As a planner I am often forced to converse in slides...There was a time few years back, when close friends accused me of even thinking in power-point LOL.
Luckily I have managed to wriggle out of power-point thinking! I have tried to embrace conversations. Must admit I was quite an average conversationalist. In fact, it's the constant blogging of the past 10 months which might have added some flavour to my thoughts! Last night at THUGS - the bar in Hotel Broadway, close to Daryaganj, my friend John Lambie suggested this post title!!
When I look at our business. I find many clients want presentations and not really conversations from planners. One notable exception would be Dharam -who almost gave me his business to have conversations with him!!(Straight guy)
1. Have you ever realised that often you are forced to form/ solidify your thinking at the beginning of a power-point whereas thinking in a conversation gets better as you go along!
2. Once you start the power-point, if you aren't really careful, after a while the template takes over...Whereas conversations always allow you to keep on exploring fringe thoughts...
3. Presentations have a start and an end. Conversations don't. There is no urgency to converge. No tyranny of CONCLUSIONS.
4. Power-points tie you to a lap-top, conversations free you to the outside world!
5. Power-points subtly take a lot of one's time in dressing up the thinking. Conversations give all the time to sharpen core thinking.
6. In a presentation, you are stuck up mostly with an aging Microsoft. Conversations allow you millions of sexy thought partners...
I wish they would ban power-points from an agency. Conversations are the thumb-nail of thoughts...Before technology took over and destroyed most of the joy of thinking...
Imagine blogging in power-points...Pukey thought. Isn't it...
Do write to me. I am always ready for a conversation! Everyone's invited - clients, strangers, prospective new business guys, fellow-bloggers...
7 comments:
Power-point The name itself says that you put only the most powerful "points" in there. So I see using power-points more like conversation starters.
For example I love the way Tom Peters shapes his presentations. I never attended his talk but looking at his powerpoints I am sure he starts all his talks from just what's seen on the screen.
Like the contrast...though I find working on power point fun sometimes - when one has the luxury of time
To add to your list of contrasts - Power point presentations - progress in a linear fashion...conversations do not necessarily
Kapil - will compare notes after you complete 10 years in the business:-)
Reshma - yes thats a good addition...
thanks guys!
for a three day training program on media for our advertising planners, the only stipulation i laid was that there would be not a single powerpoint. so the team came up with such innovative ways to train their colleagues on media concepts, it was most illuminating - they used treasure hunts, treadmills, a mini fashion show, rock climbing, a campfire...it was absolutely terrific..and tiring but the participants found it exhilarating. powerpoints can be very limiting. liked your post.
This is a nice one - brings to mind a book i'm re-reading, The Perfect Pitch by Jon Steele
It's an entertaining read, easily covered in one of the bom-del flights ;)
Jon talks about a method BMP used to present, by using board, much like the "mood boards" we sometimes use for research. In that sense, richly contextualise the message that you want to send out to the audience.
How does a few words on a slide, interspersed with a cleverly dug up adfilm or film clip differ from this? Well, it gives the person more room to maneuver more easily between thoughts, and give room for more creative expression.
thanks lynn, harshal...
must read the perfect pitch! i need to read the ones that u loaned me some time back...
cheers
M\
Mansh the planners in my agency.. which is so powerpoint led and my client who lives only on powerpoints..cant come up with half as much as sensible and executable so called insights and thoughts as you would come up with in my daily lunch time conversation with you at DAVID. :-) but such is the the stuck up world...man i've never had so much fun conversation as i've had in david.innane conversations from which we would something completely sensible..wow! yahan pe to sab computer mein ghuse rehtein hai aur ya to powerpoint parteoin hai ya paratein hai..
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