To prop up the debate a bit, I invited a colleague with a little more first-hand experience with both technologies to provide support to the counter-argument.

Thanks to her, here are 32 reasons a PowerPoint slide deck is nothing like a bra.

1. I wear a bra every day, but could do without daily PowerPoint.
2. Personally, I think most other women would benefit more from a bra than PowerPoint too.
3. You can’t buy a PowerPoint slide deck off the shelf.
4. There’s no such thing as a Push-up PowerPoint deck.
5. There’s no such thing as a Miracle PowerPoint deck, not even from Nancy Duarte or Garr Reynolds.
6. You can’t improve a bra, but you can improve a slide deck.
7. You can’t give away your slide deck to someone who would fit it better.
   

   “Nobody ever asks for a copy of my bra after a meeting.”

8. Bras don’t have annoying transition effects like “window blinds“, “newsflash”, and “fade out”.
9. Bras don’t have annoying sound effects.
10. It’s never a surprise when someone pulls out a PowerPoint slide deck in a business meeting.
11. People will fall asleep in front of a PowerPoint slide deck.
12. No one anticipates the Victoria’s Secret PowerPoint catalog.
13. A bra works perfectly even if there’s no projector, screen, or laptop in the room.
14. Nobody ever asks for a copy of my bra after a meeting.
15. A PowerPoint slide deck is completely useless when exercising, while a bra is only somewhat useless.
16. You can’t craft a bra to suit your purpose.

    “Your employer will likely issue you a standard slide deck in corporate colors.”

17. Bras might be persuasive or motivational, but are rarely educational.
18. The Rule of Thirds says a slide contains four “power points”;
    human anatomy says a bra contains two “power points”.
19. Death by PowerPoint is an overused cliche.
    Death by Bra is not (yet).
20. 40 point bold text on a slide deck is acceptable.
    On bras? Not so much.
21. Only one Nobel Peace Prize winner uses PowerPoint, but nine wear bras. (An inconvenient truth or fiction?)
22. You can’t use the same slide deck all day long, day after day.
23. Slide decks don’t transition well from day to evening.
24. Teenagers know how to use bras, but adults still have trouble with PowerPoint.
25. Your mom will usually buy your first bra for you.
26. With bras, only teen-aged girls pad them with useless fluff.

    “Bras might be persuasive or motivational, but are rarely educational.”

27. It’s socially acceptable for men to use a slide deck, as long as it’s a good one.
28. PowerPoint slides look best when projected on a flat surface.
29. Guy Kawasaki has no 10-20-30 rule for bras.
30. Establishments that outlaw bras are labeled “trashy.”
    Companies that outlaw PowerPoint are labeled “forward-thinking.”
31. Your employer will likely issue you a standard slide deck in corporate colors.
32. A laser pointer rarely accompanies a bra.

Can You Add One?

What differences did we miss? Or maybe you’ve got a similarity to add to the debate?

Send in your suggestions, or add them in the comments.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Linda Wu works as a Research Analyst in Vancouver, Canada. When not staring at code on her computer, she likes to think and write about ways to improve technical communication.

Web comic xkcd has charted the number of deaths from numerous activities, but no public speaking deaths have been reported.

As I write this, Google searches demonstrate that public speaking is a non-life threatening activity. All of these return zero results:

• “died in a public speaking accident”
• “died in a speaking accident”
• “died in a presentation accident”
• “died in a PowerPoint accident”
• “died in a Toastmasters accident”

On the other hand, two people have apparently died in a blogging accident, so subscribing to my blog via RSS or email may be risky business…

• “died while reading Six Minutes”: 0 results

But, I think you’re safe.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Inspired by the success of that activity, I offer you the Twelve Days of Public Speaking Christmas.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, the presentation gave to me:

• Twelve figures of speech;
• Eleven poignant phrases;
• Ten timely gestures;
• Nine meaningful quotes;
• Eight laughs from humor;
• Seven smooth transitions;
• Six “um”-free minutes;
• Five metaphors;
• Four simple ideas;
• Three major points;
• Two stories told; and
• A message in the speech!

This worked out very well at a Toastmaster event where we sang the “On the twelfth day of Christmas, Toastmasters gave to me…”

Try out this song idea at your next Christmas event!

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

• You are the message.
  Public speaking need not be
  Death by PowerPoint.

• Tell them what you’ll say.
  Story. Point. Repeat three times.
  Tell them what you said.

• Ten – Twenty – Thirty.
  Guy Kawasaki guides us
  To receive applause.

• Image hurricane.
  One idea at a time.
  Ninety Lessig slides.

• Gripping the lectern.
  Words all forgotten. No notes.
  Terror realized.

• Cluttered images?
  Apply the master’s wisdom -
  Presentation Zen.

Your turn! Please share your best public speaking haiku.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.