SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Small Business — tracks feedback from small-business owners. We run the poll question each Thursday in our e-newsletter.
Two weeks ago, we asked: What do you think about Microsoft PowerPoint presentations?
- It depends on who’s giving them: 58.79%
- They’re OK: 23.03%
- I love them: 10.91%
- I hate them: 7.27%
I understand the mixed reviews on PowerPoint. We’ve all seen our fair share of terrible PowerPoint slides. That said, PowerPoint is by far better than its predecessor, the overhead transparency.
PowerPoint has the potential to bring a lot to a presentation. Many people are visual learners, and having slides to look at while a presenter talks can be valuable. But, as the majority of you noted, it must be done correctly to achieve the proper results.
I had an opportunity to hear a session on this topic at this year’s American Society for Training and Development conference: creating compelling PowerPoint presentations. Here’s an overview of the session with some practical PowerPoint tips.
Sharlyn Lauby is the HR Bartender and president of ITM Group.