If Tufte came to dinner, what kinds of things would you want to ask him (just to be clear, re: visual design and presentations)? What do you think motivates Tufte? What guidelines might he offer you for giving a successful presentation?
due 10/3 by class
If I had the honor to have dinner with Tufte, I would want to ask a lot of questions. But I think the one thing I would ask first is what would make a presentation better for the audience. What would he want to see in a presentation? I know that he views power point as simplistic and that the bulleting along with other ways to shorten ideas really hurt the presentation. So I would ask what could I do to expand my ideas, while using power point. How valuable does he think visual aid is in making a presentation worthwhile? I know it helps me learn, but does he think it will help other people as much. Also the overall design of a presentation, what he thinks is the key to making it memorable, and influential. Presentations can become somewhat boring when there is a specific structure that everyone follows because it is comfortable for them. He talks about how power point is used to reassure the presenter. I get really nervous and shy in front of people so I would want to know if he has any really good strategies that would make a compelling presentation, without leaning on the power point because I am nervous. I know he thinks it is important not to lean on the power point, but for someone like me, it helps me be calm because I know if I lose my train of thought I have something to fall back on. I think Tufte is motivated by the truth and wanting to expand the horizon for people. He doesn’t like the idea of being boxed in with something that won’t give everyone the whole picture, which some presentations do. Tufte might remind me to not let my nerves get the better of me and make me lean on the power point when I do not know what to say. Also he would say to make it as interesting as possible, while steering clear of bullet points, and boring guidelines for the normal presentation. He would tell me the purpose of presentations are to educate and that I need to teach people with my presentation, I must make their time spent listening to me worth while!
ReplyDeleteIf I could have dinner with Mr. Edward Tufte, a couple of questions that I would like to ask him during the evening would be how to make a more compelling PowerPoint presentation. This being my first question I think that Mr. Tufte would have a very simple and compelling answer for me, he would probably say that in order to make a more interesting PowerPoint presentation do not simply read from the slides themselves. In his book he mentions the fact that anyone can read from a projection and that makes for a very boring presentation that lacks any real knowledge about the subject. A interesting presentation must consist of showing the slide but not just regurgitating the information, you should show the slide and look at your audience and interact with them like you would if you were selling them something.
ReplyDeleteThe second question I would have for Mr. Tufte would be how to create a presentation with slides but not forget the information on all the slides. Mr. Tufte would probably sit down and remind me of the transitions of slides. In my past during presentations I have shown a slide and only named half the information on the screen because I don’t want to waste time reading the entire slide before making a comment or breaking the flow of the presentation. Mr. Tufte would refer back to his book to the transition portion and how you can introduce information one sentence at a time during the individual slide, this makes the information appear at appropriate times and allows the presenter enough time to look at the next sentence and gather the information without breaking up the flow of the presentation.
After reading his book I think what motivates Mr. Tufte is the fact that he has witnessed the downfall of PowerPoint presentations and is trying to save people from continuing down a misguided road and allow them to make improvements during presentations.
If Tufte came to dinner at my house, I would be really afraid of boring him. While I see his point, this man was bored by a report to NASA! So, I would serve the most unusual meal I could manage. I don’t mean to say that Tufte is easily bored but that he may spend an in ordinate amount of time analyzing the meal and that analysis may not end well if I can’t at least interest him with the meal’s content. But this is the point, isn’t it!
ReplyDeleteI know, this may be a poor analogy to this assignment but I would really want to know exactly what type of presentation Tufte finds interesting. Quite honestly, I have never prepared a Power Point presentation before and was excited to be able to do it for our next class presentation. Now that I have read Tufte’s ruthless analysis of the Power Points of the world, I know there is no way I will be able to make a suitable presentation with this unfamiliar medium.
