Article

2009-06-08 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

IDF tells officers: Lose the PowerPoint presentations

[Haaretz Defense] When Moshe Arens started his third term as defense minister in 1999, he brought with him at least one significant change - prohibiting top Israel Defense Forces officers and Defense Ministry officials from delivering presentations with programs like Microsoft PowerPoint.

There is no reason to brand Arens a technophobe. The veteran minister simply concluded that computerized assistance compromises officers' concentration - they had fallen in love with the new technology and struggled to discuss complex issues.

Arens' instructions were forgotten shortly after he left the Defense Ministry, but now another senior defense official has picked up the torch. The deputy chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Erez Weiner, wrote a damning indictment of such presentations in last month's issue of the IDF journal Maarachot.

PowerPoint presentations, he wrote, represent "a strong point that has turned into a weak point. The Americans have concluded that using them makes discussions shallower and compromises analysis. The IDF remains addicted to this tool, and is paying for it dearly."

He added that "for many years the use of presentations in the civilian world has expanded, and even more so in the military. It is virtually impossible to have a discussion or lecture in a military forum in which the presentation is not used.

"I believe the use of presentations has made the level of discussion, and the depth of study, more superficial."

Weiner also quoted U.S. military scholar Col. Douglas Macgregor, who has published reports on senior defense figures discovering that the officers were simplifying complex ideas with "sound bites and amusing pictures." Since they were not forced to explain their positions over several written pages, the officers tended to resort to less coherent arguments.

IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, has yet to comment on the matter, but Ashkenazi has shown an impatience with imprecise reasoning.

Posted by Fred 2009-06-08 00:00|| || Front Page|| [7 views ] Top

#1 Amen.

Posted by gorb 2009-06-08 00:55|| 2009-06-08 00:55|| Front Page Top

#2 Damn stright. Powerpoints often are used to prop-up a presenter who either is ill-prepared or doesn't have a freaking clue what they are talking about.

You can tell the later when they spend a lot of time simply reading the powerpoints.

Powerpoints should be a 'tool' of the presentation - often they are the presentation.

Posted by CrazyFool 2009-06-08 01:07|| 2009-06-08 01:07|| Front Page Top

#3 Years ago, in another life, I had a job, doing computer software training at TI. They were called Foils -- transparency to me, coming from the education world. And now known as PowerPoint presentations.

Each new software that was introduced, had to instruct in how to create Foils with the product.

One had to teach how to use the software so that the Heading was of a certain size, and positioned at a certain line at the top.. and how to create the signature that consisted of the date, flush right to the margin, the author's initials all in caps, followed, if necessary, by a / (slash) with the initials of the one that had created the Foil in lower case --- on --- line 29 of the Foil.... nothing could be placed below that line 29.

We won't even talk about the bullets --- their progression.

At that time, within the hallowed halls of TI, word was, that when you retired from the Air Force, you went to work for TI.

I always wondered if that line 29 came from the engineer's mind, or from the Air Force mind?

It was a struggle for me, when having to make a presentation, that my thoughts had to be presented between that title line and Line 29.

Posted by Sherry">Sherry 2009-06-08 01:17|| 2009-06-08 01:17|| Front Page Top

#4 Actually, I always found PPP useful---you can see straight off who has something to say, and who just likes to play.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2009-06-08 03:35|| 2009-06-08 03:35|| Front Page Top

#5 I am with g(r)omgoru. If the ppt is the only thing in work it has to be a very simple subject.

Posted by Large Snerong7311 2009-06-08 03:55|| 2009-06-08 03:55|| Front Page Top

#6 But with PowerPoint, you can do things like this!

Posted by Eric Jablow">Eric Jablow 2009-06-08 04:44|| 2009-06-08 04:44|| Front Page Top

#7 Nothing better than sitting through an hour listening to a drone read his powerpoint to you with the printed handout right there to "follow along".....

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2009-06-08 05:12|| 2009-06-08 05:12|| Front Page Top

#8 The PPT is an excellent tool for daily or weekly presentations and briefings. It keeps everyone on the same sheet of music, tracks assignment responsibility, progress, or lack thereof. It can be transmitted worldwide via electrons and lead discussions in Video Tele Conferences (VTC). Like any other tool, the PPT can be abused with needless graphics. The PPT should not be used as a substitute for a point paper or decision memorandum. It is up to the commanding officer and his primary staff to see that this does not happen.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-06-08 07:03|| 2009-06-08 07:03|| Front Page Top

#9 For a quick visual reference on a presentation, it is invaluable. All too often, it is the presentation and that is the failing of the presenter.

This guy sums it up nicely.

Posted by DarthVader 2009-06-08 08:02|| 2009-06-08 08:02|| Front Page Top

#10 A classic from the Onion.

Posted by Penguin 2009-06-08 09:06|| 2009-06-08 09:06|| Front Page Top

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