PowerPoint - the Comic Sans of instructional tools

Note: I wrote this article back in July, but never published it because I wasn't fully satisfied with my conclusion. Fortunately, the PowerPoint Wars have recently sprung back into the spotlight with the SecDef, Ash Carter, banning PowerPoint slides from some of his briefings. This revitalized my interest in finishing the article, which I present to you now.

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A recent article on Slate titled "How PowerPoint is ruining higher education" lambasted the many professors that rely upon the Microsoft software as their primary teaching system. Let me tell you something, higher education has got NOTHING on the military.

We've got PowerPoint patches people wear on their uniform. And with only a moderate about of irony. Every officer in every branch of the military can attest to the ridiculous amount of time they spend slaving away at PowerPoint slides. It is unquestionably the choice de jour for every meeting, presentation, or briefing. My day to day life is dominated by the slides I have to prepare for whatever meeting is coming next. Military jargon includes phrases like "death by PowerPoint", "I kill people with bullet points, not bullets", or "winning the war, one slide at a time". For much more exposition about PowerPoint and the military, go here.

At the base of the issues is that PowerPoint is a great tool, but it has mutated into a prison. It reminds me of an old adage my church's pastor likes to say - "money is a great tool, but a horrible master." PowerPoint is the master of most staff officers and NCOs days and careers. You can read plenty of horror stories about how TICs in Afghanistan would go unreported to high echelon commands because doing so would require building multiple PowerPoint slides, wasting valuable cognition and time.

I for one enjoy Doctrine Man's suggestions for the limited usage of PowerPoint, best summed up in his 3 Bs: be Brief, be Brilliant, Be gone. PowerPoint slides ought to be surgical cognitive strikes, with expertly curated slides that leave the receivers of the brief with a greatly enhanced understanding of the issues. Otherwise, don't build the slide!