When I hear people say "PowerPoint Background", I usually think of the graphic or color of the slide. You know -- what's in the background of the slide.
But here's another kind of PowerPoint Background - the history of PowerPoint, as presented by Wikipedia.
Here are some interesting, "Did You Know" PowerPoint Historical Factoids:
- About 30 million presentations are made with PowerPoint every day.
- The prototype program was called "Presenter".
- The first version of PowerPoint was released in 1987 for Apple Macintosh.
- Micrsoft purchased PowerPoint in 1987... for only $14 million.
- Microsft released a Windows / DOS version in 1988.
- Key competitors for PowerPoint include Apple's Keynote &
Impress by OpenOffice.org.
People make fun of PowerPoint all the time: but we can't seem to help ourselves from using it. It's cheap and easy. And it can be the fast food of business communication....if we let it.
PowerPoint is one of those software tools that screams for staff development and training. The program itself is fairly inexpensive: but using it poorly causes a tremendous amount of pain.
But think of what using PowerPoint wisely can accomplish! The ability to excite, inform, and persuade! It's the information age, man! Spending a couple hundred bucks on a piece of software is peanuts compared to the power of spreading a compelling idea. And at 30 million presentations every day, we've got a lot of ideas flying around.
How effective are they at truly hitting home with their audiences? Thirty million opportunities every day to change the world....so what happens?
Great speakers often shun PowerPoint. They've learned how to keep audience attention without it.
Poor speakers often rely on PowerPoint too heavily, as if gee-whiz technology and impressive design could replace great content and character.
So I'm not thinking about mere technical training. I'm thinking that the bulk of professional development for PowerPoint users would be better be spent in "How to Perform" or "How to Speak in Persuasively in Public" types of classes.
How's this for an idea: a Zen PowerPoint class titled "How to Give an Electrifying Business Presentation"?
The concept: the only way you can pass is if you don't use PowerPoint at all...yet you must give a completely persuasive presenation that incites your audience into taking some kind of action.
That's the kind of PowerPoint training I'd like to see. How about you?
¶ 10/04/2005 04:32:00 PM
