In this episode I will explain why I believe Whiteboards are far superior to PowerPoint decks
Welcome to Lead Prompt // executing leadership from the root. I’m your host, John Collins.
Let me begin by stating my positions on these widely-used tools:
- I love whiteboards with a passion.
- I hate PowerPoint presentations with a vengeance.
Now in the interests of convenience, I am using the term PowerPoint here to refer to any slide deck application you care to mention, and this is not specifically targeting a single application: in my opinion they all suck.
With that out of the way, let me explain why I feel so strongly about these tools, starting with whiteboards.
Whiteboards are awesome
The end, no more discussion required! Joking aside, the key reason why I love whiteboards is because they are a collaboration tool: when you gather a team around a whiteboard to discuss a topic, it is a conversation. At different parts of that conversation, people will pass the whiteboard marker as each scribbles their ideas on the board while the others offer feedback.
A whiteboard encourages these kinds of conversations, as everyone is focused on the problem as it is evolving into a solution in real-time on the board: feedback is immediate, and so is the adjustments to the solutions.
Secondly, I love the tactile feel of a whiteboard. I get the same feeling from writing on paper, which is why I still use a journal with a paper calendar daily. There is a great intellectual freedom to be had from holding a pen or a marker, and just expressing yourself!
A whiteboard is a collaboration tool designed to illicit feedback, to enable your audience to consult back to you in real-time, enabling you to steer the solution towards a better outcome. Now let's compare these to slide decks.
PowerPoint decks are too restrictive
If a whiteboard is a collaboration tool, a PowerPoint is a briefing tool. When you present a slide deck you are driving the conversation, "please keep your questions to the end" is a common refrain. A slide deck is to help you communicate ideas that have already largely been formed, or present some data or other findings that your audience need to be briefed on.
In my opinion this is the key difference:
- A whiteboard is for collaborating or evolving ideas.
- A PowerPoint slide deck is for presenting well-formed ideas.
But here is a baseline principal for me, and it's important for all leaders to carefully consider:
All ideas are evolving.
Why do I believe that? Because the operating environment we are working in each day, the world outside, is also evolving. Constantly. By the time you capture your data in a PowerPoint slide deck, it is already stale.
Secondly, I don't like PowerPoint because it enables a presenter to learn a script that they themselves may not fully understand. They don't have to learn the topic in depth if they are running through some slides and avoiding questions. It enables them to frame a conversation in a way that makes them comfortable. As a leader, I am always looking at what they decided to leave out of their deck as much as what they included, as that can be a major signal. I am acutely aware that the person who prepared the deck is trying to steer me towards their preferred conclusion.
In contrast, you really need to know your stuff to strand in front of an empty whiteboard and just draw: you must frame the topic in easy to understand terms in real-time with the aide of your doodles, describing what has happened so far, and solicit advice on what to do next. It takes skill a confidence: to a poor communicator, there is nothing more terrifying than an empty whiteboard!
Conclusion
So, where does that leave us?
As leaders, our primary goal shouldn't be to simply broadcast information; it should be to cultivate solutions. The next time you are faced with a complex problem to solve, a new system to architect, or a strategy to define, resist the urge to boot up a slide deck and start bullet-pointing your way to a preconceived outcome.
Instead, grab a marker. Stand in front of that exciting, empty expanse of white, and invite your team to join you. Embrace the messiness of a live conversation and the raw collaboration that happens when everyone is contributing to the same canvas in real-time.
Slide decks might have their place for that final, static readout, but if you want to actually build something resilient, you have to be willing to do the work out in the open. Strip away the formatting, drop the script, and trust your depth of knowledge to guide the room.
Thanks for tuning into Lead Prompt. Until next time, keep your ideas evolving.
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File details: 7.1 MB MP3, 5 mins 26 secs duration.
Title music is "Apparent Solution" by Brendon Moeller, licensed via www.epidemicsound.com
