Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint” • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”

#121

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, May 15, 2013, 2:16 AM UTC

brk wrote: post #79

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Prezi gives me motion sickness. I don't see the point.

Using it right is a little bit of a skill. Too much panning and zooming can be bad, but just the right amount makes the presentation seem more fresh and alive than a ppt. I've been using prezi for a few years now, and almost always get good audience feedback. Like any tool, you still have to know how to use it, it will not do all the work for you.

Prezi adds nothing to the content I'm presenting. Its one animation gimmick and that's it.

The best slide presentation software I've seen so far is SlideShow, but its for programmers only :)

http://www.cs.utah.edu/plt/publications/icfp04-ff.pdf

Re: Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”

#122

Post by walshemj » Wed, May 15, 2013, 9:58 AM UTC

Sorry if you haven't read the papers prior to the start of the meeting with out a good excuse I would consider giving you a verbal warning and if repeated a written one and putting you on poor performance procedure.

Re: Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”

#123

Post by epo » Wed, May 15, 2013, 11:44 AM UTC

fishtoaster wrote: post #9

I don't think powerpoints are inherently bad, but they're misused enough that I wouldn't begrudge anyone who wanted to ban them outright. The two best ways to use them, from experience, seem to be: - Super dense slides. These slides have a lot of text and are information-rich. You're not expected to read them, and the presenter will just skim over them, presenting a high-level view of each topic, but definitely not r…

Quite, the problem isn't powerpoint it is that people don't know how to give presentations (or often why they are giving the presentation). Consequently they use powerpoint like a drunk uses a lamp post.

Re: Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”

#124

Post by epo » Wed, May 15, 2013, 11:49 AM UTC

The real drawback to this approach is that it ensures no one will prepare for the meeting and the 'discussion' will consist of kneejerk reactions to what they have just read. It is eminently unsuitable for discussing anything important and if it is not important then why have the meeting in the first place.

Re: Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”

#125

Post by pgeorgi » Wed, May 15, 2013, 12:03 PM UTC

walshemj wrote: post #122

Sorry if you haven't read the papers prior to the start of the meeting with out a good excuse I would consider giving you a verbal warning and if repeated a written one and putting you on poor performance procedure.

Try that with someone superior in the corporate ladder.

Re: Amazon Staff Meetings: “No Powerpoint”

#126

Post by walshemj » Wed, May 15, 2013, 1:09 PM UTC

pgeorgi wrote: post #125

walshemj wrote: post #122

Sorry if you haven't read the papers prior to the start of the meeting with out a good excuse I would consider giving you a verbal warning and if repeated a written one and putting you on poor performance procedure.

Try that with someone superior in the corporate ladder.

If I am chair I run the meeting - I once told the company founder to sit down and let some one else speak :-)

This rule should come from the top if I was chairman of a company and any director/attendee turned up having not read the papers I woudl be having words with them.