When I first pulled out Tufte's packet on Power Point, it looked like one of the most boring texts on the planet. 30 pages on the style of Power Point? But as I read, I started to see his point and even found myself laughing at certain parts (talking about the “stupefied audience”). I agree with his argument that Power Point is not the way to convey an important message and that there are alternatives. Reading Tufte brings images to mind of what I imagine the typical creator of these Power Point presentations to look like:


Pecha-kucha, although close relation to the standard slide show, deviates just enough that it can work as an effective presentation. And while I like how pecha-kucha places restraints on the presenter, it is a little sad to me that this is the stage we are at. Professionals doing important work apparently can’t be trusted to put together a coherent presentation; therefore the format is force fed in the form of pecha-kucha. Even if the presenter totally bombs on a slide, there are only 20 seconds to go until a fresh start. This appeals to me as a presenter, but I hope this doesn’t become the “New Way” of doing things, just like we have been taught for years that Power Point is the preferred method for presentations. I would like to think that human beings in the workplace are capable of creating their own, concise, presentation without the need of constraints.

I remember taking a class specifically devoted to learning Power Point in middle school. We were taught all about how to make flashy transitions with text and add all sorts of cool effects and colors. But now I worry that everything I learned in that class was for nothing.  
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