Presentations
Editor-in-chief Tad Simons (pictured to the left) is an
award-winning editor, journalist and media analyst with more than
20 years on the communications industry.
During his tenure as editor of Presentations magazine -- a business-trade
magazine dedicated to people who create and deliver professional
presentations -- the publication has won numerous regional and
national awards for feature writing, design and commentary.
He frequently writes about the effects of technological change
on communication, work and life, and reports on all aspects of
multimedia, projection and display, digital imaging and collaboration
technology. He lives in St. Paul, MN.
Geetesh:
Tad:
Tell me more about Presentations magazine - about its
past, present and future.
Presentations magazine occupies a unique niche in that we
are the only magazine written exclusively for people who
create and/or deliver presentations as a part of their professional
life. We review all kinds of presentation products - projectors,
displays, notebooks, digital cameras, software, etc. - as
well as show our readers how to use this technology to become
more effective presenters.
The Presentations universe extends beyond the magazine to
include our Web site, www.presentations.com, our weekly e-newsletter,
the Presentations Industry Update, and our annual Presentations
Conference & Expo, held in Atlanta this year, Mar. 1-3.
We are, have been, and always will be dedicated to being
the best resource possible for people who want to improve
their presentation skills and/or purchase presentation technology.
Geetesh:
Tad:
We are witnessing the increased use of broadband for
virtual conferencing. Do you think this unstoppable barrage
is sidelining human-to-human communication in some way?
No, I think there are so many ways for people to communicate
today that human-to-human communication has never been better.
I see technologies such as videoconferencing and Webconferencing
as supplemental tools that allow people to communicate when
they don't necessarily need to meet face-to-face. In some
cases, use of the technology displaces face-to-face, but
in most cases it just diversifies the number of options people
have for connecting. And no matter what happens, I don't
think face-to-face communication will ever lose its appeal.
If anything, it may become more important as communication
technology matures. In the same way that a handwritten note
today feels more personal than e-mail, seeing someone in
person is a more intimate investment of your time, so it
carries more weight. That's an important social distinction
to recognize.
Geetesh:
Tad:
What's your opinion about the improvements in the presentation hardware
industry in recent times?
If by hardware you mean projectors, plasma displays, digital
cameras, computers and all the rest, I think the improvements
in the past ten years have been astonishing. And because
prices for everything continue to drop, more people than
ever are using these tools in presentations.
Unfortunately, the skill level of people using the technology
hasn't kept pace. Today's projectors are extremely sophisticated
devices that can put extraordinary images on the wall, but
most people still just use them to throw up PowerPoint slides
- and PowerPoint itself is still basically the same program
it was fifteen years ago. What I'd like to see is a revolution
in presentation skills and graphics that makes intelligent
use of the technology available to presenters.
Geetesh:
Tad:
Microsoft PowerPoint seems to be at the center of the
entire presentation industry, and everything seems to revolve
or emanate from it. What do you think?
I think PowerPoint is a fine program that gets horribly
misused millions of time every day. Where we went wrong,
I think, is in assuming that just because PowerPoint resides
on everyone's computer, everyone can and ought to create
their own presentation slides. That's the reason there are
so many awful PowerPoint presentations in the world - because
people without a lick of design sense are out there creating
their own slides, inflicting their ineptness on unsuspecting
audiences everywhere.
Personally, I'd like for people wake up and see the value
of professionally produced presentation visuals. There are
thousands of people out there who went to design school and
are professionally trained to use such tools as PowerPoint
and Flash and Director in ways an amateur could never equal.
And yet, there are thousands of companies out there that
would rather "save" the money required to get professional-looking
visuals by requiring their employees to create their own
visuals. These companies don't calculate the opportunity
cost of having their people, especially executives, spend
time on creating slides, and they are willing to accept horrific
slides even if the presentation is for a million-dollar deal
and their lousy PowerPoint slides may jeopardize their chances
of winning. It's crazy.
That said, I also think the door is wide open for someone
to create presentation design program that makes it easier
to create sophisticated-looking business graphics. Most of
the people who are capable of designing brilliant PowerPoint
slides do so in spite of the program, not because of it -
they are simply very good at working around PowerPoint's
limitations.
Geetesh:
Tad:
What about online rich media? Is it the future?
Maybe - when everyone has a big enough pipe; when all computer
platforms can work together seamlessly; when all computer
programs have compatible code; when compression technologies
provide a seamless, high-quality signal; and when all forms
of technology come together in perfect harmony. In other
words, there's a long way to go. The Internet itself hardly
existed ten years ago, though, so I'm confident that rich-media
technology will continue to improve as well. Then all we'll
have to do is improve the content for all that rich-media
capability, which isn't quite as easy or certain an undertaking.
Geetesh:
Tad:
Is there some sort of training required to become a
good presenter?
Not necessarily. I think the only things required to be
a good presenter are the desire to be one, and the willingness
to work at it. Coaching and training can help, but the only
way to truly improve is to give a lot of presentations, learn
from them, and apply what you've learned to future presentations.
That said, I've found that even a small amount of training
or coaching can go an extremely long way. Good presentation
skills can be learned, and training gives you things to work
on, makes you conscious of bad habits, and gives you tools
to work with when you're called upon to speak. These factors
alone can give people the confidence and inspiration they
need to improve their skills. Presentation skills are a lot
like golf - you're never going to be perfect at it, but if
you practice, you improve your chances that the outcome won't
be humiliating.
