Date:         Wed, 7 Apr 2004 09:05:52 +0100
Reply-To:     Robert Burbidge <RBurbidge@PHD.CO.UK>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Robert Burbidge <RBurbidge@PHD.CO.UK>
Subject:      Re: rant SUGI PowerPoint template
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

<my two cents>

PowerPoint is as frustrating to use for conference presentations as Word is for the papers that accompany them.  Given that many of use LaTeX for the papers, I would like to encourage the use of PPower4 for presentations.  It has the advantages of HTML (e.g. hyperlinks) and LaTeX (e.g. equations).  (Un)fortunately, you have to learn LaTeX.

http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/support/ppower4/

For non-academic presentations (I do media research for clients), I find that a flipchart is generally the best idea, as it is impossible to know a priori which part of linear regression they won't understand (it's also frequently the case that once the analysis is done, what they want to know is not what was in the project proposal).  I feel that one should treat every such meeting as a mini-PhD viva: know the area, do the work properly, tell them what they want to know.

IMHO, presentations are often done for the sake of having something to look at, and can distract from the purpose of the meeting.

</my two cents>


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