A while back I wrote one of my periodic rants against PowerPoint. I’ve sat through so many horrible PowerPoint presentations that I’ve ceased to be patient with them. When I occasionally get a good one, I stand up and cheer. Of course – the problem isn’t PowerPoint – it’s the person that created the presentation in the first place.
After my rant, Cliff Atkinson sent me a copy of his book Beyond Bullet Points along with a nice note that said:
Brad, A complimentary copy hot off the press. Hopefully this can ease the “tortuous world of PowerPoint” a little bit! Enjoy, Cliff.
I’m usually pretty good about quickly getting to books that people send me. However, this one sat on the pile for a long time. Every time it got near the top, some mischievous book resorting goblin moved it back down in the pile. I finally chased the goblin away and read Cliff’s book tonight.
If you have to create or give PowerPoint presentations, you owe it to yourself to read this book. You won’t necessarily agree with everything Cliff says, nor should you slavishly follow his instructions, but his broad approach to using PowerPoint to tell a story – without bullets – is excellent and thought provoking. Nicely done Cliff.