Dan Janal has recently changed his viewpoint on PowerPoint.
Here are some thoughts from his Monday Morning Marketing Memo:

Speakers love to criticize PowerPoint. I was one of them. I’m not any longer.

When speakers slam PowerPoint, they say things like:
“You shouldn’t read your presentation.”
“If they can read your presentation, then what extra value do you bring?”
“PowerPoint takes the attention from the speaker – and you’re the reason they are there.”
“John Kennedy didn’t need PowerPoint.”

Well, yes, those are all true.

But.

Those arguments ignore a few realities.

I wish you could have been there when I was sitting in a presentation at the SMX Search Marketing Conference in San Jose recently. I was not an august presenter. I was a mere audience member.  I was there to learn.

Every speaker had a PowerPoint.

I snickered at the use of PowerPoint.

But after a few minutes as a learner, not a speaker, I had an epiphany.

PowerPoint made it easier to learn.

How?

1.     I could immediately tell which points were the most important. Most speakers had 10 minutes to present. They spoke fast so they could meet their deadlines. With all that info to digest, where can an audience member focus? It helps to have the key points highlighted on PowerPoint. Thank you, PowerPoint.

2.  When speakers mentioned resources, I could see the website addresses and write them down. No time was wasted by people asking speakers to repeat the name of the product or the address and spell it out. As a speaker, I know that I’ve had to do that for audience members who somehow can’t spell “com” as in “dot.com.” Or “Is that a forward slash or a back slash?” Or “What is a hash tag?” Thank you, PowerPoint.

3.     Slides that had graphs are worth their weight in gold. Pictures and charts tell stories in ways that words can’t. Thank you, PowerPoint.

4.     We all have different learning styles. PowerPoint helps those of us with the visual learning style. Thank you, PowerPoint.

5.     PowerPoint also helped to create a permanent record of the information. We could download the slides to review notes and pick u p points that flew by quickly. Of course, it would be hard to follow some presentations solely with slides and not the accompanying audio, but the speaker makes better slides than I can take notes. Thank you, PowerPoint.

So there you have it. I am a reformed PowerPoint basher. I have seen the light. I hope I can save future audiences.

I’ve had it up to here with the “auditory elite.” Just because you like to speak, doesn’t mean we like to listen!

Dan Janal helps small businesses get publicity so they can sell more products. My clients get terrific results from my coaching, consulting, done-for-you services and do-it-yourself tools. For info, go to www.prleadsplus.com or call me at 952-380-1554.

Some final thoughts from Jess:

What do we teach at my company?
-One idea per slide
-Don’t read to people
-Stories and visuals are memorable
-Always have a POINT when telling a story or giving an example
-Don’t make people read and listen to you at the same time.  It is impossible.
-PowerPoint should be used to ENHANCE your messages, not suck the air out of them.

Find out you  can do that.  http://www.ResultsFirstTraining.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577197630105193196.html

http://www.SuccessInMedia.com

http://www.MediaTrainingCrashCourse.com

http://www.PresentationTrainingSolution.com

http://www.PRmarketingInsider.com

http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/above-all-else-personal-brand-is-a-story

I have had a number of clients who came to me for media training or consulting and realized they needed some serious social reputation management.  They had something disparaging show up on the first page of Google when people searched their name.  Thankfully, I have someone on my team who specializes in that.

Check out this recent Wall Street Journal article:

CLICK HERE

http://www.SuccessInMedia.com
http://www.MediaTrainingCrashCourse.com
http://www.PresentationTrainingSolution.com
http://www.PRmarketingInsider.com

Want to change the channel?  Turn the knob.

After the advent of cable and the remote, scroll through all the channels in a linear order. Guess what?
The world doesn’t work in a linear way any more.  People set up their “favorites” in the crowded world of choices and try to silence the rest.

Enter Apps.

Television has to decide if they want to embrace this new interface, create something new, or become secondary to an internet interface on our screens.  I can easily see a set up, similar to the iPhone and iPad where you add in your favorites, your apps, and a button for “Classic TV.”

Here’s an article that got me thinking:

Maybe TV Doesn’t Need Apps Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:06:51 -0500 Every TV manufacturer seems to be betting that consumers want apps on their TVs. But why are we so convinced that apps will displace cable programming guides as the key way people navigate television?

Visit:
http://www.SuccessInMedia.com
http://www.MediaTrainingCrashCourse.com
http://www.PresentationTrainingSolution.com
http://www.PRmarketingInsider.com

Click for full story:

The lesson here?

Branch out in many directions.
Seek multiple streams of income.

Check out this story:

http://socialtimes.com/miss-america-video-contest_b87139

Visit http://www.SuccessInMedia.com
if you are interested in a customized workshop or consulting program.

Click here for full story:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2011/12/19/this-one-leadership-quality-will-make-or-break-you/

Happiness is Love — and $75,000