Powerpoint decks are my least favorite thing in the world and not a day goes by in my life when I am not dealing with one - as a recipient or a creator. It is hard to say which is worse. Several years ago, management at the time sent a bunch of us to a speech coach to learn how to effectively deliver a presentation and make the most of the thirty second attention span audiences have per slide.
It was impressed upon us the importance of simplicity and hammering on the three or four (if you are being very pushy) points you want your audience to remember after you are done. If they can recall one of those points accurately a day later it is an achievement.
I remember wondering why there was such an emphasis on assuming people did not care, were checked out and most importantly could not wrap their heads around material that exceeded a third grade reading level. These very same people have no problem following the endless plot twists of a cop show and can recall the prior episode very clearly as it connects to the denouement to follow in the next.
So clearly, the audience we are dealing with is not challenged by complexity, multiplicity or ambiguity of ideas. Yet, a presentation will make just about everyone tune out instantly. This Softbank presentation on WeWork is a great example of the consequences of dumb-ing down things past a point of no return.
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