Don't Kill Them With Powerpoint - How old school visual tools can engage your audience and energise your presentations? Article by Tim Hamons, Founder, Art of Awakening.

1. Tim Hamons Don't Kill them with PowerPoint
How old school visual tools can engage your audience and energise your presentations?
We've all been there, in that semi-darkened room, with a good speaker, interesting presentations and an agenda packed with content.
The meeting starts off well, with a few shared stories and audience interaction. When it comes to the heavier content, everyone's
attention slowly shifts from the group and onto the bright shiny "box" at the front of the room.
Eyes dart between speaker and bullet points. Soon you find yourself trying to match bullet points with what's been said. Before long,
there are too many slides and too many words and you begin to zone out ... sound familiar? Worse yet, have you ever been guilty of
inducing a "death by PowerPoint" presentation?
Developed in 1987 as an easy to use, slide-based presentation program, PowerPoint is organised, slick and can be terribly dis-engaging.
A well-intentioned PowerPoint can lull an audience into quasi-hypnosis of agreement in which audience and presenter may be asking
"what's the point and where's the power"?
Prior to PowerPoint, presenters used simpler and messier visual tools like whiteboards, flip-charts and overhead projectors to engage
audiences with hand-drawn content beyond words. Could there be something to learn from these old school tools?
When we facilitate visual strategy sessions with leadership teams or teach visual tools to marketing teams to help them with their pitch,
we ask them to consider some of the research findings on visuals and learning:
Two key differences between PowerPoint and hand-drawn materials shed
some light on what's often missing in our modern meetings.
1. PowerPoint appeals to the logical linear structured thinking associated
with the left brain. Hand-drawn content appeals to the non-verbal,
intuitive emotional right brain.
2. PowerPoint is slick and nicely wrapped, giving the impression that the
content is "fixed" and that it "belongs" to the presenter. Handwritten
content is emergent, can be messy and invites participants into a
process of discovery. It says "let's create this together".
• 80% of information we absorb is visual. • 65% of our population are visual learners.
• 90% of all information that comes to the brain is visual. • We learned to draw before we learned to speak.
• Our brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text.

2. Tim Hamons Don't Kill them with PowerPoint
Here's a simple way to anchor the 4 powers behind using visuals: MICE which is the acronym for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and
Events. As a brain teaser or reminder, think of the small yet speedy cartoon Mighty Mouse or the symbol for Disney with three circles
representing the head and ears of Mickey Mouse.
- Memory Power: Visuals stimulate imagination activating a stronger memory trace.
- Information Processing Power: New ideas can be explored, stored and used more efficiently with images than words hence the
famous saying "a picture is worth a thousand words".
- Communication Power: A visionary image of a desired result in the future can act as a catalyst to change.
- Emotional Power: Visual information reaches more directly into our emotional experience.
So, when coaching presenters, I suggest a two part strategy:
1. Keep the PowerPoint: This appeals to the logical brain, fulfils a content expectation and builds credibility through your
research and brand.
2. Use hand-drawn visuals: Create them yourself or from your participants or engage a visual practitioner.
As a meeting facilitator or presenter, there simple and effective approaches you can use to create more engagement in your room using
visuals are:
1. Put a marker in people's hands: Set up an activity with instructions to draw something. From a simple symbol of how you feel at
the moment, to a detailed diagram of a customer journey. Provide well-designed markers such as Neuland which create a small yet
memorable visual and kinaesthetic "wow" factor.
2. Use visual templates: Templates are a simple visual framework which creates a "container" for your ideas. These can be as simple
as an A4 paper with a series of boxes and headings for personal reflection, or a wall-sized chart for participants to collaboratively
map out their strategy or scribe commitments. "Empty spaces" create tension in the mind and therefore focus your audience's
attention.
3. Draw live: This is the part of my professional work I love the most as it involves empowering people to overcome self-imposed
mental barriers such as "I can't draw". Everyone can draw an idea; it's a matter of re-framing what is required to communicate the
essence. Think "simple". You can communicate any idea using basic shapes: square, circle, triangle, line, bubble. Used in a
combination with other shapes, connectors, or words, you begin to build in meaning.

3. Tim Hamons Don't Kill them with PowerPoint
People love when a presenter is willing to draw live and here's why:
When you can relax and show the group that you don't have to take yourself SO seriously, you are inviting others to let down their guard
and have more fun with the process, leading to better discussion, collaboration and a more conducive meeting environment.
And don't worry so much what your drawing looks like. Remember: simple shapes to communicate ideas. People are generally forgiving
of basic drawing skills and appreciate your effort.You can almost hear them thinking, "better her than me".Therefore drawing live is also
a great way to build rapport and connection.
Do you know how to ride a bicycle? All it takes is practice. Invest in a good set of markers, start sketching your ideas and begin to visualise
your next presentation success.
A simple box arrow between two squares suggests movement,
process and relationship. A few added words give it context,
depth and a lasting impact.
An easy alternative to drawing live is to pre-draw some of your
charts ahead of time, in part or full.Take one of the key models or
messages from your PowerPoint and draw out the basic outline
on a flipchart. Later during the meeting, add in visual or written
content to complete that chart. Add hand- drawn elements to
your slides. In a large auditorium, draw and project images from
your iPad. Draw a colourful agenda poster for an engaging
introduction.
#1 It creates suspense ("what is this image
becoming").
#2 It suggests innovation (she's thought
about this material and about better ways
to present it to us)
#3 It demonstrates that you're willing to
take a risk and try something new.
Tim Hamons is a visual thinking strategist, keynote speaker, creativity coach
and facilitator with over 20 years' experience working with clients throughout
Asia and globally.
Tim uses visual and creative tools to help leadership and communication
teams work through change, visualise strategy and simplify complexity. As a
speaker, he uses live sketching and fun to frame key messages and build
interactive storytelling into his presentations
Find more ways to "Visualise Your Thinking" – through our signature one day course at www.art-of-awakening.com. Contact him
at timhamons@art-of-awakening.com or phone +65 6604 4006.