I have a dream...

[kickaha]

Probably not a surprise to anyone, but I'm a devotee of Edward Tufte, and I think he's spot on when he says that PowerPoint is Evil. I can't tell you how many bland, mundane, and BORING talks I've sat through, where the bullet point list is just read off the screen, and I fall asleep. If that's all someone's talk is, please just give me the handout so I can read it in 5 minutes instead of wasting 30 listening to them read it to me. I thought I'd left that behind in kindergarten.

So I have a goal for my defense talk.

Zero bullet point list slides. None. Not a damned one.

I'll put up an illustrative diagram, an animation, or even just a couple of words that are the main point I'm trying to make, but y'know, if I can't talk about my own research off the top of my head, then I probably need to rethink it.

But no bullet lists. Should be interesting to see how close I get.

Comments

[badger.livejournal.com]

I adore Tufte's work. Attending his one-day seminar last year (he hit Durham) was a personal best for the year.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really would have liked to have gone, but since I already owned all the books included in the ticket price, I couldn't really justify the expense. :\ (Also, I seem to recall I had a conflict...)

Can I get an AMEN, brotha?

[flinx.livejournal.com]

I hear you loud and clear. And I give (and sit through) a lot of talks, too.

Usually what I try and do is accommodate both types--the folks who pick it all up verbally, and the folks who pick it up visually. I'll put bullet points for background, but I'll paraphrase significantly (vocal vocab always being smaller than written vocab). Figures will get the title and maybe a line of interpretation. I'll put much more nuance into my speech.

And I pepper snarky comments in both written and verbal forms. I've found that even amongst the most dour scientists, making light fun of one's own work or difficulties, or when doing a journal club, makes people pay much more attention.

Re: Can I get an AMEN, brotha?

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Hallelujah!

I'm trying something a bit different. Instead of say, a slide with a title and three bullet points, I'm making three slides with big text, one for each point, no titles. It lets me concentrate on each point in turn, and leave them with the final conclusion point in their heads, instead of Just Another List.

Also, trying to mix text slides and image slides. Keep them guessing. A few animations thrown in, a couple of jokes, and voila. No sleeping people.

[madpiratebippy.livejournal.com]

You are such a bad-ass. If you can do this without powerpoint, I will be VERY impressed.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Naw, I'm using Keynote. ;) Same thing, just much much prettier.

But no bullet lists. ;)

I actually considered just using overheads and pens, since I could then whip out examples on the fly as needed, but I figured that people are now so ingrained to expect pretty slides that I'd be seen as 'unprofessional' if I did it manually, on the fly, without notes.

It's looking rather spiffy though.

[jinasphinx.livejournal.com]

I can always tell the people who learned to give talks without Powerpoint because their talks are so much more interesting, and their slides are mostly photos or charts, not an outline, at least not every step of the way. (With something technical, I think it does help to show people your general outline at the beginning and at points during -- just so they don't get completely lost.)