There is another unfortunate community habit that I have noticed.
It is, I believe, a consequence o their being simply too much stuff to
look at.
If you have a working group that is considering new ideas (looking to
recharter), you are more likely to get folks to read the draft, either
before or shortly after the meeting, if you get a presentation slot in
the meeting. In particular, if the presentation sounds interesting, he
odds of readership go up.
This is not discussion. The odds of getting much discussion if the idea
is competent are pretty low. (I am putting aside the useful result
where the participants go to the mike and bash the idea hard. That at
least is discussion, even if not the discussion the presenter wanted.)
But it seems to be one of the few ways we have to get folks to pay
attention.
Yours,
Joel
On 12/2/2012 10:12 AM, Keith Moore wrote:
On 12/02/2012 10:03 AM, John C Klensin wrote:
--On Sunday, December 02, 2012 09:53 -0500 Keith Moore
<moore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
...
(Another way to put is that even if we provide such cameras in
meetings along with colored pens and paper, we will continue
to see PowerPoint being used as it is today unless there's a
community-wide effort to change our entrenched habits.)
Sure. But it is the now-entrenched habits that are the problem.
The overuse of PowerPoint for purposes of which neither of us
approve is merely a symptom, not, IMO, a cause (even if it
reinforces the behaviors).
Agreed, though sometimes when changing habits it helps to focus
attention on the most visible or tangible part of the habit.
It's always been possible, and will presumably remain possible, to build
small PowerPoint decks that consist of only a few diagrams, to leave
some blank slides in the middle of the deck for the purpose of typing in
comments made at meetings, etc. -- all for the purpose of facilitating
discussion. I wouldn't have a problem with PowerPoint being used in
that way, though I suspect that it will be difficult for people to
restrain themselves to using PowerPoint in that way as long as that's
the tool that they're using.
Anyone for incorporating a slide (!) into the Newcomer's
Presentation (!!) that says "a presentation in a f2f meeting
that makes extensive use of PowerPoint decks with many and/or
dense slides brands the presenter as either a newcomer, someone
who is trying to avoid an actual discussion, or a fool"? :-(
Yes, but first we need to get existing WG chairs to say that to their
participants, and to push back on people who continue to do use
PowerPoint in that way in meetings.
Keith