What would you say to Tufte if you had the chance to meet him? What questions would you have for him? What would the two of you argue about? What common ground would you find?
Then consider: What guidelines would Tufte suggest for you as you prepare for Thursday's presentation?
due 5/17
If I had a chance to meet Tufte I would applaud him for his analysis of the power point presentation. I would argue with him about the social and psychological effects of a power point and how using it as such is powerful when you may not know everything on your topic of discussion. I think that both of us would agree that a power point could be physically thick in content but intellectually thin. He understands that people do not actually read a power point for information but use it as a guideline to follow along side with the presenter or narrator.
ReplyDeleteI think that Tufte would recommend to me that I present information that is relevant to my audience and that I address them as real people who will understand the relevancy of my topic. Although I am not presenting a topic that is precedent in avoiding some impending doom, I am going to relate how possibly media can sway our opinions with choice words so that things may often not be as they seem.
If I met Tufte, I would ask him how he ever made the decision to write a book on powerpoint. Then I'd ask about how he chose the layout and organization for the book. We'd fight over the necessity of a powerpoint guide. Then, I'd thank him for writing it because I suck at computers.
ReplyDeleteFirst, he'd have me decide whether I want to stick with this topic, or move back to an old one. Then, he'd tell me to find an appropriate template for different types of information. The last thing to add is little fancy details, like the swoosh words on slides. The guide is handy, but seems tedious, and presumptuous.
If I had the chance to meet Tufte, I would discuss with him the cognitive style of powerpoint and what he found when he compared it to other types of presentations. I would ask him about the problems with powerpoint and to expand on his suggestions for making it better. I would talk to him about how far technology has come from using "foils" on overhead projectors. We may argue about how there is much more to do in powerpoint than just listing bullets. But, I definitely agree that powerpoint is presenter friendly and doesn't necessarily friendly to the audience or content. I would tell him how I think powerpoint is meant to be there are a visual for the audience, and then the presenter is there to expand on the information while using the slides as some sort of guide and not reducing the intellectual value of the content. Also, that powerpoints shouldn't include dozens of slides, but only those that are most important to the topic. I think Tufte would advise me to develop my own style while i present, know my content well to make my presentation seem more self-aware, and have the content be important and strong.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a chance to mee Tufte I think my first question would be what made you want to write a booklet about Powerpoint? I would want to talk about why he chose to focus so much on the Columbia accident.
ReplyDeleteIs it really al that bad to have transitions on my slides? I really like making presentations interesting using different slide and word transitions. Does that make me less professional? I don't think that it does. We might argue on this topic. Honestly though I am not an arguer. I don't like it at all. I respect what someone thinks and believes but thats them and I am me. I will think what I want and I expect them to let me do that.
He says that a powerpoint is not a good tool of presentation for engineering reports, presentations, documentation. This may be true but I am not in a field like that. I am in a field that these interesting slides and information is key. I want to be able to keep the attention of my audience and using Powerpoint can be a powerful tool.
In the example with Abraham Lincoln it is obvious that Lincoln doesn't have a clicker in hand. If you don't have access to a clicker then stand by the computer. As a person in the audience the phrase 'next slide please' is annoying. I think that he would agree with me on that.
For my presentation I think that he wouldn't want lots of transitioning slides. Also, i shouldn't be reading from my slides. Tufte would want me to make it interesting and simple. I am trying to get a point across so instead of talking long and drawn out I should make my argument and back it up, conclude it and be done.
Malia
I would discuss the art of argument with Tufte. I find some of his ideas about presenting information very interesting, though I would raise questions about about the nature of logic and reason. It would seem that Tufte main interest in the piece is to offer ideas for how explanations or arguments can be presented to people. In this sense, he seems more focused on presenting arguments well, rather than making good arguments.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that I find interesting is the admission that the bulleted method of presenting information may not be the conclusive way to process information for an audience. Tufte points out that scientists have always carried out collaboration and not always used such a format. This is but one piece of evidence that the bullet format may not work equally well for all people, and that there may be ways of crafting a compelling argument that works better for certain jobs or audiences.
Tufte has earned some credibility in my mind through this admission, though it's clear that he seems to have settled on this style of presentation as being an excellent way of pre-processing information for an audience. Remembering that one can tailor an argument for a specific audience could greatly improve the strength of the argument given. But it is also important to demonstrate valid and sound argumentation. Appealing to an audience can be as easy as telling them what they want to hear, but logical arguments should always be preferred.
