Boring Meetings Suck: Get More Out of Your Meetings, or Get Out of More Meetings

PowerPoint Sucks

Would you like me to shout it? PowerPoint sucks!

If you've ever attended a meeting of any sort, and I mean any sort, you could no doubt instantly identify with the conclusion in this heading.

This well-known and widely blamed software tool from Microsoft Corporation makes it easy to create, manage, and share presentations in person, on a mobile device, or via the Internet. This software represents the single greatest abuse when it comes to making meetings suck—even the most updated version.

Let's begin with the most important principle of this abuse—providing graphic representations to back up your facts and figures. Yes, PowerPoint delivers visual and audio stimuli that build emotion and engagement into the subject you're presenting. But remember, its purpose is to enhance your presentation … at least that's what I wish the instruction manual said!

However, the vast majority of people use PowerPoint (or an equivalent, such as Keynote for Mac computers) as the presentation itself. What happened to using visuals to enhance your own presentation, not as a substitute for it? That's why we can't blame PowerPoint outright. When your PowerPoint slides suck, you have only you to blame—you and your unknown desire to deliver mindless presentations when you could simply have shared the presentation via other means.

I will say it boldly. PowerPoint is an effective tool when used properly. It can never be a substitute for an engaging message. That comes from you. If your ...