Perhaps that puts me in a better spot than I first considered. Having never used Power Point, I may be better positioned to use another type of presentation. Does Tufte like audience participation? Would he like informative manipulatives? How about a “What’s My Line?” type of panel presentation? He seems to prefer handouts to Power Points but what type of handouts? Brochures? Posters? Books? Flip books? Picture books? Lift-the-flap books? Multipage graphs and charts full of statistics? Is he a color man or black and white? How about a series of questions and answers? Or maybe he prefers group work or team work or contests or games as a way of engaging the audience? Would he like an educational skit or play, instead? Possibly he’d like a demonstration type of presentation? Maybe he’s a song and dance aficionado? Or might a short film get his attention? And the biggest question of all - Has Tufte ever even seen a presentation that he liked?
My guess is that Tufte cherishes content. Not just any content, but content of a deep and cerebral flavor. Something that makes audiences work to put the pieces together in a coherent manner such that it is grateful when the presenter makes sense of it for them. Not so sure I’ll be able to pull that one off. But I’ll give it a go!
You're right that Tufte is pretty intimidating. He's so violently opposed to bad presentations that I'm not sure he inspires one to do something better, but perhaps just to be very, very afraid!
DeleteIf I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Tufte some questions, I think the first question I would ask is why he has taken so much time to help people out with powerpoint. I think his answer would go along with why this motivates him so much. It seems he’s seen the worst of the worst powerpoints and the best of the best, and every thing in between. He wants people to use powerpoints the right way, a way where the person can have the most success.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to ask him how he could help me in a presentation. I think he would give me a few tips to help me out. One would be is to stay calm and not be nervous, especially not show the audience that I’m nervous. The presentation wouldn’t be as effective if the audience could see my nervousness. I think another thing Tufte would help me out with is the actual slides themselves. He would tell me to avoid bulletpoints and try to make my slides as interesting as possible, without clumping things together. It’s important for the audience to be interested throughout the entire presentation without being entirely distracted from what I’m saying. He would remind me to not read the slides word for word, but rather just use the slides as guidelines to remind where I am in the presentation. I think he recommend that I use some transitions, but give the audience physical copies of all the slides so they knew where the presentation was going.
I think what motivates Tufte the most is the fact that he’s seen powerpoint presentations be used the wrong way far too often, and that has hurt the presenter and his or her presentation. What he’s trying to do is explain effective ways to use powerpoints so that the presenter accomplishes getting across whatever message he or she wanted to. Tufte’s strategies are very helpful, which is why it seems like he’s had a lot of success.
I think you're right that he's trying to motivate people to do better, although as Paige noted above, he might just scare people off. I think his anger/frustration/grumpiness gets in the way of his argument--one of the hazards of self-publishing!
DeleteIf I were given the opportunity to talk with Edward R. Tufte I would first ask him what his preferred method of presenting on a serious subject matter is. In The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within, Professor Tufte gives an extensive, and somewhat longwinded, explanation of why the program PowerPoint is incapable of successfully presenting evidence or information, but fails to give an equally enthusiastic endorsement of a viable method to replace it. While I do agree with much of Professor Tufte’s critique of PowerPoint, I am interested in hearing what he feels would constitute a “good presentation”. I would also like to ask Mr. Tufte his thoughts on why PowerPoint has become the quintessential presentation tool. Obviously a program as widely used as PowerPoint must have its own merits. I would ask Professor Tufte if he sees any practical application of PowerPoint, other than in “non-serious pitches” where speakers wish to “pretend they are giving a real talk”. I would also like to know how Professor Tufte feels that word-processing should be utilized in a presentation, especially in large presentations where giving everyone a printed copy of a report is impractical. I am also curious to know why Professor Tufte feels that PowerPoint was designed in the way that it was, aside from the fact that it resembles the hierarchal structure of a software corporation. If power point’s system of bullets and dashes were not so ubiquitous, would it fail to capture the substance of an issue to the same degree that it does now?
ReplyDeleteProfessor Tufte seems to feel obligated to apply his experience as an educator to illustrating the ways in which a rigidly structured program, such as PowerPoint, defies conventional teaching wisdom, and is ineffective in presenting information. Considering that PowerPoint has secured a monopoly on both professional, and student presentations, I would say that he has his work cut out for him.
