The Wall Street Journal headline (4/26/00) announced, “The Pentagon Declares War on Electronic Slide Shows That Make Briefings a Pain.”  Not long after, General Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued an order to all military bases worldwide which translated as, “enough with the bells and whistles-get to the point!”

Army Secretary Louis Calderna suggests that the Pentagon’s PowerPoint presentations are alienating lawmakers.  He says, “People are not listening to us because they are spending so much time trying to understand these incredibly complex slides.”  Navy Secretary Richard Danzig announced that he was no longer willing to sit through PowerPoint slide shows, saying they were necessary only if the audience was “functionally illiterate.”

It is true.  Misuse of this wonderful, exciting technology can turn speakers into mere readers of captions for slides with the result being that all personal communication is lost.  Bloated PowerPoint presentations have become a dance to the death-a veritable cure for insomnia.  

Need more convincing?  A recent survey of captains at Fort Benning, GA cited “the ubiquity of the PowerPoint Army,” as a prime reason why the Army is losing too many bright young officers.  “The idea behind most of these briefings,” it said, “is for us to sit through 100 slides with our eyes glazed over.”  The term, “PowerPoint Ranger” has even become a derogatory term, describing a desk-bound bureaucrat more adept at making slides than tossing grenades.

When asked recently how he put together a presentation, a doctor in physics answered, “It’s very simple.  Usually I put together about 30-40 PowerPoint slides, and then decide what to say in between.”  The same comments were echoed recently by a large group of Lockheed engineers and astronauts who were all very proud of their four-color viewgraphs.  Upon inspection, each slide required a laser pointer and a three-page user manual.

Let’s clear up a few things:  Technology is terrific as long as it supports and enhances the speaker’s connection with the audience.  Many large firms have communication and media departments replete with wizards who are adept at developing visual media.  But ask yourself this question when considering use of technology, “If your audience can run your presentation without you, then why are YOU there?”

What good speakers bring to a presentation is story-telling ability.  In the end, your message depends on creating pictures in the heads of your audience, not on a screen.  You must find a way to use your unique stories and experiences to stimulate your audience’s most powerful sensory organs-their imaginations.

As you begin the planning process for the next presentation you are about to give, start by answering the audience’s basic question, “Why should I care about you and your subject?  The goal is to turn numbing data into exciting pictures of what will change your listener’s life or business.  That’s what you are there for.  That’s your sole reason for existence at that point in time.

More than any showy visual, people will remember what they “see in their mind’s eye” while they are listening to you.  When we think of memorable Hollywood films, what we usually remember most are the moving, dramatic, and funny stories that the movies tell.  The screenwriter Robert McKee says, “Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clear, more meaningful experience.  They are the currency of human contact.”

All actors recognize the value of great stories and the importance of making them come alive.  And, don’t tell us you’re not an actor when you’re up there giving a status report or project update.  Or, when you’re telling your audience why they should do business with you and your company.  Or, when you’re recommending that a decision maker grant your request for more funding for your project.

Never forget this:  An audience of one or a thousand will always prefer a trivial story brilliantly told to a brilliant one told poorly.

A significant portion of my business is coaching presenters and teaching presentation skills.  Often, when we work with clients, they hand us a large, fistful of PowerPoint slides or reams of statistics, and say, “Here’s what I want to talk about.”

I ask, “Where is the excitement?”  “What can we illustrate with stories?”  Then we try to set about turning esoteric data into stimulating descriptions of what it all means.  Don’t depend on PowerPoint slides and viewgraphs alone to tell the story.

So, is the message not to use these great tools?  Of course not.  But first decide what you want to say.  What are my points of wisdom?  Next, decide how you can best illustrate these points.  Last, use support materials to make your case.

Your goal is to connect with your audience emotionally as well as intellectually.  Look at the people you are talking to, not at your notes.

Keep the type on your slides to a minimum.  Your audience is there to listen to your stories, not read your slides.  If you feel this isn’t the case, I suggest that next time you just send everyone a soft copy and bag the presentation.

Don’t fall into the trap of using technology as a substitute for communica-ting directly with the members of your audience.  Audiences want to connect with you, not your glossy graphics.  Use technology as a valuable support tool but never lose the personal touch.  Technology should serve you and your message-not the other way around.  Use PowerPoint as it was designed-to enhance your message, not to eclipse it.

Get technology under control, use it intelligently, and you’ll win the battle and the war.  And we have the Army and Navy’s word on that.