“We have study hall at the beginning of our meetings.” says Jeff Bezos. Staff meetings at Amazon begin with 30 minutes of silent reading. Powerpoint is easy for presenter, hard for audience “The traditional kind of corporate meeting starts with a presentation. Somebody gets up in front of the room and presents with a powerpoint presentation, some type of slide show.  In our view you get very little information, you get bullet points.  This is easy for the presenter, but difficult for the audience.  And so instead, all of our meetings are structured around a 6 page narrative memo.” All meetings are structured around a 6 page memo “When you have to write your ideas out in complete sentences, complete paragraphs it forces a deeper clarity.” Why don’t you read the memos in advance? “Time doesnt come from nowhere. This way you know everyone has the time. The author gets the nice warm feeling of seeing their hard work being read.” “If you have a traditional ppt presentation, executives interrupt.  

If you read the whole 6 page memo, on page 2 you have a question but on on page 4 that question is answered.” And so that is what we do, we just sit and read. “Think Complex, Speak Simple” I love this idea.  In our communications courses we talk about “think complex, speak simple”.  It is hard work to prepare well enough to be able to speak simple.  Most presenters are figuring out what they really want to say as they are presenting.  This is a terrible waste of an audience. These quotes come from the Charlie Rose interview with Jeff Bezos.   NEW August 2015: View the Original email memo sent by Jeff Bezos (thanks to Pete Abilla) Discussion of this Post PPT is first about itself, and then presenter convenience. Last are audience + content, which is, after all, why the meeting is being held. — Edward Tufte (@EdwardTufte) May 28, 2013 Jeff Bezos banned #powerpoint at amazon, replaced with ET method for #presentations, — Edward Tufte (@EdwardTufte) December 26, 2014

Lots of Debate on Reddit:Powerpoint isn’t the problem. It’s a very useful tool to augment information you are trying to get across. The problem is people people who are bad at it using it as a crutch. Powerpoint should basically be an outline of what you’re talking about with MAJOR discussion points and any images or graphs you need to show. It should not be blocks of text that you read verbatim. [via Yajirobi ] if you dont integrate people into it, they just sleep. Made To Measure Bench Cushion CoversForcing them with made up questions is a bad idea too. Vinyl Vs Wood TrimGetting random questions from the audience is the best way to do it. Outdoor Furniture Couch CushionsThey make the presentation good for you, without any effort from your part.

I experienced this system, and I loved it. I will use it in every job from here on out. Let me explain why:1.) It requires meaningful preparation by the presenter. They cannot hide behind pretty slides, and you can’t use the usual confusion tactics. If you can’t fit it in six pages, you didn’t prepare enough.2.) You know everyone is going to read it.3.) These meetings are intense! The participants can’t just sit back and relax. They are digging into it. If you are the presenter, you can use that time to send some emails, or do some other work.4.) People with poor communication skills can’t suck the life out of a meeting. It allows good ideas to come out. There is always that guy that talks too much, and this meeting shuts him up. 5.) This isn’t for the every-day meeting. This is for the multi-million-dollar business deal. Anything you would typically reserve for an hour-long power-point presentation. Power-point is for selling a concept or an idea. The written word is for discussion.

Anyways, a good exec will print out the power points and make notes on those anyways. Might as well tell him exactly what you think instead of letting him interpret your spoken word. Related Posts on Meetings: Simple Rules for Effective Meetings The 5 Cardinal Sins of Presentations How to stop Good Ideas from being Shot Down© iStockphotonanoBefore starting your new job, wrap up in your current role.After months of hard work, and numerous interviews, you finally got the job you've always dreamed of. In just a few short weeks, you'll change departments, – or even companies – and take on a new role, with a new team and new responsibilities. There's a lot to think about when you change jobs – whether it's because of a promotion, or a department change, or a move to a new organization. It's an exciting time, but what can you do to make the transition go smoothly for you, and easier on the people you leave behind? Well, most importantly, you'll need to bring the work in your current job to an ordered close.

To help you pass the baton onto the person who's taking over from you, you'll need to bring projects up to date as far as you can, or leave a list for your replacement, where you outline the tasks you've completed, and what remains unfinished. If you're a manager, and one of your team members is leaving, you'll have your own set of challenges. At the forefront of your mind will be how you can make sure the person completes his or her projects before moving on. In this article, we discuss why it's so important to 'close' your job before you make a transition – and how to make sure you don't leave your boss, your team, or your replacement with any loose ends. Depending on your company and your situation, you may have as little as one week, or as much as a month or more, to prepare for your move. Aim to do as much as you can in the time you have. Making sure things are in good order will help your team members adjust to the change. It will also help you leave on good terms.

It's important to remember that, if you're changing departments, you may eventually work with your former team members again. Someone who's your junior now could be your boss or your client in 10 years' time, so it's preferable for everyone all round to maintain good relations. What should you do before you leave? Here's a list of actions for your 'to do' list: When you think about it, most people spend more time at work than they do at home. This means that your co-workers are also often your friends. Maybe, in some cases, you even think of them as family. Even if you're not close to your team, you spend your days with these people, so saying goodbye can be difficult. You don't want to say something you might regret later. So, how do you say goodbye with grace and tact? As we said earlier, if you manage someone who's about to make a transition, you have to deal with your own set of challenges. This person might be dreaming of the new job, and not concentrating on current tasks – but your team still has to get the work done.