Killer PowerPoint Displays

The next time you’re asked to throw together a PowerPoint presentation for an important meeting just remember it’s not rocket science.

If the engineers at Boeing had remembered that then the seven Columbia space shuttle astronauts who died in February 2003 might be alive today.

Columbia broke up in the Earth’s atmosphere after a wing, damaged during launch, became superheated on re-entry and broke apart.

According to Edward Tufte, an professor emeritus of statistics, graphic design and political economy at Yale University, the way PowerPoint presentations are structured are critical for comprehension.

In his paper, Tufte pulls apart in painstaking detail the slides prepared by Boeing engineers that were supposed to have alerted NASA officials to the severity of the problem facing the shuttle.

He contends that ‘serious problems require a serious tool: written reports’.

Over reliance on PowerPoint – especially the use of animation and sound effects – will hamper your presentation’s comprehension and credibility.

And, as Tufte proves, it can actually kill people.