Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to attend various academic talks - from job market pitches to regular paper presentations and class lectures. In each of these, I’ve noticed a ubiquitous element: the reliance on slides, whether they’re sleek, LaTeX-generated PDFs or classic PowerPoint decks.
There’s an unspoken rule in academia these days: not using slides is almost tantamount to disrespect. It’s as if you’ve shown up unprepared. Slides have become the academic equivalent of a formal suit – a symbol of seriousness and professionalism. Ironically, even a well-tailored suit and a meticulously prepared lecture script fall short without the accompanying visual aid of slides. This holds true for most academic settings, except perhaps for a few math-intensive courses.
But here’s the catch: effectively using slides is no simple feat. Even the most minimalist slide deck, a mere collection of formulas, can be challenging to wield. Slides possess such a potent allure that many fall into their trap. I’ve seen students, overwhelmed, resort to merely reading off the slides, leading to lackluster presentations. Likewise, lecturers sometimes pack their slides with excessive detail, only to lose track of their sequence. They end up covering content orally and then redundantly repeating it as they switch to the next slide, having forgotten its contents.
That universal gesture we make when referring to a crucial point on our slides, especially mathematical statements. It’s become almost a cliché, seen repeatedly in literally everyone’s talk everytime.
Using slides is really like wielding a double-edged sword. The benefits and pitfalls are nearly equal. Today, it’s rare to encounter a lengthy academic talk sans slides. However, it’s equally common to see speakers led by their slides, rather than leading the talk themselves. This calls for a thoughtful approach to the design and use of slides.
Adding to the complexity is the setup of modern lecture rooms. The rise of multiple display systems has inadvertently raised the stakes. In such environments, audiences often disengage, focusing on the slides and merely listening to the speaker. This disconnect between audio and visual inputs leaves the speaker with only their voice to command attention.
Observations on room design: The left room, oddly, features two screens showing the same content in a widely spaced setting, making audience engagement challenging. The right room, with its daunting five-screen setup, presents an even greater challenge in capturing and maintaining audience attention.
Navigating rooms with dual screens can be disorienting, especially when juggling content and audience engagement. The ultimate test, though, comes in rooms like the one I recently encountered: a 20-person class surrounded by five screens. Here, capturing and retaining the audience’s attention felt like an arduous battle.