Do PowerPoint Reports Truly Reflect What Organizations Know? Rethinking Information Sharing in the Face of Cognitive Overload
At what point does a company amass enough PowerPoint presentations on its servers that it decides to initiate a project to analyze every deck in its possession, ultimately creating a master PowerPoint deck that encapsulates the collective wisdom contained within all those presentations?
My educated guess is that the time it takes for an organization to accumulate an overwhelming number of presentations, leading to fragmented information, is rapidly decreasing.
Unfortunately, the relationship between the information contained within an increasing number of PowerPoint decks and the actual knowledge or learning derived by the organization appears to be inversely proportional. This means that as the number of decks grows, the organization’s understanding and retention of the presented information may decrease.
It’s common for consulting companies, such as SonicRim, to be approached by clients seeking assistance in comprehending the information contained within their vast collection of PowerPoint presentations. Clients typically request assistance in identifying the existing knowledge base and knowledge gaps, often expressed as, “Please help us understand what we know and where our knowledge gaps are.”
This request suggests that clients are seeking guidance on how to analyze their existing research, as presented in their collection of presentations, in order to determine the necessity for further research and inform their future research endeavors.
There’s a common misconception inherent in such requests, which assumes that an organization’s research reports accurately represent its actual knowledge. This belief may not always hold true.
I was inspired to write this article after coming across a LinkedIn slide stating that AI can now create PowerPoint presentations. I thought to myself, “Bravo! Have we reached a point where corporate executives no longer need to think critically to distill information into concise bullet points?”
This thought prompted me to explore two possible directions. It’s worthwhile to analyze both:
- What role have PowerPoint presentations played in synthesizing insights, promoting critical thinking, and advancing organizational learning?
- In a world where AI can generate, update, and apply knowledge to inform decision-making in a value chain, what will the role of human executives be?
I was reminded of Edward Tufte’s booklet, “The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint,” which highlights several key points related to the use and misuse of PowerPoint in presenting information. Some of the main messages include:
1) Critique of PowerPoint templates: Tufte argues that the pre-made designs often found in PowerPoint presentations can limit verbal and spatial reasoning and may even corrupt statistical analysis.
2) Emphasis on content and audience: Tufte emphasizes the importance of focusing on content and audience engagement rather than relying solely on presenter-oriented tools like PowerPoint.
3) The dangers of “chartjunk”: Tufte introduces the term “chartjunk” to describe unnecessary and distracting elements in data presentations, such as excessive labeling or decorative graphics.
4) Promoting clarity and simplicity: Tufte advocates for simple, clear, and information-dense presentations that communicate effectively with the audience.
Over the years, I’ve reflected extensively on the ideas presented in the booklet and my experiences with organizations dealing with presentation overload. I’ve come to conclude that fostering effective communication between team members and across various silos within an organization, along with promoting the escalation of insights in all directions through a series of workshops and generative synthesis, plays a pivotal role in cultivating a learning culture within an organization.
In response to the news of AI generating PowerPoint presentations, I urge information designers and software companies to consider factors beyond templates, aesthetics, and information distillation. It is crucial to think about how to engage human brains in critical thinking, encourage collaboration across organizational silos, and foster continuous knowledge retention in the face of ongoing organizational restructuring.
By addressing these aspects, organizations can strengthen their ability to adapt to the ever-evolving information landscapes in the real world, ultimately thriving in the face of constant change.
