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Title: The Cognitive Style of Power Point by Edward R. Tufte ISBN: 0-9613921-5-0 Publisher: Graphics Pr Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $7.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.22 (9 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Know Your Audience!
Comment: After the first read, I was disappointed with Edward Tufte's essay on PPTs. I was expecting more practical suggestions from the master of visualizing information; steps we could all take to make our PPTs better. This essay mostly gives graphic examples of bad PPTs. We've all seen plenty of bad PPTs in our lives. Do we really need to pay Mr. Tufte to see more?
The point of the essay seems to be, instead of trying to make your PPTs better, you shouldn't even bother using the evil software package from Microsoft. Instead, make a nice handout for your audience.
So I decided to perform a test. I was involved in an internal presentation to a different group in the company. One by one, eight different managers gave a 10 to 15 minute presentation to a group of about 25 people. While the other managers worked on their PPTs, got their laptops ready, and made sure a screen and a Boxlight would be in the conference room, I worked on a one-page handout. My presentation would stand by itself, without the crutch of PPT illuminating the wall behind me; the handout would supplement my presentation, and would allow the audience to take something physical back to their offices.
After the presentations were over, the audience was asked to fill out a survey. To summarize, they hated the handouts, loved the PPTs. And the PPT presentation they loved the best was one of the most hideous examples I had ever seen--one Mr. Tufte would have had a field day tearing apart, one slide at a time.
I agree that too many presenters use bad PPTs as a crutch, and as presenters we should rely more on handouts as a secondary communication tool. However, in my own experience the audience seems to want and *expect* PPTs-in which case a bad PPT might be more effective than no PPT at all. Read Tufte's essay and take his points to heart, but ultimately, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!
Rating: 5
Summary: Judge for yourself...
Comment: Reading the other reviews here, it seems clear that the folks who give this poor reviews are the same folks who love presentations with at least five colors, twenty fonts, and if possible two or three animations per slide.... I'll bet y'all just love that dancing paperclip too, don't you?
Tufte's critique of Powerpoint is just an extension of what he's been saying for years: cut the crap! The more subtle point he's making is that when we try to shoehorn complex ideas into Powerpoint's straitjacket, a lot of information gets squeezed out. His analysis of the slides used by NASA engineers to discuss the possible damage to Columbia's wing is dead on.
OK, maybe some of you business types are more interested in being entertained than in being informed. But you engineers out there: buy this short pamphlet and take it to heart, the man is telling us the truth. Simplify, simplify, simplify!!
Rating: 5
Summary: The "dumbing down" of corporate presentations
Comment: Tufte is "spot on" with his assessment of the adverse affects that PowerPoint can have on "un-suspecting" audiences. Tufte is a master articulator. A must have for anyone who uses PowerPoint!
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Title: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte ISBN: 0961392142 Publisher: Graphics Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative by Edward R. Tufte ISBN: 0961392126 Publisher: Graphics Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1997 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte ISBN: 0961392118 Publisher: Graphics Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 1990 List Price(USD): $48.00 |
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Title: Visual & Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Decision Making by Edward R. Tufte ISBN: 0961392134 Publisher: Graphics Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.00 |
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Title: Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference by Robert L. Harris ISBN: 0195135326 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $50.00 |
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