The Return of the PowerPoint Critics

Geoffrey James followed up his recent criticism of PowerPoint with another post entitled PowerPoint Has Its Defenders, But They're Wrong. In brief, his blog readers argue in favor of PowerPoint use, with some making arguments that are similar to mine. He shoots down these pro-PowerPoint arguments to maintain his position that PowerPoint has no redeeming qualities.

This statement caught my eye:

My most recent column explained that PowerPoint is a highly ineffective tool, because the premise on which it's based--that displaying words and images while you're talking improves audience retention--is scientifically invalid.

This statement is only half true.

The true part is that displaying words while the reader is talking can be problematic. The visual words and the spoken words must both be processed in the same brain area at the same time. The simultaneous processing of two information streams can't occur, so the audience must choose to focus on either the displayed words or the spoken words. This is a divided attention problem.

The false part is the suggestion that PowerPoint images are also harmful. Some scientific evidence is exactly the opposite. Dual-coding theory suggests that words (spoken for presentations) and images can combine in a complementary way to support each other and improve learning. Some decorative images might be a distraction, but it is an overstatement to think that all images are harmful to comprehension.

Here's a quick thought experiment. A friend of yours has recently traveled to some exotic location on a vacation trip. They're telling you now, in some detail, about their trip. Would you prefer to hear a verbal-only description of the trip or a verbal description plus selected pictures? The latter option would surely be more interesting and informative. In a similar manner, carefully chosen images can be helpful to presenters.

So don't throw PowerPoint into the garbage can. A well-constructed PowerPoint presentation can offer valuable support to the message that you're trying to convey.