Everything I Know about Life I Learned from PowerPoint

by Russell Davies

In the beginning was the Word. Now there's PowerPoint.

It's used for weddings, warfare and webinars, for literature, lessons and law. And, of course, to tell everyone that Q4 is going to be a lot more challenging than Q3.

PowerPoint is probably the most successful piece of software in history - but do you know who invented it? Or why it's banned in American courtrooms? Or which Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has a chapter entirely in PowerPoint?

At its heart, PowerPoint is about presentation, theatre and culture. About how to think, create and persuade. And it's hated and loved in equal measure for reasons that tell us a lot about power and who gets to say what where.

All of life is somewhere in a PowerPoint slide. Come inside to find out why.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Design

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2021

About the author

This is the disambiguation page for otherwise unseparated authors publishing as Russell Davies

Reviews

[Georgina Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

TL;DR version of the book
Style over substance

Although I think it may make my ppts a bit better

Which may be a reflection on the shallower medium ppt is compared to a book.

I liked some bits about this book. Russell Davies is strong and interesting at telling his personal story on PowerPoint, how he rode the wave from acetate projectors into the actual development of PowerPoint. I knew nothing about Gaskins, the creator of PowerPoint and Russell's hints at the liberal, multi-disciplinary team he created to shape PowerPoint were interesting.

The book falls down as it spends a long time luxuriating in bad PowerPoint (military PowerPoint, conceptual art related to PowerPoint) but there's 0 examples of Russell's own PowerPoints. In fact the only 'good example' he cites is from Ella Fitzsimmons, who seems to have contributed the more interesting insights in the book.

Another problem I have is that RD seems to be debating within himself how much of a problem being a white cis straight man is. On the one hand he talks about Ella's conversation with him about how his techniques only really work for him in his position of prviliidge. But then he still goes on to give you an example opening of a presentation (stolen from someone else) of a 20th cenutry fox intro and then a pause and then a little hello. Sure that works if you can do that faux-modesty bit because your a straight white cis male. It doesn't work if you need to convince people you belong in the room. He seems to play the underdog at times (I'm less privilidged than some of the people who don't like PowerPoint!) but then still give you examples of presenting PowerPoints which only work if you are a straight white cis male.

The other thing I got from this book, which grates me with a lot of ad books, is it feels essentially a bit shallow. His ending is a case in point, he's made this big (and unoriginal) point about lists of threes, and ending early (I also think it's much harder to end early if you're not a rich, established white male, who can get away with it, if you're a young woman, people may just assume you didn't have enough material). So his last list of three is actually a list of two and the third item is haha there's nothing here - always finish early (Ha!). This sums up a broader issue I have with some ad books, it's a lot of style over substance, I think it's intended to come across as self referential, knowing and witty but I actually find it glib, lacking in actual material and entitled. Also not driven by the desire to impart knowledge and accessibility, but by the desire to come across clever.

That having been said, I did really like Ella Fitzsimmons example deck from GDS, in general I think all the GDS work is really strong and I did enjoy the anecdote about the first PPT presentation they delivered at No 10 Downing Street and one case study when I did effectively buy that he wasn't the most privileged person in the room and was helping to deliver real, meaningful change (although it also riled me that he mentioned Sarah Richards just once, who was the brains behind this work, by her maiden name - she now goes by Sarah Winters - and on the next page says "I am an irritating pedant". Maybe on the things that affect him.

I liked the idea of starting a ppt with a story and ending with an ask, I got the point about repeating key phrases throughout. I love the idea of storyboarding slides using small squares of paper and big pens (to stop you writing too much). The presentation ideas could improve my slide design.

Flawed, a little gratingly entitled / unconsciously ironic, but has some points.

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a self-taught PowerPoint user and have been using it for years to create presentations for everything from a new client pitch, product launch, life in review (funeral), community event or family trivia night. Russell Davies has created PowerPoint presentations for the likes of Nike, Microsoft and Apple and has become the go-to guru for all things PowerPoint. In this book, Everything I Know about Life I Learned from PowerPoint, Davies shares his tips for creating and delivering an engaging presentation.

This isn't a book for those wanting to learn how to use the program and doesn't contain any specific instructions. Instead, it provides a lot of well-rounded guidance around how to put together an effective presentation. What should you consider when starting work on a presentation? How do you engage your audience and hold their attention?

True to his word, not only is Davies able to present well, he's also highly engaging as a writer as well. In fact, I had to keep stopping to look things up mentioned in the book. Highlights include the PowerPoint slide outlining the situation in Afghanistan that was so confusing, US military General Stanley McChrystal declared "When we understand that slide, we'll have won the war."

I also enjoyed the insight into the preparation process Steve Jobs employed in order to achieve his now famous presentations. Summary? He practised every day for 3 months. In fact, Davies says you should:

"Spend one hour preparing for every minute you'll be presenting." Page 213

As an aside, I loved learning about tricolons (a rhetorical term that consists of a series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses) such as the Olympic motto of Faster, Higher, Stronger or the byline for Rice Bubbles Snap, Crackle, