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PowerPoint gets the cold shoulder

For a long time, Microsoft’s PowerPoint programme has been a staple part of any business, professional or even educational presentation. However, things look set to change. Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) has just become the first organisation to ban the use of PowerPoint-style presentations at its upcoming conference, MEA 2012, which will take place 21^st to 24^th April 2012. The meeting is set to bring together approximately 900 delegates to deliberate meeting and event matters. The only thing that will be missing from this event is the PowerPoint software.

PowerPoint was officially launched on May 22, 1990 by Microsoft and it has enjoyed a great deal of success over the past twenty years. Famed for its time saving abilities and its ease of use, the programme has been praised for encouraging the use of visual aids in presentations and for maintaining a sophisticated level of animation and style. However, growing discontent led to the conning of phrases such as “Death by PowerPoint” and “PowerPoint Hell”, after audiences complained of their boredom at watching multiple slides and lamented the poor use of the software.

MEA is a national organisation which states its dedication to promoting professionalism and excellence in meetings management. The organisation has underlined its role in advising clients how to communicate successfully at events and has for some time queried whether speakers who read out bullet points provide a constructive experience for meeting delegates. For the organisation, a presentation should aspire to be “simpler, more emotive and more human than delegates normally see”, meaning that more of an immediate connection is made between visitors and exhibitors, and less time is wasted by distraction and boredom. In addition to this, telling stories has been favoured, as they tend to be more motivating and thought-provoking.

However, PowerPoint is not the only method to face the cut; bullet points, flow charts and clip art have been removed from the programme and many other similar techniques have been given the cold shoulder. These seemingly outdated methods have been shunned in favour of audience-friendly, poignant and stimulating means such as photos, short films and traditional stories.  This move looks set to be an interesting benchmark for other organisations to follow. However, its impact on the industry shall only be clear after the MEA 2012, which could well be the heralding of a new era in presentations and methods of engaging, motivating and inspiring an audience.  

For more information about MEA, please find their website here:

http://www.meetingsevents.com.au/

M. HAWLEY