42. Why Use PowerPoint at All?
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
Considering the universal disapproval by critics, audiences, and even by presenters themselves, why would anyone use PowerPoint? The software—and its usage—have developed a universally negative reputation characterized by the common epithet, “Death by PowerPoint.”
After all, the memorable speeches of history did not use PowerPoint:
• Cicero’s orations in the Roman Forum
• Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
• Winston Churchill’s World War II rally to arms
• Martin Luther King’s Civil Rights speech
• John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
• Ronald Reagan’s “Tear down this wall” Berlin speech
• Barack Obama’s “Cinderella” keynote
So why, indeed, would anyone use PowerPoint? The simple answer lies in the aphorism, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Those familiar words are backed by a wide array of scientific evidence. One of the most thorough is an HP publication titled, “The Power of Visual Communication,” which cites nine learned sources and concludes that:
Recent research supports the idea that visual communication can be more powerful than verbal communication, suggesting in many instances that people learn and retain information that is presented to them visually much better than that which is only provided verbally.1
Even more to the (Power) point is the opinion of Stephen M. Kosslyn, the author of Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations, a popular book based on his work at the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. As Dr. Kosslyn put it in one of his academic studies:
The timeworn claim that a picture is worth a thousand words is generally well-supported by empirical evidence, suggesting that diagrams and other information graphics can enhance human cognitive capacities in a wide range of contexts and applications.2
The latest authority on visual expression is Hans Rosling, a Swedish medical doctor and statistician, whose revolutionary graphical display methodology electrified the high profile TED conference and made him an instant media and talk circuit rock star.3 Ten thousand words would not be adequate to describe his technique, so please see for yourself in his video on YouTube.4
A New York Times article about Dr. Rosling described the impact of his graphics:
The goal of information visualization is not simply to represent millions of bits of data as illustrations. It is to prompt visceral comprehension, moments of insight that make viewers want to learn more.5
This is not to say that you should attempt to scale Dr. Rosling’s heights of creativity, but to be inspired by his simple yet animated approach to depicting statistics. (You can download his specialized Trendalyzer software from his site for free.6)
Be inspired even more by his “Five Hints for a Successful Bubble Presentation” that he offers with the download. Especially the second:
Explain what is shown on the vertical and horizontal axis by color and size of bubble before you start moving the bubble.7
In that one sentence, Dr. Rosling, his dynamic software notwithstanding, validates the primacy of the presenter over even his superb graphics. More than that, he tells you not only why, but how to use PowerPoint.
That still leaves open the matter of what to put in the PowerPoint—the subject of the next chapter.