If Mr. Tufte came over for dinner I’d definitely have a couple of questions for him. The very first question I’d ask him would simply be why? Now this may seem a very general question and that’s its purpose. I’d really like to know how this whole thing started for him. Has he really developed the need to go through all these power point presentations and critique each one? Did he always feel the need that there has to be a “guide” so to speak about the correct and incorrect ways to make power points?
ReplyDeleteI would then proceed to ask Mr. Tufte about how he determined all these strategies to be the best course of action when making a power point. What kind of research did he do and what kind of testing was involved? Finally I would have to ask him about his own experiences presenting power points. Did some of the hints he gives his readers come from his own mistakes or perfecting certain presenting techniques?
I think people motivate Tufte. He’s sick and tired of seeing countless poorly done power point presentations and I would have to agree with him. Presenting a power point isn’t too difficult, the problem is most people don’t know the ways to use a power point as a tool instead of the focal point of a presentation. By asking him why he’s decided to delve deeper into presenting power points I’d be able to get a clearer understanding.
I think Tufte would only reinforce what I already knew before and after reading his work. Always have energy and engage the audience when speaking, use short bullet points of information that are important but also make sure to add information when speaking on those points, and never read directly from slides. That might be the worst thing someone can do when presenting and I think Tufte would agree with me. He could only help me improve upon presenting, which is exactly what reading his work has done.
I think "why" is the perfect question for him. How did he come to be so entirely grumpy about this subject?
DeleteIf Tufte came to dinner, I would first want to ask him how he felt his opinion on PowerPoint related to education. I have personally used PowerPoint for years as a high school teacher and found it to be an extremely effective and efficient tool. The reading is mainly written for “serious” presentations, which may not directly relate to a high school setting. However, is there not something to be said for making information look visually appealing to keep students interested in the material? I believe PowerPoint is an effective tool for that very reason.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I think motivates Edward Tufte to write about the ineffectiveness of PowerPoint? I can only imagine that he has had to experience numerous dull, unproductive presentations delivered by poor presenters via PowerPoint. He might have also had to create many presentations himself and found more effective tools than just using PowerPoint. To be a presenter himself would probably make him especially critical of other presenters.
Tufte suggests that PowerPoint is not the most effective tool for sharing information in all situations. He explains how this is especially true for serious, complicated material because PowerPoint is designed to simplify. Another issue is that the design of PowerPoint inevitably displays information that makes it difficult to understand the “big picture” or see relationships between different pieces of information. It also creates a situation where a presenter can rely too much on the generic format of PowerPoint, instead of concentrating on his/her own personal style. To help improve presentations, Tufte suggests using word-processing software to display certain types of information such as large tables or graphics. He also suggests incorporating paper handouts, or even multi-page briefing reports for the audience to read before the presenter begins talking. Something I found interesting on that note is a fact stated in the book saying that “people can read 3 times faster than presenters can talk”. Tufte mentions multiple times that incorporating printed material can greatly improve the effectiveness of a presentation.
If I had the pleasure of sharing Tufte’s company and the opportunity to serve the man dinner, I would not be thrilled. However useful his advice and techniques may be, I found his writing style to be obnoxious and otherwise full of mockery. The dinner table set up would be a harsh white light shining down onto his seat to make the setting stand out and not mirror the typical family dinner. I would begin by asking him what PowerPoint ever did to him? It seems that he has mastered the art of making the perfect slideshow so he could conquer his mortal enemy—PP. Like someone who studies the techniques and weaknesses of their enemy, Tufte has studied the art of PP and has managed to scrutinize the smallest detail it has to offer. I would ask him why in the world he decided to write a paper on ‘how to make the perfect PP presentation’ in the first place. Why blatantly criticize numerous organizations, such as NASA and IBM?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the paper is definitely worthwhile, and I would pat him on the back for that, but how he addresses it is rather annoying. The man is clearly motivated by getting his thoughts and ‘thin’ opinions out into the world. He puts every detail of a PP presentation under a microscope and calls out everything that is unsatisfactory about it—in his opinion. Personally, I like bullet points as they highlight the important aspects of the presentation. His has good intentions but he makes me feel like a fool while reading his paper. All in all, I believe Tufte, is motivated by perfection and/or the abnormal (preferably a blend of both). The next time he has to sit through a poorly made PP, I could just see him getting up from the table and walking straight out the room to the street outside and walking in front of a city bus.
