Powerpoint is not (always) the enemy

These days, hating on PowerPoint is just like making fun of Paris Hilton: they’re both popular tools that everyone uses but nobody really likes.

Okay, so maybe that was uncalled for. (But true.)

Being a Keynote user for years, I’ve been known to throw a snide remark to PowerPoint users from time to time. After all, if Edward Tufte (read: genius) doesn’t like the tool, then why would anyone really want to use it?

Little did I know that it wasn’t the tool (PowerPoint) that was creating the horrible presentations, but it was the tools (clueless executives) using the tool (Powerpoint) that created the presentation atrocities.

Sleeping with the enemy

In my new day job, I sit in a cubicle and stare at a machine that uses Windows 2000 and a (very buggy) install of PowerPoint 2000. So when I recently found out that I had to make a presentation at a meeting, I was tempted to drag my Macbook Pro to work and use that instead.

I ended up using PowerPoint to make my presentation. And while it wasn’t as easy to do as it is with Keynote, I managed to create a presentation that had a narrative embedded into its images and information.

The presentation went well. I had immediate buy-in and the discussion focused on the essential message of my content rather than the specifics — mainly because I hadn’t put many specifics in the presentation but instead circulated them later in a handout.

I had used PowerPoint, and I had won. Sure, it was a bit of a battle, but using PowerPoint for another purpose than creating bulleted lists is not only possible, but the right thing to do.

If PowerPoint is not the enemy, why are so many presentations still so horrible? (Hint: the answer has everything to do with the people creating these presentations.)

Friends. Enemies. Same thing.

If you’re in a work environment that requires you to use bulleted lists in your presentations, and requires you to post all your content in your slide deck, maybe you need to ask yourself if that’s the right work environment for efficient communication.

In the end, it’s all about making that emotional impact, whether using Keynote, PowerPoint, or a whiteboard. As Seth Godin says it:

You put up a slide. It triggers an emotional reaction in the audience. They sit up and want to know what you’re going to say that fits in with that image. Then, if you do it right, every time they think of what you said, they’ll see the image (and vice versa).

It doesn’t matter what you use. Just use it right. (Get some tips on how to do that over on the amazing blog Presentation Zen.)

Of course, if you use Keynote (or 280 Slides?), chances are you’ll get it right more often than not.

Got some examples of great Powerpoint presentations? Please share them! (Because it’s much too easy to find examples of bad PowerPoint presentations.)