Achieving Slide Enlightenment

I've been in the post-college working world for several years now, nearly all of them in the engineering and management realm. So, it's fair to say that I've choked down my fair share of PowerPoint presentations. The vast majority of them are awful. Yes, including the ones from the wonderful employees at TCFWIW. Apparently, many people think they can animate or bullet-point their way to good communication. Boy oh boy, are they wrong.

Think about the last PowerPoint presentation you were forced to absorb. Was it full of distracting animations like text swirling around and star wipes? Of course it was. Was the text so tiny that you had to tune out the presenter just to concentrate on reading it? You bet it was. Did the presenter basically just read the slides to you? Without question. Admit it, you began reading their PowerPoint slide the moment it appeared in front of you, probably before the presenter even began presenting it. And more often than not, you were finished reading the slide before you even thought about paying attention to what the presenter was actually saying. It's okay, I've done it, too. So what do all these bad presentations actually mean to you, the presenter? When PowerPoint is used incorrectly, your audience will leave confused, uninformed and mentally exhausted. Not exactly your goal, is it?

But don't fret. Here are Your Friendly Neighborhood Nerd's tips to complete PowerPoint enlightenment.

Tip #1: Supplement, don't replace.
We've all done it. We've put together an elaborate PowerPoint presentation and to prepare, we just printed off a copy of the slides for our notes. Then, we read the slides to our audience, boring them to death. This is really, really bad, because as soon as that happens, PowerPoint is giving the presentation, not you. You've been replaced by a forty-dollar piece of software and an overhead projector. That, as the Germans say, is "nicht gut."

What's the remedy? Use the slides only for emphasis and highlighting points. Check out the presentation that Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple) gave this past September. At a minimum, watch the first 7-10 minutes. Notice how the slides behind him merely supplement the words he's saying. Notice how they only become important when he turns and makes them important.

Tip #2: Like a good steak, you've got to trim the fat.
In PowerPoint presentations, less is definitely more. More specifically, less text is more. Most PowerPoint audience zombies can only store four to six things in their short-term memory banks. Take a bunch of items on a slide, add in the fact that your audience will read them before you speak, and you've got a recipe for mass-confusion. The solution is simple - simplify. Start by drastically reducing the amount of text on your slides; especially, avoid bulleted lists at all costs. Aim for two to three word thoughts, avoiding complete sentences. A good goal that I shoot for is no more than six thoughts and no more than twelve words per slide. This simplicity has the added benefit of forcing the audience to pay attention to you and what you have to say, not the slides themselves.

Tip #3: Think about bunnies and Snuggle the dryer sheet bear.
Soft, soft, soft. Bright white backgrounds, with sharp, serif fonts are straining on the eyes, especially when presented on a big screen. Use an easy-to-read, sans serif font (what the heck is a "sans serif font"?) on a dark background to reduce eye strain as much as possible. Soft fonts with a non-distracting, dark background will keep your audience from going blind and subsequently tuning you out. Use some simple but illustrative images to enhance your presentation and keep your audience's attention. Again, reference Mr. Job's presentation above.

Tip #4: Ditch the animations.
Seriously. Step away from the animations. And don't try to sneak in any embedded video or sound effects, either. I know, I know. There's so many to pick from, and they're all so enticing, but they really distract from your message. If you absolutely must use an animation, use the fade in or fade out, but that's it. The rest are really un-sexy. I'm not joking. Leave the flashing text off your slides.

Tip #5: Remember the Boy Scouts.
Once you've reached true PowerPoint enlightenment, you quickly realize that your presentation will not stand on its own; it's now up to you. So, you've got to prepare and practice until you've got it down pat. Memorize what you need to say, know how to interact with your slides and be ready to roll with the punches.

So there you go. It's certainly not a step-by-step, but it'll get you going in the right direction. Now, no more fly-ins and fly-outs!

YFNN

Be Still My Calculating Heart

spread•sheet (sprěd'shēt'):
n.
1. A piece of paper with rows and columns for recording data for use in comparative analysis.
2. An accounting or bookkeeping program that displays data in rows and columns on a screen.

I need to let the whole world know that I love spreadsheets. Make no mistake; I am absolutely, positively, 100% head-over-heels in love with spreadsheets. In grade school, when I learned just a few basic techniques on one of the first Microsoft Excel programs, I found that Lady Spreadsheet had her hooks in me and was never going to let go...and I never, ever wanted her to.

Now, it should be a given that I use spreadsheets every day at work. What good nerd wouldn't? But, I use spreadsheets extensively in even my daily personal life. Finances, to-do lists, Christmas card databases, inventories; spreadsheets hold them all together. I keep no less than thirty different spreadsheets I've written updated regularly. They're tracking, calculating, and listing various aspects of my life, and each one of them warms my heart in a different way. We're not talking simple ones, either. Oh, no. I've got them automatically updating, creating charts and graphs, forecasting, and monitoring countless variables and data.

I know what you're thinking: "That man has lost his #@$%! mind!" Let me try to explain:

da•ta (dā'tə, dāt'ə, dä'tə)
pl.n.
1. Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions.
2. Numerical or other information represented in a form suitable for processing by computer.
3. Values derived from scientific experiments.
4. Plural of datum.

I'm a data man. I love data. I literally can not get enough. The more, the better. I want measurements, assessments, and quantifications until I'm drowning it. I want as much numerical information as I can get my hands on. It's the reason I walk with a pedometer. It's the reason I track household expenditures to the penny. It's the reason I count the number of steps from my office at work to the car. I crave numerical information.

With this constant stream of information constantly coming at me, I need a way to store, organize, and analyze it. That's where spreadsheets come in. As far as I'm concerned, they have no competition. They're the reason I can tell you how much my take-home pay will change if I up my 401(k) contributions by a percent (-$22.90) or how many gallons of gas I put into my motorcycle on September 24th (3.26).

I know, I know. You still may not completely understand my passion, so here in list form is why I love spreadsheets so:

1.) Automation - If I change a number on a spreadsheet, it can automatically re-run every calculation based on that change. Even if it's three hundred and forty-two formulas away, it'll do it, and do it instantly.

2.) Error elimination - I know that if I enter a formula correctly the first time, the spreadsheet will never make a silly math error, like forgetting to carry the four. It's perfect every time.

3.) Charts and graphs - There is nothing I like better than a solid, informative chart or graph. It can convey information so clearly, so concisely, and provide an understanding that no data table could ever dream of. Spreadsheets can generate them beautifully.

4.) Organization - Data is kept in nice, neat columns and rows. Everything is aligned properly. Data can be labeled and sorted with colors, fonts, or even animation. Organization will set you free!

5.) Flexibility - They can be used for simple lists, or the most complex financial statement. They're just as happy storing your Christmas card list as they are at calculating complex failure analyses. I know because I do both.

6.) Power - There's no better way to express the meaning of hundreds of thousands of data points than by using a spreadsheet to illustrate it by generating a simple graph or reduced data table.

7.) Speed - Instantaneous calculation. I'm pretty good at punching numbers with my TI-85 calculator, but I'm no match for the lightning-like quickness of Excel.

If you're afraid of spreadsheets, please don't be. They're perfectly amiable, and are eager to be your best friend.

YFNN