If he would be willing to check out a PP made by myself, I would ask that he edit it and not make me feel like an idiot. I would ask him to help me use bullet points in an effective way and how best to incorporate non clip art graphics. It would be nice to learn how to make a slideshow that would hold the audiences attention until the end, and if this required a handout/ visual aid (other than the PP itself) than so be it—what would that be? I do agree with him that the details do matter, which is why everything from text size to font would be considered for this PP. All in all, I think he would say that the “PP does not give the presentation, you do. The PP is the conductor that keeps the tempo of the presentation while you are the performer holding the audiences attention.”
Conveniently, the topic of discussion in my Social Media class currently is along the same lines at Tufte’s argument. While we have been told time after time that we should never read straight from the PowerPoint and that less is more, Tufte does a good job of explaining why. However, if I had the pleasure of enjoying a meal with Mr. Tufte, there are a few things that I would like to ask him.
ReplyDeleteAfter discussing what finally pushed him to turn of the projector, my first question would be if these are all the things not to do, how do we present a successful PowerPoint presentation. He urges us to cut down on the format of the slides and to focus on the content but also states that unique content should only take up 30%-40% of the slide. This seems like a contradiction me.
Also, I would love for him to explain further why he is so adamant against the use of bullet points. In my experience, I feel that the use of bullet points helps to challenge your thoughts while you include further details about said points in your talk. This allows you the opportunities to elaborate on points and further explain critical relationships.
I think that Tufte is motivated by the pure and honest dislike and disdain for the way most of the society utilizes PowerPoint presentations. I have to say that I agree with him, to some extend. We all know how boring and monotonous it is to listen and watch a presenter that reads right from the slides. As a student, this allows me freedom to daydream knowing that I can reflect on the slide. However, I think that there are several individuals that can successful utilize bullet points and slides without boring his or her audiences.
The biggest thing that I can take away from Tufte’s explanation of the successful use of the PowerPoint presentation is to always include a paper that aligns with you talk. This gives your audience something tangible to take away with them. Also, if using slides is a requirement, it is important to use sentences with subjects and verbs and to make sure that you clarify and note critical relationships between points. I think that this is a discussion that needs to occur as soon as student is introduced to the wonderful world of PowerPoint. It can be an efficient tool if you know how to use it effectively.
Yes, great point about providing paper as well. I usually include a handout and that way I know that everyone in the audience has my name and contact details.
DeleteHaving the opportunity to share a meal with Tufte would definitely be an interesting one. After reading his strong oppositions to PowerPoint, I am extremely curious to hear what he has to say about the newest generation of presentation tools like the use of Smart Boards in classrooms or Prezi as the upcoming favored method of visuals for presentation. I am also curious as to whether or not Tufte feels that PowerPoint could ever be used effectively as a presentation tool if the presenter simply used it as an electronic means of projecting a handout instead of adhering to the pre-made layouts and auto content settings that are established, though I have a feeling he might say that this is impossible given the low resolution nature of the program.
ReplyDeleteAs far as motivations go, I feel as though Tufte has listened to his fair share of sleep inducing Power Point driven meetings. Simply from attending class on days where fellow students present their own pre-fabricated presentation, as they fluster to organize their thoughts and end up reading directly from the board in order to stay on topic. In addition to suffering from the exhaustion of watching these meetings ensue, it is possible that Tufte has an extensive background in presentations and feels as though he should share his knowledge on the subject.
Given that this reading dealt primarily with what not to do if you want to give a successful presentation, I feel as though Tufte’s advice in favor of a successful presentation would be to make sure that your content is actually worth the audience’s time, provide visuals in the way they were meant to be shown (leave tables as tables, do not split them up), and do not rely on projected bullet points to highlight specific information but rather use your speaking abilities, intonation, and enthusiasm, to highlight the most important facts.