If I had the chance to meet Edward Tufte I would enjoy the difference of opinion that he would bring to the table. One of the questions I would ask is how does he prepare for presentations? I would love for him to include the major differences in preparing for a presentation as an undergrad in college compared to a presentation as a professional adult. Since he is well known in the field of informational design I would ask him to prepare one of his presentations for me. I think seeing him perform his art first hand would be the best learning experience for Thursday’s presentation.
ReplyDeleteIf we were to meet, I suppose the question I would present him with is when formatting an argument, does there exist a convention for streamlining an argument against the warrant s and counter-arguments with sufficient logically analyzed detail that does not create a boring stigma? The reason I would ask him this is because when creating a more scientific presentation one can see how fact dependent it can be and how black and white it tend to feel.
ReplyDeleteI may argue that the use of a presentation can help support a speaker who is normally lacks the necessary skill set required to make a presentation…
If I met Tufte I would tell him that I agree with a lot of what he believes in. I would ask him what he believes the solutions are to solve this PowerPoint dilemma. Tufte and I would have a lot to agree on but we would also have a couple things to disagree on. For example, I would disagree with Tufte when it comes to the fact that PowerPoint does not add any additional information. I would personally argue that PowerPoint can display additional charts and graphs to further exemplify what the speaker may not be able to communicate clearly. Especially if someone is a visual learner, I think that graphs and charts can be very significant depending on the presentation topic. On the other hand, I would agree with tufte when it comes to the fact that PowerPoint is abused when it becomes extra, unnecessary effects that just become distracting. Often times people abuse the special effects offered on PowerPoint and the presentation quickly becomes unprofessional and irrelevant. I would agree that PowerPoint works well for some topics but sometimes it is completely needless. Tufte would probably suggest that I limit any kind of special features that make my presentation distracting. He would probably tell me to keep the information simple, short, and to the point. A simple presentation is the best way to go.
ReplyDeleteI think if I had the chance to mee Tufte, I will appreciate him for all his contribution questions to the powerpoint, which is a convenient tool for us to convey our thought through a presentation. Second, I think I can debate with him about the graphic or chart point of him. Different people has different preference of absorbing information. I think the purpose of the powerpoint is to make us get information from the presentation, not to show how academic we are with texts. Graphic and chart is a very significant tool for absorbing information, especially for the people who prefer the graphics rather than texts. People absorbs information by right brains or left brains. If the people's right brain is more dominated than the left one, they will get the information from graphic faster. On the contrary, if the left brain is more dominated, people prefer the texts. Thus, I think the combination of proper amount of texts and graphic can increase the effectiveness of the powerpoint and the presentation for all kinds of people.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I want to ask him about how to format each slide of a presentation. Presentation needs structure as well, which means the powerpoint needs to provide this structure by formatting each slide. My question might be what kinds of format can be the most effective one to make the readers get the information as soon as possible. And which format can grasp the readers' intersts.
If I could meet Tufte the first thing that I would say to him is that I do agree that the program of Microsoft power point has taken a way some elements of speeches. But at the same time I would tell him it has also add to speeches by ways of Visual adds they are better now than they ever was. This method is also healthier on the environment there is less paper used and wasted. But I do agree some of the elements missing when using a power point is being able to hand someone a piece of paper in their hand and allowing them to read as a person goes through their speech.
ReplyDeleteIn my case, giving me a piece of paper with everything on it I wouldn’t pay any attention and at the same time have a very wordy slide show and all I will do is read the slide show which means whatever point the presenter was trying to make I never got it. Myself, I’m not against Microsoft Power point but I’m also not for it I sit on the fence with it. The most useful thing that I think Microsoft Power point should be used for is, organizing images and may be headlines/ bulletins. This way the audience is not reading straight from the slides but they have a visual aid if needed and so they can be on the same topic that the presenter is. The reason the headlines / bulletins will help a presenter using Microsoft Power point is if they are not very good at transitioning between subjects.
If I had the opportunity to meet Tufte at dinner I would be pretty excited to meet someone famous. I would pose many questions to him. Some questions would be why he chose to make a book based on PowerPoint. There are so many things to write a book on, and he chose PowerPoint, why? He talks about how horrid transitions are. I would probably argue why I think they are necessary in any PowerPoint. Tufte emphasizes why simple power points are key and that they are only necessary to convey points to the audience. I like to have a lot of words on my power points to give my audience a bunch of information.
ReplyDeleteI do like the fact that Tufte talks about how power points should be a visual reference to the audience and that’s it. It should in no way be a giant notecard for the presenter to read off of. The special effects that I love to use in PowerPoint’s would not be approved Tufte. One example that Tufte uses in his book is how power points should not be used for engineering major. I disagree with this statement because I think power points are very valuable pieces of information in all genres.