I started using Powerpoint about 10 years ago. I wasn't an early adopter, but as I found out quite soon I was by no means late. Many others in my department thought I was innovative. My first major use was in a series of presentations I made in connection with a major Anglo-Portuguese research project on social deprivation in Portugal, funded by an international charity. Looking back at those first presentations now, I find that they weren't actually too bad: in some ways Powerpoint has the advantage of being very easy indeed to use - which is also a problem with it since it is often used without real thought.
During my period as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor - which now extends to just over 8 years - I have made countless presentations with Powerpoint. I've still not been on any formal training course, but I've observed many presentations by others and tried to learn what works and what doesn't. Too many people use a lot of words to try to convey information, when the technique is best used for conveying ideas. An unrelieved series of sldies completely of words becoimes very boring - yet pictures can be too gimicky. In the early days of Powerpoint people often used too many fly-ins and builds, which became distracting. Most people today use these things sparingly. Yet we have probably all been exposed to 'death by Powerpoint' sessions at various conferences and awaydays.
I have recently started to give substantial presentations without the use of Powerpoint, starting with two talks to leadership programmes. I actually found this rather liberating. I don't normally prepare much in the way of texts for talks, and without the need to keep to the script already determined by my Powerpoint materials I think I have been able to respomnd more to the body language of my audience.
Later this evening I will be setting off for the International Faculty in Thessaloniki where I will be talking to the staff. Within the next month I will also be talking to University Council about our new Learning and Teaching Strategy, and a couple of days later I will be talking at a schools conference in the North-East of England about the interface between schools and universities. But .... I will be doing each of these talks with Powerpoint! Why?
One of these will be to an audience where not everyone is a native English speaker, and I believe that in these situations it is useful for listeners to have some visual prompts as well as a voice to listen to. Certainly, when I attend conferences and listen to presentations in languages other than English I like to have something to help visually. I also always use a lot of visuals when I lecture or give presentations in languages other than English.
For one of these future presentations there is also the possibility of printing out a 'takeaway' for the audience. So Powerpoint still has an important place - but perhaps we shouldn't overuse it.
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