In Defence of Powerpoint

Today’s FT hosts an article by Lucy Kellaway taking a shot at the use of Powerpoint in business. She makes the case that slide shows allow presenters to get away without much preparation and without care for narrative. In doing so she compares a London monologue show “True Stories Told Live” with a presentation on “women on boards”. It is a compelling comparison for the casual reader, but to me this morning it felt like comparing her cooking with Jamie Oliver’s (and then making a case to confiscate her microwave oven) or comparing her driving with Fernando Alonso’s (and then not allowing her to drive an automatic).

Politicians and actors undergo extensive coaching for stage performance. Middle managers don’t have this up their priority list nor do businesses have the resources to invest in it.

Clearly, public speaking is one of those skills where underperformance of others hit us first hand. And bad performers indeed over-delegate on their slides to the point that we end up blaming them (the slides!) for the tediousness inflicted on us.

But Powerpoint is just a tool, subject to masterful use and desperate abuse like any other. Punishing it would be like killing the messenger.