It's simply too easy - everyone is using it. As the screen bursts into life with a title slide, some people are thinking - ‘aha, that's an interesting background. I wonder where they found that'. The presenter switches into PowerPoint send mode and the audience slips into PowerPoint receive mode. Just watch people's eyes and body language - there is a noticeable shift. Apart from the occasional spark of new animation or interesting clip art the presenter usually assiduously works their way through all the slides - a ‘slave to their presentation'. Surely there is another way?
At Ashridge, we have always used a large range of learning styles and approaches, but we wanted to see what the effect would be on us as learning and development professionals and more importantly how participants would find the experience, if PowerPoint was done away with all together and not a single slide was used. We embarked on the ‘PowerPointless' project to explore the approach on one of our international company-specific leadership programmes.
From the presenter perspective, taking away the familiar PowerPoint safety net really makes you think carefully first about your message and second about the most appropriate means of getting this message across. Rather than PowerPoint, can you use a role-playing exercise to look at a strategy model, or convey leadership principles through pictures or invite the group to work around flipcharts and ‘meta-plan' boards to share their thinking and knowledge? It means you think through the material and the process of teaching and learning in much more detail than would be the case when using PowerPoint. Removing it makes you use all of the room and materials available to you. Ultimately it leads to much more innovation in the approach to sharing learning points as you are always very conscious of the question: "Is this the most effective way of conveying this material?'
The feedback from the participants was largely very positive and they enjoyed the freedom away from PowerPoint, a tool that nearly all of them use on a day-to-day basis. There was an appreciation of the constantly changing styles and approaches and the chance to be more involved in the process. In particular, participants noted how the programme was kept lively and interesting by using the whole physical space as opposed to always focusing on a central screen in the front of the room. Furthermore, all participants enjoyed the experience - irrespective of their preferred learning style.
However, our research has shown that there are challenges to not using PowerPoint and there are indeed certain situations where it is a good medium to employ. In situations where the primary aim is to impart technical skills or factual information, then PowerPoint remains a useful tool to convey material clearly and quickly. Particularly, if you are working with non-native English speakers, PowerPoint handouts are valuable in confirming understanding of a particular session. Everyone is so used to PowerPoint that a session without slides can be interpreted by learners as careless and unprepared. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that you're using a different PowerPointless approach that might look and feel unusual. Going in without the PowerPoint deck does require much more preparation and thinking through, and so is ultimately a good thing. On a practical point, most rooms are set up with a central screen, with furniture and fittings arranged accordingly. If you cannot readily remove the tables, it doesn't lend itself to this more interactive style of working.
My advice is to start from the premise: ‘Could I deliver this session without using PowerPoint and would it improve the experience for the audience and get the messages and learning across more clearly?' PowerPoint has become ubiquitous and is the automatic option that most of us reach for, but our experience has shown that presenting in other ways is liberating for both you as a presenter and your audience.
Phil Anderson is programme director at Ashridge Business School
Are PowerPoint presentations the best way to get your message across?
PowerPoint seems to be the crutch of most presenters. It pulls together a range of important messages and allows them to be presented in a highly visible way on a large screen. It can be animated, colours can be added and even personalised with the plethora of clip art now available through the web. It provides a safety net to catch the presenter when they forget the second point they had so carefully prepared. It is very handy for time-starved executives who simply need somewhere to download their thoughts for display and delivery later. So, what is the problem with it?
