Skip to content

Be PowerPoint-free for a week

I’m proposing that you try something radical for yourself — go PowerPoint-free for a week. And not just PowerPoint, but all slide-based presentation tools including Keynote. What would happen?

All business communication would halt or slow to a crawl. People would have to start writing in coherent sentences again. They would have to make linked arguments and not just bullet points. We’d have to think critically about data and what we’re putting forth. We might even have to think long-term. The ensuing panic would result in economic downslide. And whoa! We’d be back in September of 2008, at the edge of the precipice.

Really now? Come on.

Trainers/facilitators/experts/SMEs wouldn’t know what to say or how to say it. It would be just them with their learners. It’s presenting naked— no hiding behind slides! You’d have to get at the essence of what you wanted to say. You would have to find other means of communicating your message — be that drawings, games or just telling stories. Learners would have to share their experiences with each other. And facilitators would have to focus on what’s important — the process of learning, rather than the content. More on “how” are the learning rather than “what” are they learning (credit to Jim P. for this insight.)

People would learn. Meetings would be shorter. We’d have more time. World peace would be just around the corner (ah, a girl can dream.)

A thought experiment — have your organization try being slide-presentation free for a week and see what happens. Or maybe just ban PPT from meetings, and see if you find other ways to communicate.

Constraints create freedom to design. You’ll end up in places you never thought you’d go.

Posted in instructional design.

9 comments

By Rani H. Gill – August 2, 2010

Being orthogonal

It’s been so long since I last posted here, mostly because I’ve been buried in client work. A sudden, unexpected contract opportunity arose and I dove in. It was zero to 60 in less than one week.

As a part of my work I’ve been doing interviews with SMEs. You know, very highly technical people who are passionate about their work — but not always so good at communicating the essence of the product or idea they are working on. So in come the Learning Designers asking them to think differently — to teach without powerpoint! What? Is it possible – oh yes it is! Is it scary – of course.

But most importantly, as one SME pointed out “it’s orthogonal to my approach”.

Orthogonal – what the heck does that mean? It’s at perpendicular angle to the way, it’s at an tangential angle — basically it’s a techy way of saying: “I was heading in a different direction, and now you want me to rethink my approach?” Depending on the tone, and how many times that phrase is used, it could also mean “You’re pissing me off.”

Well good. As a learning designer I want to be orthogonal to your approach. I want you to think differently about your materials — I want you to think about those people sitting there listening to your powerpoint — YOUR LEARNERS. Guess what — they are orthogonal to your approach.

So the next time a SME says, “that’s orthogonal to my approach”, take it as a compliment.

Posted in instructional design.

Tagged with , , .

7 comments

By Rani H. Gill – July 14, 2010

What’s missing with open space meetings?

Recently I went to an open space meeting, or an unconference and was engaged by the conversations I had, and yet found myself wanting more.

For those of you not yet in the know, an open space meeting is essentially a gathering, spanning one day or several, around a common topic, where there is no preset agenda. The participants create the agenda on the day by putting up topics for small group discussion. The facilitators provide a grid of time slots and meeting spaces, and people put up the ideas or problems they would like to discuss. At the appropriate times, people vote with their feet and go to the small group gathering that interests them most. They can stay at one group, or flit between groups. Meeting notes are captured, and then published in a wiki or some other format.

The quality of the conversations depends on the participants, the topics, and the energy of the space. It’s a different way of having a professional conference. You are responsible for creating your own experience. Ok, I buy into that. But still, I find myself wanting more. What’s missing for me?

For me it’s the difference between formal and informal learning, where structured conferences are the former, and unconferences are the latter. There is a place for both. One is about learning in a designed path, in a structured way, to a particular outcome. The other is about exploring a topic.  So it depends what I need at that time. Am I exploring or wanting to get somewhere?

What I love most about the open space meetings is going places where I never thought I’d go. What I don’t like is when I’m looking to plunge deeply into a topic, and be taken to place I didn’t know I could go, by someone who has explored and thought about it in depth — when I need a guide.

Now that I’ve written this it seems obvious, but it’s not so obvious in the moment when you’re having great conversations and still find yourself looking around for the sage. I want both. I want to dive deep with a guide, and then explore, with others, and find my own way. Like improvisational jazz — structure and unstructure within the same experience.

Can’t we design a middle way?

Posted in business, learning profession, OD, tools.

Tagged with , , , , .

6 comments

By Rani H. Gill – June 7, 2010