Life After PowerPoint!

Yesterday I made my case against the erroneous assumption many technical experts operate from: “The facts speak for themselves.” Today I’d like discuss another assumption that flows out of it and that is equally erroneous.

Andrew Lightheart articulated that assumption in his response to an earlier post: “People need all the facts to make a decision.” (Check out Andrew’s great blog, Real - Smart - Now.)

One of the main problems with giving people “all the facts” is that doing so overwhelms them. People already have more facts than they understand or know what to do with. Giving them all the facts only adds to their confusion. And it bores them.

And the last thing you want to do in a presentation is to confuse and bore people, because confused, bored people never do what you want them to. Instead, they shut down, tune you out, and actively or passively resist you.

If you doubt me, start your next presentation by saying, “In the short time we have today I’m going to present 60 slides that are jampacked with charts, graphs, and bullet points. I’m going to tell you everything there is to know about my topic.” Then watch as people lean back in their chairs, fold their arms across their chests, and let their eyes glaze over. (Given half a chance, they’d bolt for the nearest exit.)

The object of a presentation is NOT to give people “all the facts.” It’s to give them “as many facts as they need” to understand your message and to do what you want them to do. Start by presenting an overview. Build your case logically and progressively, bit by bit, giving only enough facts at each step to inform and convince your audience. Then let people ask questions. If they want to know more, they’ll ask. Once they have enough facts, stop. You’ve made your point. Anything more you say — any additional facts you present — will only be counterproductive.

When people are thirsty, you don’t attach a fire hose to their throats and open the valve. You set a glass of water in front of them and let them drink. You offer them more. Once they say, “Thanks, that’s enough,” you stop.

Don’t give people “all the facts.” Give them some of the facts — the most important, salient facts. And let them decide whether they want more.

Do you agree? Disagree? Have anything to add? Unless I’m really off the mark and you all raise objections, I’m planning to discuss tomorrow a related erroneous assumption raised by both Andrew and M.J. that goes something like this: “People make decisions based on the facts.”

Photo courtesy of doribenster at Flckr.

Tags: erroneous assumption, facts, Technical Presentations, too much information

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 2:33 pm and is filed under Technical Presentations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.