![]() ![]() Is this more work for the speaker? Certainly, but remember. If necessary, one can even rely on written notes for additional information-without reading these notes verbatim, of course. An effective speaker would then rephrase and expand on each of the points in the slides. That is why it's best to use the PowerPoint presentation to highlight key points instead. As a result, he comes across as ineffectual rather than intelligent. When the speaker reads the words out loud, it makes him look as though he has poor recall and was too lazy to master his material. In contrast, a PowerPoint presentation can usually be seen by the entire audience. It creates the illusion that he knows exactly what to say. When used effectively, they make the speaker look polished and well prepared. This allows the speaker to read the words while still looking in the general direction of the audience. Teleprompters make the words visible to the speaker BUT NOT THE AUDIENCE. There's a critical difference between a teleprompter and a PowerPoint presentation. When presenters fail to understand this, they come across as being lazy and unprepared-perhaps even incompetent. At worst, it can be insulting to the audience after all, they can read the words far more quickly than the presenter can vocalize them. At best, this can make the presentation boring and unprofessional. I'm sure that most of us have attended meetings wherein the presenters simply read the text on their slides-in effect, using PowerPoint as a teleprompter. The entire audience must have been thinking, "Why are these people reading the slides to us? We can do that ourselves!" Naturally, before the presenters had uttered more than a couple of words, the listeners had already read the entire text. They projected their slides onto the screen, and then they read the slides out loud to the audience. ![]() As the Microsoft drones read their list of the top ten features in Windows 95, they made the same mistake that many PowerPoint users commit. The problem was with their PowerPoint presentation. Quite the contrary while they had clearly put a lot of effort into their presentation, they clearly weren't prepared enough. It's not because their presentation was slick or professional, mind you. No, the most memorable aspect of that evening was the presentation given by the two Microsoft employees. So what do I remember most acutely about that event? Was it the list of wonderful new features in Windows 95? Was it the fancy new user interface? Was it the sight of Bill Gates on video, showing Jay Leno how easy it was to use the new operating system? A few hundred people were gathered in an auditorium to watch a pair of Microsoft employees extol the virtues of their shiny new operating system. I remember what it was like to attend one of the official Windows 95 launch events. ![]()
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