Death to PowerPoint!!!!
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You may remember my huge crush on developmental molecular biologist Dr. John Medina. Well, Dr. John’s book “Brain Rules” is hot off of the press and it’s a fantastic read! It’s full of interesting stuff about how our brain’s work. You can understand him, he’s funny and thoughtful and he’s made me think about myself and the world differently. Now, that’s what I call a treat.
My favorite chapter is #10, Vision. In it, he states (and I quote)
- Vision trumps all senses
- Vision is by far our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resources
- We learn and remember best through pictures, not through written or spoken word
But wait, there’s more! “Tests performed years ago show that people could remember more than 2,500 pictures with at least 90% accuracy several days post exposure, even though subjects saw each picture for about 10 seconds.”
Two words friends: job security. Haha.
But think about it…science supports what we all KNOW! Pictures tell stories and create an instantaneous emotional connection that words alone can’t. People remember that emotion and respond to it in so many ways…
Which brings me to Death to PowerPoint…
Lest the folks at Microsoft sue me for talking smack about PowerPoint, it’s not the fault of the dot ppt file. Is it flat out user error. According to Dr. John, there is an average of 40 words per slide (read: snooze). So I encourage all of you, and it’s advice I’ll be happy to take myself – use more pictures. Conveniently, I’ve got a great place for you to visit.
One more thing, for those of you in the Seattle area, Dr. John is speaking about his book – Brain Rules – at Town Hall on Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 – don’t miss it!
Tags: Creative
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