Seth Godin has a great posting on what we take for granted in business–bad Power Point presentations. No one seems to notice anymore because the standard is so low. 

What I like about Seth’s thoughts is that he points to the power of whole brain thinking–using facts and photos, using eloquent reasoning and emotion, providing the details (in a handout at the end) and the big picture.  Providing both, not just one, is the road to effective communications.  A side benefit is that meetings are alot more enjoyable.

I saw Seth speak several years ago at a Fast Company-sponsored conference. He followed his own advice–very few words, some figures, some images. He gave a speech that held my attention throughout, in a ballroom of hundreds of people. I’ve never forgotten that experience.

When I was asked to do an after-dinner talk to a group of executives who had been in meetings all day, I thought of Seth and his images in place of Power Point. You would think this would be the death knell for any speaker but instead, the audience was completely engaged. Hey, this stuff really does work.