as we move along…
By the way, I have a copy of Beyond Bullet Points in hand, and it’s very good. It approaches the creation of PowerPoint files from an entirely new point of view (at least for me). I like to boast that I’m a non-quantoid MBA, but that infers implies (thanks grammarfreak–I’m always ready for some schoolin’) that I’m somehow a creative person. I’m not. And Cliff’s book really drives that point home. This is going to be a fun, if not slightly humiliating, process to work through…
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7 opinions for My PowerPoint makeover
Vaughn Dickson
Mar 15, 2005 at 10:39 pm
Pardon my ignorance, but is quantoid even a word? Can’t find it’s meaning anywhere, so I only vaguely understand it in the context.
Bren
Mar 16, 2005 at 6:09 am
You’re pardoned. :-)
You probably got the correct gist from the context, but a quantoid (a made-up, but often used word (and not just by me)) is someone who has very strong analytical, statistical and general number crunching skills.
Larry Cummings
Mar 16, 2005 at 9:02 am
Hello,
I’m looking forward to tracking this! I’ve just read Cliff’s book and have been working up a presentation on why powerpoint is not a substitute for our normal meeting format, but rather a complementary tool if used well. I’m heavily referencing Cliff’s work :), it’s a great read.
I’m only starting to soften my “Don’t use Powerpoint at all if you want to get your point accross” stance. Cliff’s book is one of the best I’ve read on the topic. I’m also quite impressed Microsoft Press published it!
BTW I hadn’t heard the word Quantoid before either but Google produced this definition on the third of forth match:
A “quantoid” is someone formally trained in quantitative methods, whether we’re talking about multivariate regression analysis (how does income impact voting controlled for race, gender, and region?) or something else. Usually juxtaposed against someone trained in qualitative methods (content analysis, focus groups, elite interviews, etc.).
Bren
Mar 16, 2005 at 9:14 am
Thanks for the quantoid update, Larry. Now I’m sure this thread will start showing up in the results!
Yeah, I’ve had an aversion to ppt, too. I lean toward the Tufte/Lessig camp when it comes to presentations. Greater data density, leaner slides. That’s how I build ‘em from scratch, but this presentation has been recycled for years. It’s got good content, but the overall effect can definitely use the makeover.
Anonymous Grammarfreak
Mar 16, 2005 at 9:21 am
You incorrectly use the word “infers”; the word that you should use is “implies”.
Andrew Denny
Mar 16, 2005 at 4:23 pm
Surely the use of ‘infers’ instead of ‘implies’ isn’t an error of grammar, but simply of vocabulary? I agree that the word should have been ‘implies’, but it’s possible to read the sentence and see a meaning where ‘infers’ could be the correct word.
Chris Rodney
Mar 17, 2005 at 6:36 am
I’ve been using Apple Keynote for my presentations whenever possible over the past year. It has helped me change the way I look at presentations, and my clients and co-workers have noticed the positive difference too.
Everything just has a cleaner, simpler look than PowerPoint, and that has translated into the way that I compose my presentations.