the power of templates

rhetoric & powerpoint

Patricia Sullivan

PPT Generic TemplatesDesignContent

Represent the Speaker’s

Identity

My message is. . .

PPT templates = rhetoric

Use them and you accept their rhetoric

Developed to Fight Bad Design Initially 48 Design templates:

Backgrounds Colors Typefaces

Helped non-designers avoid hideous choices

Design Template Rhetoric

Directs writers to. . . Use consistently formatted titles Put content in the same places Limit content for each slide Use bullets and levels

Avoids “laughable” aesthetics

Content Template Rhetoric More intrusive than design

templates Advocates structured writing

Standard structure (Title, Introduction, Topics--handled one-by-one--Close)

Major points first Decisions made according to

audience interest

Slide that follows shows a contenttemplate slide from “generic”

Topic One: Assumptions

Details about this topic Supporting information and

examples How it relates to your

audience

On the Plus Side

Asks for “details” to be supported

Suggests examples be used

Asks for relating to audience

Uses a simple design (except for the slide transitions)

On the Minus Side

It makes you think of your points as “details”

If examples are added, slide may be too long

It thinks of audience afterward

Can hardly forget the transitions

Next two slides show two more content template slides -- these near the end

Real Life

Give an example or real life anecdote

Sympathize with the audience’s situation if appropriate

What This Means

Add a strong statement that summarizes how you feel or think about this topic

Summarize key points you want your audience to remember

Problems with Rhetoric

Placed after the conclusion Risk perception of pandering Instead of connecting

anecdote to the content, audience may remember only the anecdote

so, why are content templates dangerous?

Path of least resistance Treat audience as points to

make, not a group to be persuaded

Prompts use language that can be misunderstood

Inexperienced writers may think they are the answer

. . .Everyone using this format/content makes similar slides no matter the topic

. . . Most viewers are shocked by the animated type

Bottom Line = powerpoint no longer yields personal power