Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
The difference between slides and documents may be obvious to you. But for many
people, it is not. Visuals projected onscreen in support of a live talk are very different
from material created for print to be read and analyzed. When you hear the term
“PowerPoint presentation,” you often think of poor usage—dull, hard-to-read slides
containing long-winded paragraphs. In the same way, PowerPoint is used to ill effect
when you print out reams of tiny slides that lack depth as well as readability.
A common problem in Japan—as in other places in the world—is the lack of distinction
between documents (slideuments made in PowerPoint) and presentation slides
prepared for projection. They are often interchangeable. Sounds efficient, right? Quite
the opposite—it's inefficient, wasteful, and unproductive. Slideuments make
understanding and precision harder when printed. And when used as projected slides in
a darkened conference room, they are the corporate world's number one cure for
insomnia. This is not the fault of PowerPoint or Keynote, however, as slideware is simply
a tool. As you've seen, it is a tool that can be used effectively or ineffectively. It all
depends on your approach and your particular need.
If you have deep and complex data that is absolutely necessary for your audience to see,
then they need time to examine it and maybe refer to it later. If so, then the ephemeral
nature of projected slides may not be appropriate. But if you are showing trends or
simple, straightforward comparisons of data, then projected slides will work. Consider
using a mix of slides and handouts: Many effective presenters use high-quality images
and clear, aesthetically pleasing quantitative displays for most of their talk, but on
occasion stop to hand out deeper levels of data in printed format. For smaller audiences
at conferences and seminars—and certainly for boardrooms—the latter approach can
be very effective.
If you have detailed numbers that people need to spend some time with, it may be better to change gears in
your talk and stop to issue a handout to your audience so that they may better see the data. This not only makes
your numbers easier to see and compare, it also provides a change of pace in the talk that will help keep the
audience engaged.
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Common Charts and Graphs
