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Visual Communication of Information

“The standard PowerPoint presentation elevates format over content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns everything into a sales pitch.”

This particular quote from the “PowerPoint Is Evil” article by Edward Tufte really stuck out to me. I feel like it makes a statement not just about PowerPoint, but also about our society today. It is rare that we go anywhere on a given day without being bombarded with ads and other forms of commercialism. Even as I read this article, there were ads not just on both sides but also at the top and bottom, completely surrounding the text.

Mr. Tufte had some interesting ideas about PowerPoint, and I have to say that I agreed with a lot of them. Although PowerPoint can be a useful tool and a great visual aid for some speeches, it can also be a crutch for  speakers. The worst presentations in my opinion are those where the speaker reads directly off the slides. After the first few, the entire speech becomes painfully monotonous. PowerPoint slides also can become more distracting than helpful, especially when they are too busy or have ridiculous graphics, as Mr. Tufte pointed out with comparing the images below:

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I also have to admit that I found Peter Norving’s “PowerPoint” of the Gettysburg Address pretty comical. It really made me realize how simple most PowerPoint presentations are, and how they often don’t make too much sense. Overall, this week’s reading made me look at PowerPoint in a different light, and I’m kind of glad I did so!

~ by kasibumgarner on November 6, 2012 .



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