If I had the opportunity to dine with Mr. Edward R. Tufte I would pick his brain the whole. I have always been interested in different ways to present information to audiences. Considering the fact that I will be teaching in a classroom in the upcoming year, presentation practices are of vital importance. I have learned over the years and through various presentations that reading right off of the screen can ruin what is thought to be a perfect presentation. The audience is already staring at a gigantic screen, obviously they are going to read what is one there, they do not need to be talked about word for word about what they are reading. Chances are they have already read the slide by the time you are done explaining the first bullet point.
ReplyDeleteI would like for him to explain to me different approaches to introducing the material to the audience in the room. In particular I would like to know how to go in depth with the bullet being raised and how to reiterate in a different way with explicit detail to get your point across. I would like to know different techniques to draw the audience’s attention to the point you are making. Presenting in front of an audience can be a nerve-wrecking situation even if you have presented many of times. The make up of the audience is always changing and you never know what they are thinking about you.
A main point I would like to bring up to him would be how to spice up your presentation. I would like to ask him what exactly should be on a PowerPoint. What exactly is too much or too little to include on a single slide. This is one thing I am not sure of. Do you include pictures and little attention grabbers or do you leave it plain with few bullets so you can explain yourself without drawing the audiences away from what you are saying?
I would like to know these factors of a PowerPoint presentation because I will be giving hundreds of these over the course of my career. Every little bit of information can go along way when trying to capture an audience’s attention and how you go about presenting yourself in front of a group of people.
If I went to dinner with Tufte and could ask him any question I wanted to, I would ask him what really does motivate him to help people with PowerPoints. I would also ask him what I could do to keep the audience interested in my PowerPoint. I would also ask Tufte what types of things I could do for my presentation to keep in simple but interesting. I would also ask him how I could better prepare myself so that I do not look at the PowerPoint and instead memorize it. I have a problem with looking at the PowerPoint and not giving my audience my full attention. If I do not read off of the PowerPoint I usually have some sort of note cards or such to read off of instead and I would love to get away from this habit. As I noted earlier, I would ask Tufte what motivates him to help people with PowerPoints but if I had to guess, I would guess that it is because he has seen terrible PowerPoints in his day and wants to help people to make them more interesting because that fact that they could be very informational if you do it right. Also, the only way to get a good point across and to guarantee that everyone will pay attention is if the presenter is interesting. I think one way you could do this is possibly, is to have a little humor in your presentation, everyone loves a good laugh. I would ask Tufte if this would be appropriate in my presentation. Tufte would tell me that my presentation needs to be simple but sufficient and to use a lot of visual aids rather then information up on the screen. He would also tell me to show that I am not nervous and to get up there and (as people would say) imagine my audience in their underwear. I would love to have dinner with Tufte because I would love to be good at giving PowerPoint presentations.
ReplyDeleteIf I had dinner with Mr. Tufte, I would probably not spend a lot of my time talking about Power Point, because I think the conversation would get old really quickly. However if I had to talk with him about presentation styles, I would ask him how to make a better Power Point presentation and why he finds it as such an ineffective tool. For years I have made Power Point presentations as a tool to make presentations to classes as well as seen them used effectively by teachers in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree that many people simply read off the screen and throw way too much information into slides making for a boring presentation. However, I would ask him if there was a possible way to create an effective Power Point or what technique he would suggest in order to make presentations more appealing. So many people today use Power Point that I cannot off the top of my head figure a better way besides informational slides to present a topic. I would ask Mr. Tufte which way he would make a presentation to a large group about Power Point (besides a reading) and how he could do it effectively and efficiently.
I think Mr. Tufte is motivated to write against Power Point presentations because they are so often used and seem to be the same thing with information changed. Also so many people do not seem credible simply reading the same information off a slide, because it does make their knowledge look questionable. I think he has a point, but I am not sure what at this current point in time a better presentation tool is. I have used things like Prezi and Mac Videos to make presentations, but find that sometimes they are a bit over the top and spend too much time entertaining rather than informing.
I think that if Tufte offered some guidelines to making a Power Point he would say not to have every single little detail on screen. I think he would suggest having something off to the side that you can read, and only have slides that contain certain points, so that you can elaborate on them, so the presenter is making the presentation rather than repeating words off a slide.
