Prompt #8

In the context behind the article, the things the Bumiller is saying make sense. It’s a little scary to think about people making tactical security decisions in very simple, bulleted points. Certain things, especially those of great importance or things that require a high level of explanation or examples to convey the desired point shouldn’t be presented to any kind of audience using a PowerPoint. It’s possible that some of the main points can be delivered in an organized PowerPoint, but another type of document or information portal should be provided to the audience to expand on the points and cover all of the necessary information.

However, there are certain ways that these presentations can in fact effectively aid a presentation. When a speaker wants to emphasize a few certain points, he or she can easily type up a Power Point to show the audience the most important aspects of the presentation then verbally expand on the points and add any needed detail or explanation. PowerPoints aren’t really designed to incorporate vast amounts of detail and long-winded explanations and careful planning and strategizing.

The program is called PowerPoint for a reason. It is highly effective in conveying a certain type of cut and dry data or a few specific things that a presenter wants to convey to the audience. Powerful images and strong visual parallels are easily communicated through this program, and the design is such that data can be broken down into individual, easily discernible points. The messages that PowerPoint can effectively deliver are ones that can be broken down into very simple, precise points and possibly expanded on in another medium of communication. Legal briefs and documents or important military strategies should not be chopped up into pieces so that a nice little PowerPoint can be made. There is no way to possibly incorporate all of the necessary information on an easy-to-read PowerPoint and still hold the attention of the audience and receive the desired reaction.

In the situations mentioned in the article, the presenter could still make use of PowerPoint but not to the extent demonstrated in the example. The military officers in the audience should be made aware that any PowerPoint is only a brief overview of all the necessary information, if all of the information is going to be presented verbally at one time. If certain points can be easily broken down and summarized for organization, a PowerPoint could be used to lay it out in a nice format, but more extensive documents outlining all of the important details should also be available. The audience should be given every piece of necessary detail in either a presentation or a more formal document, and the information should be presented in a way that every target can analyze and understand.

The people that spend most of their time making PowerPoints are wasting their time because it’s impossible to cover the amount of material necessary for important operations in a PowerPoint presentation alone. Their efforts would be better spent elsewhere, like compiling the actual extensive documents, and if they can spare a few minutes to make a quick summary outline PowerPoint, that would still be an effective use of time.