Is Presentation Technology a Nightmare?

A white Paper on Technology in Speaking Skills. Is A/V Technology a Necessity...or a Nightmare?

A free training article by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

What do the Pentagon, corporate CEOs, and Patricia Fripp have in common? We all deplore the current trend toward replacing solid presentation content with flashy audio/video effects. A Wall Street Journal headline (4/26/00) announced: "The Pentagon Declares War on Electronic Slide Shows That Make Briefings a Pain."

We sit in the audience and watch spectacular presentations using PowerPoint, Director, and banks of coordinated slide carousels, and we think, "Wow, if only I could do that!" Now, most of us can. The explosion of exciting new A/V technology has made a wide range of special effects generally available to presenters.

However, just because something is available, doesn't mean we have to use it! Here is another point of view.

I am an exceptionally high-tech marketer and receive good business and prospects from my web site, e-mail newsletters, MentorU on-line learning seminars, and other high-tech parts of my business. However, the fastest growing segment of my business is coaching sales teams, executives, and leaders so they can be more effective on the platform. The downside of all the presentation-enhancing technology is summarized by what more and more frustrated managers are telling me: "Our CEO used to be a really great presenter before he had PowerPoint. Now he relies on it so much that he is less effective at motivating our sales force."

Two executives came to me to develop a speech about a new program. They spent some time describing it, but it was so complicated that I couldn't really grasp it. I figured that if I just didn't get it with our one-on-one attention, then the non-technical audience they wanted to sell it to didn't stand much chance. Finally, I asked them, "How will this change the way your customers do business? Tell me about the impact it will have on their lives." They walked out with a great speech, supported by PowerPoint for added illustrations. One commented, "What a great process! Usually we put together 40 PowerPoint slides and then decide what to say in between."

That's exactly the problem. Misuse of technology can turn speakers into mere readers of captions for slides. Personal communication is lost.

At the Pentagon, General Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has issued an order to all U.S. military bases worldwide which translates as, "enough with the bells and whistles - get to the point." Army Secretary Louis Calderna suggests that the Pentagon's PowerPoint presentations are alienating lawmakers: "People are not listening to us because they are spending so much time trying to understand these incredibly complex slides." And Navy Secretary Richard Danzig announced that he was no longer willing to sit through slide shows, saying they were necessary only if the audience was "functionally illiterate."

That's exactly the problem. Misuse of technology can turn speakers into mere readers of captions for slides. A recent survey of captains at Fort Benning, GA cited "the ubiquity of the PowerPoint Army" as a prime reason why the Army is losing too many bright young officers. "The idea behind most of these briefings," it said, "is for us to sit through 100 slides with our eyes glazed over." The term "PowerPoint Ranger" has even become a derogatory term, describing a desk-bound bureaucrat more adept at making slides than tossing grenades. (WSJ)

Here's another business example. It was near the end of one of my all-day speaking school and coaching sessions for engineers. Everyone there was very proud of their expensive, colorful presentation materials and expected to rely heavily on them. I had been demonstrating the relationship of organization and content to delivery, emphasizing that stories are the currency of human contact, the only way to connect emotionally as well as intellectually.

I asked one gentleman to play a game with me. Would he pretend that the power had gone off and he had to repeat what he had just said without any visuals? He did so, becoming animated and enthusiastic. Without exception, all the other engineers agreed that he was a much stronger presenter when he talked to them directly and made eye contact instead of just narrating his slides. This proved what I had been telling them all day about the superiority of human contact over electronics. Since then, these engineers often e-mail me that my name is frequently mentioned in their briefing rehearsals: "Fripp is right. Cut the viewgraphs down to one third!"

 

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