If I could share a meal with Tufte and had to talk about visual presentation, I would ask a few questions. First, I would like to know his opinion on what makes a presentation bad or good. We have all sat through the good and bad, but there is not one specific thing I could pick out that makes a presentation work or not. If I could think of one thing I know makes a presentation a drag is information overload. However, he feels as though the bulleting of points hurts the presentation. However, I think that if you can effectively shorten the wording of a message but have it mean the same, you just improved your presentation. That would be majority of the content concerns I have for him. I would also ask Tufte about what he thinks is the most effective visual layout. Should I incorporate words with pictures or have those completely separate? While he thinks PowerPoint’s are limited creativity, you can make it however you want yours to be. There are templates you can use but not required, as those are only guides. Pairing a picture that illustrates your point with words is arguably the most effective at getting a point across. I think what motivates Tufte is learning new ways to effectively convey messages. He wants to open peoples’ eyes and show them that there are more ways than just a PowerPoint to give presentations. I do not think he is trying to reinvent the wheel with a new program or interface in presentations, but to change the way information is presented. Too many powerpoints are cookie cutter these days which turns off the audience. By spicing up your information and doing something different, you will have the audience more engaged. This means not having all your information on a slide and reading word for word. Have brief points with relevant images, if there are any. Also, stick to your point and do not stray off on tangents, as that will distract the audience to your main points.
ReplyDeleteIf I had the chance to have dinner with Edward Tufte I would definitely take advantage of asking him as many questions as I could. The first thing I would ask is what the structure of a presentation should look like. I would ask him what the component parts of a good structured presentation consist of. I believe that power points are great visual aids for presentations, but I would question what could make it more appealing. I feel that some students read directly off the power points and this is usually done because their nerves have gotten the best of them. I know I’ve been guilty of doing this in the past, so I’d ask him if he had any advice on how to decrease the chance of this happening. I think he would probably tell me to make the power point slides simple, but attractive. In order to do this I think he’d tell me not to use an already prepared template and to avoid putting all the information on the slide. I also feel that he would tell me to add images that are either different or attractive to the viewer’s eye. He also mentioned having handouts for the audience and I would also ask him what should the handouts contain. I feel that Tufte may be motivated because he’s experienced presenting a bad power point or he’s sat through a bad presentation at one time. I also feel that Tufte is motivated by thinking of presentations as having a time to be unique, artistic, and informative. I think he sees presentations as a time to be creative and unique as much as you can. This means to be different and design your own power points to catch the eyes of the audience. I think he also finds presentations as a time to put a point on a visual aid, but to be the main source of information and be one the giving all the “bullet points” and not the slides.
ReplyDeleteIf I had the opportunity to sit down and have dinner with Edward R. Tufte, I think the first question I would ask him is what he thinks the five essentials of a perfect PowerPoint presentation are. This would help me because it would give me a basic set of guidelines to follow while creating my presentation. The next question I would ask him is how I could make the design and layout of my presentation interesting and not overly repetitive without creating a distracting design for the audience. It’s crucial to the success of my presentation that I keep the audience’s attention throughout. Another question I would ask him is what he thinks the best way for me to present the information is. Obviously, he would advise me not to read directly off of the PowerPoint, but I would need some help trying to figure out what to add on the slides and what to say to my audience.
ReplyDeleteI think that Tufte is motivated mainly by his willing to use his extensive experience with PowerPoint design to teach people who are less skilled with the program. While he does have a mildly abrasive way of doing it, his main goal is to improve a person’s skill in creating presentations so that they can use that to help improve their life and career.
One tip that Tufte might give me to help me create a successful presentation is to not use bullet points because they eliminate the thought behind what you are trying to get across. Initially, I would be surprised by his recommendation because I have always used bullets in my presentations and they seem to help me a lot. If I ever feel myself getting nervous and losing track of my thoughts I can just glance at one of the bullets and it will get me back on track. He would also tell me to try my best to stay composed and keep a confident pace throughout my presentation. If the audience can sense that the presenter is nervous, it takes away from the overall quality of the presentation.