Help! I'm lost without Powerpoint...

September 1, 2008 12:59 PM

I have a job interview tomorrow and have to do a 10 minute presentation. They rang today to say that there won't be any computer / projection facilities (after saying last week that there would be). I'm a bit lost! How do I give a memorable presentation without Powerpoint?

I'm not nervous about giving presentations, and always try hard to engage the audience, but I'm just so used to being able to use visual aids to break things up, so people don't have to stare at me for 10 minutes straight!

I asked if I could bring in a laptop to deliver a presentation (there will only be 2-3 people interviewing) and was told that it wouldn't be fair on the other candidates.

Help! Any suggestions for non-IT visual aids or specific presentation techniques would be welcomed...

posted by finding.perdita to Work & Money (15 answers total)

What is the presentation about, and what were you planning to use Powerpoint for?

(My personal belief, for what it's worth, is that most Powerpoints make presentations worse, not better, so you're more likely to do well now that your crutch has been taken away.)
posted by decathecting at 1:09 PM on September 1, 2008 [1 favorite]

You don't mention what the presentation is about, or what job you are applying for, which makes suggestions a little bit harder - but it is 9am where you are right now, so you have a little bit of time.

Think back to your first years in school: show and tell, presentations through concepts, touch-and-feel, rather than words on a screen.

Grab posterboard, colored paper, markers, glitter, appropriate models or miniatures - anything that relates to the concepts of your presentation. Build your presentation with those. Make it a motor-sensory experience, rather than a straight-forward lecture. Make it fun, make it involving. (A good sense of humor will come in handy).

Best of luck!
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 1:14 PM on September 1, 2008

Pulling the support facilities may be a test of your ability to adapt to changing circumstances. I'd go prepared with the laptop anyway, as well as having a non electronic version (maybe with some printed slides to pass out) ready.
posted by pjern at 1:18 PM on September 1, 2008 [1 favorite]

Bring hand-outs of the slides, especially if you have figures you'd like to show. Otherwise, you can always do it the old fashion way and write on a chalkboard (given that there is a writing surface provided...). On preview, what pjern said.
posted by hooper4 at 1:21 PM on September 1, 2008

Best answer: Previously in AskMe: How do I do a presentation without powerpoint?

It looks like there are a couple of good links in there to check out. I would bring a flip-chart and scribble out anything I wanted to explain, but it depends greatly on the subject matter.
posted by ukdanae at 1:26 PM on September 1, 2008

Response by poster: The job is a government IT project management role with input into strategy and policy. The presentation is on what I see as the main challenges for the division I'm joining and how I'll address those.

(I know, Powerpoint can be a bad thing - I tend to use it for diagrams / headings / graphs rather than as something that allows people to read the presentation rather than listen to it - something extra rather than an alternative)

Thanks for the suggestions so far - please keep them coming!
posted by finding.perdita at 1:35 PM on September 1, 2008

Best answer: It seems like this may be a tactic they're using to see if you are able to roll with the punches inherent in any job...a computer fails, is unavailable for any number of reasons-- can you handle it? Minus technology can you actually communicate important ideas?

Think back to school...did you ever have to give a presentation without Powerpoint? How about when you are talking about something on which you have informed yourself, care about deeply, believe in to friends, colleagues, family? Do you need Powerpoint then, to convince, get your point across?

There are many ways to communicate ideas. But you, confident, well versed in your subject, with examples, facts, and conviction in your voice, expression, body language...these are the real tools you have...and the best ones to employ always. The Powerpoint should only be an adjunct you employ while you, informed and communicating with conviction, sincerity, genuineness (and with some humor, if you can!), persuade your audience.

I know it is scary...THEY know it is scary. This is your opportunity to sell them on you, not your Powerpoint skills. Many of the other applicants will be psyched out by this tactic. By not complaining or seeming thrown, you can rise to the occasion. You'll stand out from the rest by communicating on your own "Power" without leaning on technology.

Best to you!!
posted by mumstheword at 1:36 PM on September 1, 2008

When in doubt, use easel paper and marker pen (blue or black). This enables you to write things down as you go, and, more important, to write down comments or questions from your audience.

I find that my best presentations involve some kind of audience interaction. This keeps people awake and interested; sitting back and passively absorbing a PowerPoint presentation can be eye-glazing and butt-wearying. Talk to your group, ask them questions, solicit comments, and use these questions and comments as springboards for further discussion.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 2:01 PM on September 1, 2008

Print off your slides in handout form, and use a whiteboard or an easel to get the main points across (and keep their attention on you, not the handouts)
posted by KokuRyu at 2:18 PM on September 1, 2008

Print out your notes. Wherever you had a break in the slides, draw a line. Here is where you take a breath and ask if there are questions. People use Powerpoint for structure. By taking a pause and allowing questions you can give the presentation structure and avoid rambling.

Also, give some thought to whether you're interested in working for these people. It would be one thing if you hadn't asked about the computer, but you had assumed. It's another to be told one thing then get a switcheroo. Yeah, yeah...sometimes you need to roll with the punches. I worked in Big consulting where the firms are famous for screwing with candidates. Invariably the people who screw with job candidates are complete douchenozzles as colleagues and bosses. If you get the sense that this was an honest mistake, then okay. If it seems like a big test, then run for the door.
posted by 26.2 at 3:12 PM on September 1, 2008

I was once at a meeting where the speaker declared that she had seen a powerpoint presentation that had changed her life- changed it to a life where she would never use Powerpoint ever again.

Unfortunately, the room had wireless, and we spent the rest of her presentation googling the powerpoint presentation.
posted by acrasis at 3:55 PM on September 1, 2008 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Blow their minds...Overhead projector!

No seriously I would kill to see one presentation without Powerpoint. I'm sick of people reading their slides. Perhaps they are looking for someone who can command an audience. Take some handouts, but don't be afraid to talk off the cuff. I've often done presentations where the handouts only gave deep background and the slides only subject headers.
posted by Gungho at 3:57 PM on September 1, 2008

ukdanae already linked to it, but my recent very similar question got amazingly useful responses. Several answers, particularly the ones marked as 'best' but a few others as well, made a huge difference to how I prepared and executed the presentation.
posted by valleys at 4:14 PM on September 1, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks all! General consensus seems to be that it's time to throw away my crutch and rely on my powers of persuasion alone...

26.2 - do I want to work there? Actually, I'm not sure. I know the department and the people quite well, and it's definitely not a deliberate "let's see how they handle this!" situation, it's just down to pure incompetence.

I'm going to go in with a framework handout, highlighting the main points in a diagram so they've got something to take notes on and can see how my presentation hangs together, then give them a summary of my presentation at the end (it's an interview, so I want to make sure that if they've missed something, that they have something else to evaluate me on, just in case)
posted by finding.perdita at 4:21 PM on September 1, 2008

Response by poster: P.S. Presentation went as well as could be expected (being forced to sit behind a desk talking at 3 people who wouldn't talk back), but I got the job! The hive mind wins again... (And I'll think twice before using PowerPoint in the future!)
posted by finding.perdita at 7:35 PM on September 19, 2008