I thought I'd write a couple of words about a topic that always pops up in discussions about training, that is certainly the application of PowerPoint slides. I've got received many emails, had many discussions and attended many meetings the place that the subject of PowerPoint in training is raised. What is obvious is you will find those which are strong advocates as well as others which aren't so convinced via PowerPoint. Personally, I fit in aforementioned category.

I would start by announcing i always think PowerPoint is a good tool and its use has helped presenters and trainers immensely in the last 2 decades. The concept of okay acetates plus an OHP fill me with dread. However, I really believe the extraordinary ability and usability of PowerPoint suggests that those very users became too dependent on the oral appliance training has suffered subsequently.

PowerPoint Course

Like a trainer and training designer, I am very annoyed by individuals who equate a great program with what number of slides are included. I've got even recently read a training design company's view that the days training ought to include between 60 - 100 slides. Apologies, but this is simply poppycock! This would signify that you are displaying at best 10 slides per hour or 1 every six minutes. Should you be showing slides as well rate, then you're simply providing insufficient time for activities, review, discussion or simply any meaningful commentary with the trainer.

Which you cannot use brings me to the essential element worth focusing on regarding PowerPoint during training and that is certainly the statement, 'PowerPoint should keep the message, not the trainer supporting PowerPoint'. Without next critical element you get into the trap of letting the technology, not necessary ., become primary.

PowerPoint Class

Training should be interactive and indulgent for any learner. It ought to allow time to the participants to research the practicalities of the issue or even absorb the speculation inside a relaxed environment. Once we simply present information to participants inside of a slide format we become lecturers, not trainers. To reiterate, PowerPoint should support training materials and also the trainer so that you can conserve the learner learn. This means utilizing the tool as being a reference point, a method of highlighting a spot having an image or where it is not possible to show an argument and not using a graphic or text based representation.

Some conisder that they will use PowerPoint to be a method of 'sorting their thoughts' and although their path has 2698 slides by using it, 'I will not be showing almost all of those'. Well, great, but there is always danger that a person else training your course will and on top of that, surely you'll find good ways of laying out the dwelling of the course? That, if you ask me, means that we invented Trainer Notes.

A frequent study which is completed by a website called, 'Think Outside of the Slide', shows the hazards of PowerPoint and ways in which it can be perceived by the audience. Even though information is targeted at presentations as opposed to training It shows effectively how problematic PowerPoint can be. The details reveals what annoys people most about PowerPoint.

The speaker look into the slides to us 69.2%
Text so small I could not read it 48.2%
Full sentences rather than bullet points 48.0%
Slides tough to see on account of colour choice 33.0%
Overly complex diagrams or charts 27.9%

Basically, the speaker reading slides is considered the most annoying thing to folks and although this study was drawn in 2009, a similar point has been top for each bi-annual study mainly because it started. Mcdougal reads a lot into this and it's also definitely worth a read, but my thinking is the fact that participants dislike keeping the slides read directly to them due to the fact they may do this in their own business. As someone on one of my courses recently said with regards to a previous course, 'The trainer was so intent on putting his notes around the slides, I could not help but feel he must have just emailed his notes to us.' This brings me back in the reality that training must be interactive and involve the participants throughout. PowerPoint limits the wide ranging to accomplish this.

For a typical Trainer Bubble training program you'll find something inside variety of 12 - 24 slides on a daily basis. This can include the 'title' slide together with two 'objectives' slides (that you open then one to shut the session). PowerPoint advocates might feel like this is a bit sparse and therefore consequently the education course lacks content. This is really incorrect and our 1000s of customers will testify to the. The fact is, our training content is located in the Trainers Notes, where it has to be, and also the participants that attend one of our courses will gain knowledge over the information given by the trainer, the actions they explore, the exercises they execute, the discussions they get involved in after which finally the supporting materials they see and receive. Naturally, as Confucius said, "Tell Me we Will Forget; Show Me and i also May Remember; Involve Me and that i Will Understand."

Confucius probably been with them right too, because from various research sources we realize that people remember from: the Lecture (5%); Reading (10%); Av (20%); Demonstration (30%); Discussion group (50%); Practice by doing (75%) and Teaching others (90%). Also a good pair of slides will simply meet the Audio Visual aspect of this as well as at 20%, that's not a great return. Of course you cannot make teachers out of all our participants and the aim is usually to involve areas from each one of these principles. An excellent training program will perform this and allocates all the time and effort to every one principle for the reason that output justifies.

To sum up, PowerPoint is a wonderful tool to use within a study course, however it's only practically the person making use of it. Allow it to support your training curriculum, but don't give it time to Become the perfect training program.