sociable media // articles by Cliff Atkinson

Articles by Cliff Atkinson
There's much more to PowerPoint than meets the eye, according to the set of articles below. For better or worse, PowerPoint is a tool that organizations have embraced to shape, articulate and contain their intellectual assets. Although the results do not always turn out as expected, with the right approach any organization can begin to unlock the stories buried in their presentations.

The First Five Slides: Unlocking the Story Buried in Your Presentation
If you use bullet points in your PowerPoint presentations, it’s probably because writing bullets helps you to build slides quickly and reminds you to cover all the points you want to make. But although bullet points may help you to do many things, one thing they cannot do is help you to tell a story. To figure out how to tell stories today, we only have to look forward as far as the past.

Five Experts Dispute Edward Tufte on PowerPoint
Although it might seem that Edward Tufte had the last word on PowerPoint with his essay, The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, it turns out a number of experts disagree with him, in some cases very strongly. Here is what Don Norman, Gene Zelazny, Bob Horn, Seth Godin, and Rich Mayer said in recent interviews at Sociable Media.

The Science of PowerPoint Overload
One of the major symptoms of toxic PowerPoint is information overload, a condition well documented by critics and PowerPoint pundits. Thanks to the research of Richard E. Mayer, we've got a clearer understanding of the science that explains why it happens: we basically overload the cognitive processing ability of our brains.

How to Gain Control of Your PowerPoint Culture
What started as an honest attempt by organizations to control PowerPoint has in fact yielded the opposite result. It’s not that PowerPoint culture cannot be controlled, because it can. More often than not, organizations are simply trying to control the wrong things. (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

A Broken PowerPoint Culture
Unfortunately it's not just NASA and Boeing that find their cultures both reflected and crippled by this seemingly benign presentation graphics tool. Like huge mirrors hanging on the walls, PowerPoint is an open secret that lays bare the inner thoughts of every organization.

From All About You to All About Them
For many presenters, this means a major shift in mindset from a template presentation centered around their own company's products and services, to a customized presentation centered around their audience's challenges and issues. (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

Is Your Own PowerPoint Quality Really Meaningless?
If you're looking for ways to reduce the risk that you'll lose business because of a presentation, the safest thing to do is to speak using the highest possible quality PowerPoint, which would have only images... (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

Bullet Points Kill (Effective Communication)
Guns don't kill communication. Bullet points kill communication. And when you use bullet points in a PowerPoint, you're shooting yourself in the foot. (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

Back to the Media Basics
The key to effective meetings is to find the proper balance of media that will result in a group "communing together in understanding." And the way to get the mix just right is to explore the different modes of media a little bit deeper. (Published in the May 2003 edition of Convene, the magazine of the Professional Convention Management Association)

How to Addict Your Audience to Your PowerPoint
PowerPoint can become a powerful force to addict your audience to the mind-expanding content of your presentation. Just follow this three-step prescription. (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

Revive your Presentations with Visual CPR
But take heart. Anyone can begin a healthy diet of visual stimulation and effective media design. With these prescribed Visual CPR principles, you'll bring your visuals back to life in no time. (Published at www.PresentersUniversity.com)

The Big Picture: The Holy Grail of Business
What's more important than everyone in a company sharing the same "Big Picture," the same strategic vision? (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

How to Choose a Vendor by the Quality of their PowerPoint
Maybe you can't judge a book by its cover. But you sure can tell a great deal about prospective vendors by the quality of their PowerPoint presentations. Here's what to look for, and what it will tell you. (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

Turn Hollywood Secrets into Blockbuster Sales
Like a movie, every sales presentation you give is a performance. You are the talent, your PowerPoint is your media, and your potential client is the audience. (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)

How to Win Business with Proposal Infographics
Savvy marketers are beginning to pay much more attention to the graphical presentation of their business proposals. But all graphics aren't created equal. (Published at www.MarketingProfs.com)