BOOK REVIEW – Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations that Inform, Motivate, and Inspire
by Cliff Atkinson | Microsoft Press, May 2011
Think about the last PowerPoint presentation you endured… If it was anything like most PowerPoint presentations, it probably consisted of slide after slide of text – sentence fragments arranged as bullet points. Pictures and clip art were added as an afterthought and the presenter’s core message was hopelessly lost in the barrage of slides that followed.
Afterwards, people may have mumbled about what a waste of time the presentation was. Others may have referred to the presentation as a “data dump” and suggested that the presenter could have simply e-mailed his slide deck and achieved the same results. Very few people would be able to recall important details from the presentation.
In contrast, the Beyond Bullet Points approach helps you craft your message and clearly identify key points you want your audience to remember. Using research in the fields of cognitive science and educational psychology, Cliff Atkinson outlines a complete framework for creating presentations that are effective and memorable. The system ensures that you distill your message to its essence and present your information in a way that is easy for people to process.
Here is my candid assessment of the book.
Pros
- Beyond Bullet Points is a complete system for creating effective presentations.
- The process will focus your presentation and help you clearly communicate your key points.
- The BBP approach will help you connect with your audience and increase knowledge transfer.
Cons
- It’s not a quick fix – the process takes time to learn and time to implement.
- If you work with a team, everyone needs to be on board and understand the system.
- The BBP approach deliberately excludes extraneous information – including branding elements mandated by your company’s marketing department.
Beyond Bullet Points isn’t a quick fix – but if you’re willing to make an investment in the time necessary to learn a new way of building presentations, these specialized techniques have the potential to transform your content and help you connect with your audience in a powerful and meaningful way.
Have you read Beyond Bullet Points? Have you incorporated and (or all) of the techniques? Leave your answers in the comments below.
