‘If
you have nothing to say, use PowerPoint’ is the current presentation mantra,
claims an old-timer.
BC: Hi, heard that your technology partner
had come over to make a presentation…
AD: It was terrible. The machine hung, and
then the presentation developed an error. After a few slides, the audio went
kaput and finally, the embedded video in the slides didn’t play.
BC: Ah, the art of using technology to make
your presentation more effective…
AD: But why blame all of technology for a faulty
laptop and a system error?
BC: Because things went wrong even during
my times when we used carousels and slideshows… Why are you smiling?
AD: Today is the age of hardware, software
and Tupperware. Back then, I guess it was the era of carousels and casseroles.
BC: I remember an instance when a
presentation was being made to a client. All of a sudden the carousel acquired
a life of its own and began to spin and jump rather violently… Soon slides
began popping out of the carousel with rapid clicking noises – it was like a
popcorn machine. The Vice President set his team to stand at strategic points
around the projector to catch the slides as they flew out.
AD: Now I know how positions like silly
point, slip and extra cover originated in cricket...
BC: The point is, technology has always
been unreliable.
AD: These days, technology has evolved to
remote presentations – webinars…
BC: I don’t think that’s a bad idea - at
least the audience can walk away without you noticing it.
AD: Not if you’re Steve Jobs. You can not
only learn presentation skills from him, but also pick up pointers on how to
handle technology glitches…
BC: Wow, HE had to contend with bad apples
as well?
AD: Well, anyone can have a bad day with
technology. When Bill Gates launched Windows XP, it crashed for the whole world
to see.
BC: Glad to know that Bill Gates, Steve
Jobs and your technology partner have something in common.
AD: Once, Steve Jobs’ remote failed and he
couldn’t move to the next slide.
BC: He must have been rather iRate…
AD: The story is that he simply stopped the
presentation and told the audience an anecdote that involved him and his friend
Steve Wozniak, from his college days…
BC: Only Steve Jobs can get away with it.
AD: Maybe you could try using Keynote, the
Apple presentation software that he used….
BC: I’ll stick to my slide shows, thanks. But
podcasts, webcasts, webinars – suddenly presentations sound so complicated…
AD: There’s new technology like Prezi, a
cloud-based tool that makes online presentations a breeze…
BC: But how does one demystify these
new-age presentations?
AD: Simple, with apps like Pro Presenter that
offers assistance when you present from your iPad. Tools like Animoto help you
create great presentation videos, bringing together images, video, text and
animation. And you can share them online using sites like Slide Boom and Slide
Share.
BC: All these options must be making the older
lot go nuts.
AD: That reminds me of a phrase coined in
the memory of those who went nuts sitting through hours of mindless slides
overflowing with data - death by PowerPoint.
BC: Now you know why those little dark
circles in each slide are called bullets…
AD: In fact, the hatred for PowerPoint is
so intense that in Switzerland, there is a political party called the Anti
PowerPoint Party that discourages the use of any presentation software…
BC: Perhaps it’s their way of getting the
corporate world to see merit in loudspeakers, banners and slogans…
