Redhaired Librarian

Is Power Point Evil?

Stephen Cohen of Library Stuff says that he gets a round of applause when he tells the audience he doesn’t use Power Point. I’m trying to figure this out: is Power Point a synonym for all presentation software, or is it Power Point itself?

I do plan to use Power Point for my presentation. I have pie charts, a map, and some screenshots. I’m a very visual person. If I went to a presentation that was just someone talking for 20 minutes, I don’t think I would absorb anything. I have to see the words and pictures. Now, I don’t plan to use any special effects… as a trained broadcaster, I know that they’re usually overused and pretty lame… but I do plan to have my presentation outline on Power Point. I’m practicing to make sure I don’t tell my presentation to the screen. I’m checking out the projector Tuesday night, so my husband will see my presentation before I finish packing. Then my roommate at the hotel will probably get to see it at least once.

When I’m done, I plan to record a script of the presentation incorporating the best of what I did in my practices and the live presentation, and I want to make a movie file of it. I suppose that’s the same thing as the new presentations for iPods I’ve seen floating around today. But mine is for any computer. It’s for anyone who’s interested in library weblogs beyond the cheering.

In essence, I suspect Power Point is being blamed for the lack of sophistication in its users. I think it’s as good a product as any, and like any good product, it can be abused.

[To clarify: I'll be at the MLA conference next week. I'll post some thoughts tomorrow evening about doing presentations with blogs.]