Powerpoint under attack—by the military
(Above: Powerpoint slide showing complexity of American strategy in Afghanistan.)
“Powerpoint.” The mere mention of the word can send shudders down the spine, sparking trauma-flashbacks to mind-numbing ordeals of endless tedium. We’ve all been there—a captive audience member, squinting at slide after slide crammed to bursting with bullet points in illegibly-sized type, punctuated with garish clip art and eye-glazing graphs.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. Look at the presentations given by Apple’s Steve Jobs (although he uses Keynote, not Powerpoint). The “less is more” aesthetic has perhaps never been more fruitfully applied. A single strong graphic. Or none at all. Only a handful of words, to emphasize only the key points. Mr. Jobs’ presentations have become famous among communications professionals, and rightfully so. In their economy and elegance and minimalism, Apple’s slides remind us of how Powerpoint was originally intended—as an aid to the presenter, not a substitute. In fact, Apple’s work is the model to which we point whenever we’re called upon to assist our own clients with their presentation needs. But it’s hard to staunch the information overflow; in the corporate world, nearly verbatim reproductions of the speaker’s script are almost as ubiquitous as Powerpoint itself.
But we now have a new ally in the war against bad Powerpoint. And what better ally in wartime than this: the U.S. Military. As recently reported in the New York Times, Powerpoint has become thoroughly embedded in the daily lives of military commanders, and it is now under attack. Much of the backlash is due to the resources taken up preparing presentations—one Army platoon leader in Iraq says he spends most of his time making Powerpoint slides—but just as much of a concern is how the prevalence of Powerpoint affects thinking and decision-making. “Powerpoint makes us stupid,” says Gen. James M. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces Commander. Brig. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who led the successful effort to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar in 2005, adds that Powerpoint “is dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control.”
The article is well worth a read (here’s the link)—the quotes in particular are eye-opening and even alarming, given the stakes. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much optimism among those interviewed that Powerpoint misuse will end. Still, the battle has been joined. Those of us in corporate communications should fight the good fight, too.