Several months ago, a reference to the article “Essay: Dumb-dumb bullets. As a decision-making aid, PowerPoint is a poor tool” by retired Marine Colonel T.X. Hammes showed up in my inbox. It’s an interesting read on how PowerPoint can actually create misinformation or distraction, instead of what was originally intended—information support. According to Hammes, “Every year, the [United States military] services spend millions of dollars teaching our people how to think. We invest in everything from war colleges to noncommissioned officer schools. Our senior schools in particular expose our leaders to broad issues and historical insights in an attempt to expose the complex and interactive nature of many of the decisions they will make.
“Unfortunately, as soon as they graduate, our people return to a world driven by a tool that is the antithesis of thinking: PowerPoint…PowerPoint is actively hostile to thoughtful decision-making,” Hammes said. Before PowerPoint, staff prepared succinct summaries of key issues. The decision maker would read it and have time to think about it before attending a meeting on the topic. “In contrast, today, a decision-maker sits through a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation followed by five minutes of discussion and then is expected to make a decision.”
“Instead of forcing officers to learn the art of summarizing complex issues into coherent arguments, staff work now places a premium on slide building. Slide-ology has become an art in itself, while thinking is often relegated to producing bullets.”
While Hammes says PowerPoint has its place—information briefs, not decision briefs. “Unfortunately, by using PowerPoint inappropriately, we have created a thought process centered on bullets and complex charts…PowerPoint can be highly effective if used purely to convey information — as in a classroom or general background brief. It is particularly good if strong pictures or charts accompany the discussion of the material. But it is poorly suited to be an effective decision aid. Unfortunately, the Pentagon has virtually made a cult of the PowerPoint presentation.”
The comment about the art of slide-ology stood out to Becky Pluth, BPG’s vice president of training and development and author of the upcoming Webinars with Wow Factor. How does a “rant” on PowerPoint in the military affect day-to-day training presentations?
“The reality is that, for every presentation, there should be a handout, AND the slides should not contain the need to know information but rather NICE to know. In the book Presentation Zen, Garr Reynolds discusses how our brains can’t read the slide AND listen at the same time. Therefore what is on the slide should be visual in nature to support a point, not be the point. Handouts should have all the need to know information with slides that support the thought. PowerPoint appropriately is interesting because there is no perfect in PPT. Reality is we should: reduce words, keep meaning, be visual.”
Hammes’ entire article, which appeared in Armed Forces Journal, can be read here.
