Tips on Technology By Richard K. Herrmann, Esquire
Presenting with PowerPoint
Technology has the potential of being a magical tool in the facilitation of communications when used correctly. When misused, it is deadly. Let’s set the stage, so to speak. We have a room full of people comprising the audience and the speakers. The audience wants to learn new information in a format which is interesting, if not entertaining. The speakers want to be perceived as good at what they do and knowledgeable in their fields of expertise. Without technology, the good speakers will challenge the audience with information, ideas, and concepts, encouraging a dialog or discussion. Eye contact is good; there are no distractions. The speaker believes he can leave more of an impact by showing examples or bullets of his information projected onto the screen. The lights are lowered a bit. The text on the screen takes on the structure of sentences and then full 10
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paragraphs, too small to easily see from the audience. The speaker turns to the screen so that he can read the text to the audience for those unable to read it themselves. Many in the audience become disengaged from the presentation and begin to mu ltita sk, surfing the Internet or reviewing e-mail. There is no eye contact at this point, either from the speaker or the audience. Even if the speaker were interested in engaging the audience in discussion, few are able to participate because they are not fully following the presentation. The problem here is not one relating to technology. Rather, the problem is that we, as lawyers, are trained to convey our thoughts in words and not graphically. If we are trained to communicate graphically, our presentation takes on a different look and feel. Those of us involved in large commercial litigation realized this some time ago and have included graphic designers and artists to assist us in producing trials. We also know from jury psychologists that a jury will retain more information longer if the information is presented graphically, as well as verbally. In other words, you will retain more for longer if you see it and hear it.
Certainly, we cannot learn these graphic skills overnight or in an executive summary. However, there are some basic tips that may be helpful.
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or years, people have felt that PowerPoint is overused and overdone. Who are these people? The audience; those of us who have spent most of our mandatory continuing legal education hours numbly watching other lawyers equally as numbly advance through slide after slide after slide. This potentially powerful vehicle for the dissemination of information has been so misused, its very name carries with it negative connotations. How many times have you heard someone say: “We sat through an hour and a half PowerPoint Presentation this morning” or “I zipped through an hour and a half’s worth of e-mail during the PowerPoint Presentation today”?
Consistent Theme PowerPoint has a wide variety of themes or templates from which to choose. Years ago, it was “trendy” to select unique or novel templates to capture the audience’s attention. It was this “trendiness” which became quickly overdone, particularly when used by those not comfortable with graphic presentations. The quick tip is to keep the theme simple and consistent. Select the theme which fairly represents the topic, the audience or, in matters dealing with court presentations, the client. Most larger law firms have themes or presentation backgrounds available for lawyers in those firms. When in doubt, a plain white background is better than a fancy one.