PowerPoint for the Rest of Us

I'm breaking my self-imposed hiatus to point to an amazing new blog by Cliff Atkinson, Beyond Bullets. If he can give me so many fresh ideas in what he writes, I can only imagine what he can do in a consulting role.

I especially love a recent post Cliff wrote called Evocative Media. Quoting:

"The word evocative has its origin in the Latin word evocare, which means to call forth, or to call out, and today the word also means to reawaken, inspire, or produce a reaction, emotion or response. But if we propose to evoke meaning with the PowerPoint medium, we have to flip our communications approach upside down. Why? For demonstration purposes, let's say that two different salespeople want to win the same multi-million dollar contract from the World Bank to build a solar energy plant in rural China.

"In Scenario 1, the speaker chooses a descriptive approach, presenting this typical blue PowerPoint slide to describe to his audience why his company is well-qualifed to take on the new project. He reads through the bulleted list of reasons, describing why his company is more qualified than his competitors. His audience sits in silence.

"In Scenario 2, the speaker chooses an evocative approach. She shows a simple slide with her competitor's logo and says, "We understand this company is also bidding on this project. What's your impression of them so far?" It's a bold and risky move, with the intent of having the audience say something like, "To be honest, we weren't too impressed until they showed us this morning that they have a new technology they're about to launch - that put them right back in the running. What can you do to respond to that challenge?" Her risk pays off when she effectively persuades her audience that not only does her company have a similar capability, but they also can complete the project at a lower cost."

What would presenters do without their speaking points on the screen?! What would the audience do without something to read? Maybe the speaker would be better prepared, speak from the heart, and maybe, just maybe, the audience would listen.