PowerPoint (It All Depends on How it's Used).

Photo by Matt Hurst
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2475/3911933132_76d8a8cbac.jpg

I believe that some of the statements made by Edward Tufte, writer of "PowerPoint is Evil," are overly dramatic and ridiculous. According to Tufte, PowerPoint presentations "degrade quality and credibility of communication." He also compares PowerPoint to an expensive prescription drug that does more harm than good. However, I am not so certain that his description is always the case (or even ever the case in the way in which I have seen them used).

Meanwhile, David Byrne, writer of "Learning to Love PowerPoint," argues that PowerPoint is an useful artistic medium. He mentions that, at the beginning, he created presentations with little content. However, he soon learned that he could add short videos, photos, music, and scanned images to the presentations. He also learned that the presentations could be run on a timer so that no one was required. Byrne seems to realize what a convenience that PowerPoint is both as an art form and as a form of business presentation.

When I think of PowerPoint, it is mostly thoughts of presenting scholarly or business related material to a crowd. I do not see it as an artistic medium as much, but I also do not see it as a degradation of speech when used effectively. Effective use for me includes: showing visuals and speaking about them, adding sound when necessary for a particular topic, keeping animation on a down-low to avoid distraction, and as a way of showing lists or reading notes. My version of effective use, for the most part, involves the PowerPoint being a visual while I attempt to do the speaking. I believe that my vision of PowerPoint differs from the vision of both of the writers', because my vision simply involves providing an entertaining visual to accompany a speech instead of using PowerPoint for art or just using it without an accompanying speech. A PowerPoint presentation does not (and should not) just give itself in a business or class setting.