There is simply no way to express precise, detailed and well-articulated ideas or subjects through Powerpoint. The presentations then give the illusion of mastery, comprehension and control over a subject matter. Which means, again, that the most serious issues cannot be discussed through that medium. There is no room for complexity, complicated relations between economic, cultural and political elements. Powerpoint stifles discussion and reasoned argumentation through the bullet point format. It is surface over substance.
So, paradoxically, at the same time as workers are enjoined to use their creativity, it is forcibly channeled through the most impoverishing format where all that matters are strong points, key concepts, and action plans. All neatly lined up. Quite often, after the presentation itself, the presentation is the only document of reference that is preserved (”I missed the meeting, can you send me the Powerpoint?”).
Tag Archives: PowerPoint
Miscellaneous Links For 2009-07-11
Miscellaneous Links For 2009-07-11:
- Notes on Designing a Good User Interface
- UI Pattern Documentation Review
- 15 Effective Tools for Visual Knowledge Management
- It’s official: boring powerpoint decks are better
- Open Source Web Design
- Laddering: A Research Interview Technique for Uncovering Core Values
- Are user stories an alternative to (smart) use cases?
- On knowledge management measurement
- 8 Ways to Increase User Adoption of ECM and ERM systems
- Social Media ROI: Dell’s $3m on Twitter and Four Better Examples
- Build your own community or go where people already are?
- 8 Things To Know About Selling Document Management to Small Businesses
- How to Avoid Extinction as a Technical Communicator
- Web 2.0 Architectures: What Entrepreneurs and Architects Need to Know
- The Seven Deadly Sins of Online Community Management
- Pico – Personal Information Cockpit
- Social Media in Germany: 5 Years Behind – Still Lots to Learn
If you can handle some academical ranting, this quite long article deals with the vagueness that is inherent in Knowledge Management theory and practices:
Finally, these bookmarklets make web browsing much, much easier: