While reading one of Edward Tufte’s books Beautiful Evidence I was very interested in his obvious distain for something that I have done dozens of times, used PowerPoint presentations to communicate information to an audience, usually my class.  While at the time I thought that using PowerPoint was an excellent means of visually showing information, Tufte states that in fact “PowerPoint, compared to other common presentation tools, reduces the analytical quality of serious presentations of evidence.” (Tufte 157) In fact in his essay PowerPoint Is Evil, Tufte says that “the standard PowerPoint presentation elevates format over content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns everything into a sales pitch.” The author explains that PowerPoint works to comfort and organize presenters but this may be done at the expense of presenting accurate information. In Beautiful Evidence Tufte states that these expenses are “foreshortening of evidence and thought, low spatial resolution, an intensely hierarchical single-path structure as the model for organizing every type of content, breaking up narratives and data into slides and minimal fragments, rapid temporal sequencing of thin information rather than focused spatial analysis, conspicuous chartjunk and PPphluff, branding of slides with logotypes, a preoccupation with format not content, incompetent designs for data graphics and tables, and a smirky commercialism that turns information into a sales pitch and presenters into marketeers. (Tufte 158)  Here the author makes many extremely valid points about PowerPoint.  (However I find this extremely long winded sentence confusing and characteristic of the author’s writing style in this book. His choice to present information in this way seems to me to be in direct disagreement to the main position of this book.  Although, I am unsure of whether this was intentional or not.)  

In his article PowerPoint is Evil, the author continues on to explain that the use of Power Point is disturbing in schools because it is being used instead of the students learning to write essays or reports.  Tufte think that it is ineffective in the workplace because seeing a large amount of information in slide form makes it hard for the audience to understand context and relationships.  He stating that “PowerPoint style routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content.” (Tufte) He concludes by saying that PowerPoint disregards “the most important rule of speaking; respect your audience.” (Tufte)

“PowerPoint Is Evil Power Corrupts. PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely.” Edward R. Tufte. The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, is available from Graphics Press (www.edwardtufte.com).