Death By Powerpoint - Official.
Well - not exactly a case of a Powerpoint actually physically killing someone (though I've often felt like murdering some presenters), but scientific proof that Powerpoint presentations are bad for your brain.
The explanation? That people have trouble processing information both visually *and* aurally. So when you're reading somebody rattling through bullet points on a presentation while you're reading them, your brain gets overloaded processing the information and you g-l-a-z-e o-v-e-r.
I don't think they're all bad, though. I think designing and giving presentations is a skill, and that it's far too easy to write a bad presentation. The style I try to aim for, and the type of presentation that I prefer and generally stay awake through, are the ones that perhaps briefly refer to some of the points up on the screen, but give most of the information verbally. I think there's more an impression of the speaker actually engaging the audience rather than just regurgitating almost script-like.
Flat update: Rabbit in headlights. Not good.
The explanation? That people have trouble processing information both visually *and* aurally. So when you're reading somebody rattling through bullet points on a presentation while you're reading them, your brain gets overloaded processing the information and you g-l-a-z-e o-v-e-r.
I don't think they're all bad, though. I think designing and giving presentations is a skill, and that it's far too easy to write a bad presentation. The style I try to aim for, and the type of presentation that I prefer and generally stay awake through, are the ones that perhaps briefly refer to some of the points up on the screen, but give most of the information verbally. I think there's more an impression of the speaker actually engaging the audience rather than just regurgitating almost script-like.
Flat update: Rabbit in headlights. Not good.