For a specific generation, the mention of Powerpoint presentations brings up memories of GCSE IT classes; of those days spent, aged fifteen or sixteen, completing simple and apparently useless tasks on software barely understood by the teachers. This generation no doubt remembers making sales presentations for made-up companies for whom posters and other marketing material were also produced using programs such as Corel Draw and Publisher. Market research, meanwhile, was recorded using Access. On the whole, these kinds of information technology classes felt like jumping through a collection of hoops. Powerpoint design often seemed twee and irrelevant in those days and pupils soon tired of its rudimentary visual effects consisting of dissolves, fade-in and out and of various styles and sizes of font.
This same generation is now discovering that Powerpoint presentations do in fact have a wider use. Away from the classroom they can have a real impact in the workplace. In fact, some employees’ career success is dependent upon their ability to communicate ideas to audiences large and small and Powerpoint design skills greatly aid such communication. Especially in domains such as sales, marketing, banking and advertising but also in public sector jobs such as the police, the NHS and teaching, conducting a meeting with the assistance of Powerpoint will often mean conducting a successful meeting. When we talk about the success of a presentation we mean one that instantly captures the imagination of the audience. A great presentation should succeed in boiling its content down to the most simple of formulations, whether they are visually or textually based. It should also expand on its points in a memorable way that sustains the attention won at the start.
This may sound easy, but it depends on having a nuanced technical understanding of how Powerpoint works. This means gaining an awareness of how to make a presentation in the first place – from deciding what material must be highlighted, what tone should be adopted, whether to use images, texts, graphs or a combination of these – as well as an awareness of how a presentation will be received. Employees using Powerpoint presentations will feel empowered when they have mastered the form of giving a good presentation. Powerpoint design does not require artistic or technological genius, but rather a clear-headed approach to communication. Indeed, the most effective sales presentations often demand little in the way of creative expertise: anyone can get ahead using Powerpoint provided they put themselves in the shoes of their audience and turn basic skills to their advantage.
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