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C R E A T I N G
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S H I F T
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Ideas and tools for promoting change
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Rick Maurer
"Creating a Shift" is devoted to ideas that have helped change
resistance into support and action. If you've had success with a
particular strategy^ contact author Rick Maurer (sending him
a sentence or two description is fine), and he'll get bacii to you
about presentingyour approach to Journal readers. The idea
can be simple or complex. It can involve two people, a small
team, union/management, or an entire organization. You can
reach Maurer at www.beyondresistance.com.
Microsoft PowerPoint is the influence tool of choice
inside organizations. Some can't make a presentation
without using those ubiquitous slides. In some compa-
nies you look downright unprepared if you fail to use
PowerPoint slides. It almost appears as if you didn't
take time to think about your presentation.
This fascination with PowerPoint (and other related
software that creates virtual slides) is misguided.
Here's why.
Edward Tufte wrote a booklet titled. The Cognitive
Style of PowerPoint (Graphics Press LLC), and in it he
rails against the use of this approach, saying, "Bullet
points dilute thought. " He argues that PowerPoint
slides over-simplify data and leave out the complexity.
He cites the C olumbia Accident Investigation Board's
findings that "reports unfortunately provided an
over-optimistic assessment of t he danger facing the
damaged C olumbia as it orbited."
T(DD f[r DouifDuiffimcDoiig PeopD
Let's say that you are trying to convince a group of
colleagues that they should pay attention to quality.
You prepare a presentation, and just to show you really
care, you use clip art.
The big day comes. You present. Within minutes
eyes are glazed over in the audience. At the end, the
questions and comments are insignificant, nit-picky,
or off-the-point. Not the response you had hoped for;
what went wrong?
I believe three things are needed to influence others:
People need to get it. (Level 1)
They need to like it. (Level 2)
They need to like you. (Level 3)
The audience needs to understand what you're
talking about, have an emotional reaction in favor
of what you are saying, and trust that you are giving
them good information. If any of these are missing,
you get apathy, inertia, or opposition not a good
way to begin a project.
PowerPoint only addresses Level 1. Its one advan-
tage is that it allows you to present lists of key items.
That can be helpful up to a point to keep you and the
audience focused on a particular topic.
PowerPoint can't grab people and make them say,
"Wow, we've got to do that. If we don't fix our quality
programs we could be out of business! Let's get started
right now." PowerPoint often does nothing to build
their confidence in you. Instead, the slides put a wall
between you and your audience.
Chris was a regional vice president in his company.
He made a presentation to his peers at a retreat. He
seemed committed and thorough in his preparation.
Within minutes some people went to the bsick of
the room where the coffee and pastry were available.
People got coffee and then stayed in back, sometimes
listening, sometimes talking with others. Some turned
to their PDAs and did e-mail. At the end of his presen-
tation, he asked, "Any questions?" There were none.
He thanked the audience for their time and walked
off the stage.
Since he was so focused on the details of each slide,
he missed the signals in front of him that he was
failing to connect with his audience. Had he noticed
that people were congregating in back, others were
working on their PDAs, and still others seetned to
be reading the morning paper, he could have done
something different. For instance, he could have
made a joke. "Seems like I'm the only one interested
in this topic so early on a Saturday morning," and
then waited to see what reaction he received. Or he
could have stopped after a few minutes and said,
"Before I go on, is this topic of any interest to you?"
and then waited for a reply. He allowed PowerPoint to
create a wall between him and the people he wanted
to influence.
What about this Level 2 (emotional reaction) and
Level 3 (trust in the speaker)? Eor example, look at
www.asq.org 25
something Peter Norvig did. He said, "After one too
many bad presentations at a meeting in January 2000,
I decided to see if I could do something about it."
The result is a funny and sobering parody of a typi-
cal presentation. He wondered, "What if Lincoln had
access to PowerPoint at Gettysburg?" You can see what
he came up with at http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/. His
presentation includes all the main points but strips the
speech of its rhetorical brilliance. Had Lincoln actually
used PowerPoint we truly "would little note nor long
remember" those words.
So the next time you want to influence a group,
either reduce or eliminate the slides altogether. If you
can't go cold turkey, then limit yourself to five slides
(warning: not slides packed with 18 bullet points, but
five compelling slides with each making just one or
two points). Then look at your audience as you speak.
Engage them. If they look quizzical, see if they have
questions. If they look bored, try to find out why this
topic interests you so much and doesn't hit home to
them. Good luck.
Rick Maurer is author of many books on change and
uses his Change Without Migraines approach to
advise organizations that need to lead change more
effectively. You can access many free articles, tips, and
tools from his website at www.beyondresistance.com.
You can contact him directly at 703-525-7074
or rick@beyondresistance.com.
26 THEJOURNAL FOR QUALITY & PARTICIPATION Winter 2006