Quality speaking and writing is not dead or out of favor. In fact, compared with 5 or 10 years ago, communication skills for both speaking and writing are more important than ever. Why? Because there is so much freely available information streaming into your eyes and ears that only the best will penetrate.
In a New York Times interviewwith Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines, you learn how important high communication standards are:
Q. And is there any change in the kind of qualities you’re looking for compared with 5, 10 years ago?
A.I think this communication point is getting more and more important. People really have to be able to handle the written and spoken word. And when I say written word, I don’t mean Power Points. I don’t think Power Points help people think as clearly as they should because you don’t have to put a complete thought in place. You can just put a phrase with a bullet in front of it. And it doesn’t have a subject, a verb and an object, so you aren’t expressing complete thoughts.
"Perfect Power Point Presentation" articles and coaches abound. And yet, this phrase is a perfect oxymoron--if a Power Point presentation is perfect it will be a total failure for your audience and for the speaker.
People need to be touched on both sides of their brains--the logical side and the non-linear, creative side. Brain science has proved this (for those who want facts about this, study brain science). Power Point and the rules people have concocted around it do not touch the non-linear, creative side of the human brain. So no matter how much time and attention you put into slides (e.g. making them perfect) you will fail to create a perfect presentation.
I'd love to hear how you incorporate slides into your presentation, because there ARE ways to use them for the effective delivery of a business presentation. Share your ideas through our comment link.
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