Who could be more cutting-edge high tech than physicists such as those working on the Large Hadron Collider? Yet, for presenters at Fermilab’s LHC Physics Center Forum, PowerPoint® slides have been banned, in favor of white boards and a marker!
What is going on here? The Forum wanted to change its meetings “from monologues to dialogues,” according to Fermilab Today, a publication of the U.S. Department of Energy, which reported that in the 6 months since the PowerPoint ban, presenters have even spoken directly from handwritten notes.
In the new Forum format, an experimental physicist and a theoretical physicist each lead the forum for a half-hour, without electronic assistance!
The results? Andrew Askew, an assistant professor of physics at Florida State University and a co-organizer of the Forum, said the practice has had an impact on the audience. “Without slides, the forum participants go further off-script, with more interaction and curiosity,” says Askew.
NPR’s All Tech Considered quotes Askew as adding, “… It was like a glass barrier was removed from between the speaker and the audience. The audience started to come alive, to look up from their laptop computers and participate in the discussion, which is what we were trying to foster.”
Are you ready to try this back-to-low-tech technique at your company? Well, maybe if you aren’t the presenter.
Note: HR Strange but True! has reported on other office technology throwbacks:
Amazing how the pendulum swings back and forth. I remember when PowerPoint was cutting edge for presentations, and now it’s not only old hat but can actually work against you as far as engaging your audience.