An Open Letter to Teachers, Corporations, and More...

Dear Anyone (teachers, corporations, etc) who uses Power Point,
I am so sick and tired of these terrible presentations. As of this moment at 11:25 PM on June 16, 2005, I officially am making a new rule regarding Power Point: No one can now create a presentation where they sit there and just read what they wrote to the crowd. In the class I am taking this summer to finish my Master's degree, the woman teaching the class has used Power Point twice already (we've only had two classes including tonight). In both cases, she clicked through the screens and just read what was written. Here's what I mean:
(Teacher clicks in screen 1. It reads, "What's a research hypothesis?")
"Ok, so what's a research hypothesis?"
(Teacher clicks to screen 2. It reads, "It states an expected relationship or difference between two variables.)
"It states an expected relationship or difference between two variables." (and this goes on for over an hour. An hour!)
Nothing was added to it, no questions were allowed, and the students were not allowed to discuss the points until the presentation was over. That is NOT a proper use of Power Point. It is supposed to add to what you are speaking about, not be the only thing you talk about. This is not limited to only the education world. This goes for the Engineers at Boston Scientific. I saw your presentation on CNBC last year. All your man did was read the different screens to the crowd and television audience. It made you look foolish, and it embarrassed me.
Look, I have used Power Point in my classroom. However, I didn't just read through each screen and keep moving. No, no, no, NO! That's boring to the audience, and it means that the presentation is pointless. That's like just standing in front of the room and reading the book. How do people learn that way. When you just read instead of expanding, you make the audience look like they are incapable of understanding what you are talking about. Don't make your shareholders, or students, or whatever feel that way. You'll lose them. That's bad for business, people.
All you have to do is banter. That's it. Don't just read what's written on the screen, add to it, have a dialogue with your audience. Keep it interesting, otherwise it's pointless and boring.
Thanks for your time, and I hope this new rule works for you.
Best,
Disgruntled Luddite (Leab)