Few would argue that PowerPoint has long filled an important role in the workspace, but could it be outliving its usefulness? Worse, could it be becoming actively harmful in the workplace? Increasingly, experts are seeing yes. More and more voices are joining the chorus arguing that Powerpoint, for all its value as a presentation tool, detracts from critical thinking skills.
French writer Franck Frommer literally wrote the book on the topic. His treatise, ‘How PowerPoint Makes You Stupid,’ levels the accusation that PowerPoint presentations have a tendency to reduce information to simple arguments and equations that aren’t tied to a person who is accountable for them. This distillation and oversimplification, while it makes things easy to understand, makes it difficult for us to adapt what we are learning and apply knowledge elsewhere.
So, while PowerPoint may have revolutionized the office presentation and makes it very easy to organize ideas, it may be time to start exploring alternatives.