If you are asked to do a presentation at interview, is Powerpoint compulsory do you think?

[morningpaper]

Is Powerpoint compulsory for interviews/bids? Would NOT using Powerpoint go against you because everyone expects it?

I wouldnt say it would go against you, aslong as your presentation is good and well planned i dont see a problem.
I hate PP btw

I think it would go against you
I got marked down for not using it in a presentation at university for a professional course

(only to an A- though )

I would struggle to see how you could do a professional presentation without power point to be honest.

Why are you asking the quesion? Do you not have power point? would a library have it available and you could save it on a memory stick?

Think it depends what you are pitching for, how long you are allocated and the situation of interview and available equipment. For example if a teaching position a flip chart and handouts may suffice , or to sell a specific product seeing a sample, demonstrating and discussing it may more relevant.

Are you trying to avoid death by powerpoint?

I tend to use PP but do not put any words on it, just pictures and images of things that I am to talk about. Its great fun trawling the images sites.

I've never really seen the benefit of powerpoint - I think it takes too long to make a decent looking presentation

I prefer to use a flipchart when training etc.

Powerpoint is just a bit crap isn't it?

I think ladyblabla has the right idea - use PP for images to back up what you are saying. You can then give out handouts with the details of what you said, plus the image to help people to remember.

I do spend a long time preparing presentations though - its unrealistic to think that having a brain dump onto a few slides is going to be good enough.

It could work for or against you, I'd say.
Are you competing against lots of other people who will be using PP?
Are you demonstrating your knowledge of something, or selling something?

God I hate PP. Just thought I'd say.

DD1 (7yo) is a whizz at it though if you want to outsource

I think as long as you can still produce a precis of your presentation to leave with your interviewers, it should be ok not to use PP. In fact, it may make you stand out from the crowd.

You may need to let them know that you can use it though - but have chosen not to.

It depends on the area, I think. If there are many small details that need to be presented, then it is useful to have these on a slide for people to refer to as you talk. If you are talking for an hour it can be useful to have images as headlines/section breaks. If you are talking for 5 minutes, I think it should be neat, tidy, polished and need no overheads or notes.

OTOH, in an interview, I would probably have a slide or two just to prove that yes, I do know what PP is.

PP can be overdone and can be badly done. Depends a lot on the sort of job. Public sector still seem to love PP on the whole whereas an edgy thrusting company would probably want something more hip.

PP definitely better than flip chart .

I don't find it hard to get the words/images balance right at all. Basically, as few words as poss. It's very quick, simple, big , visual.

Some hipsters will want more creativity and effort than PP.

A poor presenter blames his tools.

poinsetty, am interested, what is more hip than PP?

This is for a charity, doing a pitch to say what the charity SHOULD be doing

I will probably go in using PowerPoint although TBH I don't ever use it normally when presenting - flip charts are useful I think - I've done a lot of mind-mapping work and flip-charts are more accessible for a lot of people in that you can do mind-mapping and brainstorming in a more non-linear way that everyone understands

blah blah I am boring MYSELF

I've never ever seen a powerpoint presentation and thought 'wow! powerpoint made that GREAT!' - do you agree?

Agree about the balance of speaking vs screen. The powerpoint should be an aid to your presentation, to visually make or reinforce a point. Remember that people take on board information visually and aurally, so you need to cater to both types.

On no account have most of your words on it! Headings & key points only. And look at the audience not the screen.

I think the real enemy of powerpoint is getting the equipment set up correctly. When I interview at work, candidates can email their presentaion over so the techie can make sure it's ready for them.

to answer your question mp, most of the formal presentations that I go to or give are very technical, so pP is more or less essential to get the message across. (graphs, network diagrams).

If you are telling people what they OUGHT to be doing, in a field that they already know well, then I understand your reservations...pp could still be useful, but at all costs avoid bog standard clipart, which just looks annoyingly middle management.

When engineers are trying to persuade the rest of the team to do what they want, ime, they never use powerpoint. They speak passionately, and draw diagrams as they go along with coloured felt pens on big flip pads of paper, or fill the whiteboard. Subliminal message: trust me, because I know what I am talking about! Unlike the project manager and his twatty powerpoint slides!

However, if you want people to re-read what you said afterwards, imo you cant do better than a printout of slides and written notes.

How about doing a leave-behind which is a power point print out? Then you do the interesting and interactive presentation using a flip chart, and they get a souvenir which (a) shows you can use power point if you have to and (b) keeps you on a par with the other candidates when they come to scoring you afterwards.

I always used Power point for 'work' presentations but when speaking to general public, I avoid them and use props- it depends what the topic is. I did a comms course last year on presentations and it has really made me reconsider using power point ever again. They introduced me to sticky paper (apparently used on apprentice programme which I never watch as being female do not get the remote) and I am more inclined to prepare on white paper, bring along and stick on wall and unfold. I also advocate photos projected on walls. I love the way flip charting looks as if you have been up all night putting personal effort in. So personally, powerpoint has lost the wow for me