Would Banning PowerPoint Improve Your Presentations?

We’ve all sat through those presentations where someone bored us to death with slide after slide of text, dated images or graphs crammed with information.

That’s why the phrase “Death by PowerPoint” was invented.

Many organisations have responded to this by banning the use of PowerPoint in any presentations. In some cases, they allow other programmes, such as Prezi, but some ban the use of visuals altogether.

Are they right to do this?

I can certainly sympathise. Most speakers I see use PowerPoint very badly. Their main crimes are:

  • using slides as a crutch for themselves, in effect writing out their presentation on PowerPoint and using it as their notes
  • writing PowerPoint slides which they intend to print off as handouts
  • hiding behind the slides so the presentation becomes little more than a voiceover
  • using the basic templates in PowerPoint to produce endless bullet point lists or repetitive slides with a heading and a tiny picture

This may be partly because of lack of time, or lack of expertise or just plain laziness.

Whatever the reason, the result is that thousands of people have to endure dreadful presentations and the whole dreary PowerPoint experience continues.

So I can see why some places might be tempted to just ban the whole thing. And I would be happy if one result of this was to force speakers to concentrate on keeping their audience’s attention by having great content and developing their delivery skills.

I’m all for developing a much higher standard of oratory amongst presenters!

But there are some problems with banning slides altogether.

Powerful visual aids can play a huge part in getting across key points with impact and helping an audience to listen, learn and remember.

Used well, visuals can:

  • grab, and keep, attention
  • explain a point more clearly than words
  • form a strong emotional connection between the audience and the subject matter
  • leave a lasting impression which fixes the point in the audience’s long term memory
  • introduce humour in a relevant and appropriate way

Of course, the key point is that they do have to be used well. The way most slides are used, they do none of these things.

But that’s not the fault of the medium itself – it’s not really PowerPoint’s fault, it’s the fault of the speakers who use it.

And I have to say, it’s not just PowerPoint, I’ve seen people using other packages just as badly.

So perhaps banning PowerPoint isn’t the answer. Because banning visual aids cuts off what could be a massive asset for a presenter and a massive benefit for the audience.

The answer is to give people the training they need to use PowerPoint the way it should be used – so presenters can speak with more impact and audiences can be spared the “death by a thousand slides” which they have to endure at the moment.

Customized Books Make the Perfect Present

Making a book creates a long lasting keepsake that can be enjoyed over and over again. If you are at a loss on what to give someone for a present, consider making a customized book that will make a lasting impression.

Need some inspiration?

Below are some ideas on how to create a book for that special someone.

Photobooks

As photobooks become more and more popular, people are becoming increasingly interested in photo book ideas for new ways to show off their photos. Photobooks are becoming the most popular form of personalized books. This is mostly because they allow for a high level of creativity, but also because they hold up better than photo albums and aren’t as painstaking to make as scrapbooks.

When it comes to putting your photos in a book, the sky’s the limit. Before you start making a photobook, answer the following questions to give yourself some direction and inspiration:

What is the occasion? (father’s day, birthday, christmas, anniversary, etc)

Who are the recipients? (husband, children, grandma, parents, etc)

What should be included? (just pictures, or also clippings, art, letters, etc.)
Once you have a game plan, you can move forward with gathering the required materials and brainstorming. A thoughtful layout will give your photobook an even more personal touch.

Planner Book

Put a personalized touch on a daily calendar by creating a planner book. A planner makes a great gift for anyone, for any occasion. The great thing about making your own is that you can select separate photos for every month as well as front and back cover photos. In addition to pictures, you can autofill important dates for the recipient and chose the beginning and end dates.

This can add an extra personalized touch. For example, you may be making one for your daughter before she heads off to her freshman year at college. You can set the dates on the calendar to start after her high school graduation. Include important dates such as campus tours, information sessions, registration dates, her dorm move in date, when class begins, etc. Also, pre-fill everyone’s birthdays and other important dates for her. She can still be connected to home with a personalized planner to help her organize her freshman year. Include pictures of her family, her high school friends, sports, her favorite pet or anything else that reminds her of home.

The Customized Cookbook

Customized cookbooks are also becoming popular because they are a great way to easily document your family’s favorite recipes. Many recipes are handed down between generations, creating a special memory for family members. In addition to documenting family recipes, creating a customized cookbook also gives you a way to record your unique recipes. A customized cookbook makes a great gift for future generations of chefs when they leave the nest.

The Something Special Book

Looking for that special gift for your little one? Your child will be so excited to see themselves featured in their very own book. Here are some great book ideas for the children in your life:

An alphabet book- Going through the alphabet, find a picture of your child that relates to each letter. For instance, B is for Bunny so find a picture of your child holding or petting a bunny. You can also include text from his or her favorite nursery rhymes or stories.

Silly little sayings book- Have you documented some of your child’s funny sayings, ramblings and songs? Quote your child in the text and pair it with a picture of them being silly.

Here, there and everywhere book- Make a book for your child that includes pictures of their adventures and create a story to go along with it. Make your child the main character and go on the adventures together. Your child will love being in a story and will have fun reliving memories.
Tell Your Story

Show a loved one that you are thinking about them by sharing your life’s journey together in a book. This can be a compilation of poems, short stories, statistics, quotes and photos. You can also scan in movie tickets, concert stubs, or anything else that you have kept as a keepsake. Books that tell stories make great anniversary or milestone gifts.

Imagine making a book like this for you and your husband’s 10 year anniversary. In the book, include some year by year favorite memories. Include places you have gone, things that you have done together, inside jokes, etc. If you are feeling particularly creative, write him some poems or short stories throughout the book.

Are you feeling inspired yet? Hopefully you now have some ideas to help you get starting making a memorable and original book.

There are many photobook publishers from which to choose. A particular favorite of this author is Blurb.com. Blurb has book making tools that directly import your Facebook or Instagram photos. These books usually are less time consuming because most of the work is done for you. Also, the Facebook and Instagram books have a quick turnaround time, making them great last minute gifts. You have full control over which pictures and comments you want or don’t want to include.

Are You Present During Your Rehab Process?

Today I want to talk about something that is pretty fun. Are you present during your rehabilitation process? This is a fun topic for me, because you can interpret this in many different ways. So what does being present mean?

When you go to someone to get help, don’t just sit there and zone out. This will not help you and you won’t get much out of the session. However, if you walk side by side with them, you are going to start learning what your body is really doing. This is because you are paying attention to what is happening. To be present, you have to stop everything. For example, when you go to a massage therapist and you go to sit down on the table, clear out all the noise. You need to pause and then listen to what is going on. Then clarify by paying attention to what your massage therapist is doing. How does it feel as your muscles are being worked on? Trust your body and what you are doing to be present. When you are running outside, stop all the distractive noise. It is you time. Listen to what’s truly happening. How does your knee feel as it’s running? Then clarify by seeing how it needs to move instead. Finally, trust your body to take you to through that process. You will be surprised how just that thought change will shift the way you feel. This applies to all rehabilitation processes.

No longer can you solely depend on someone for improving yourself, you need to be part of the process by being present. This is because the body is designed to defend itself against anything external. So be present on what’s happening and keep an active role. Don’t ever let anyone take your power away, because then you are diminishing your self-worth. That’s not worth it, because then your body is going to give up. Remember this: whatever you tell yourself – is right. If you think someone else needs to fix your pain, then someone else will need to fix your pain. Yet if you think you can improve by yourself with some assistance, then this different type of thinking will change your attitude. So please stay present during your rehabilitative process. If you liked this tip, please share it to others. This is important in getting people to look within to see what it is they need help with.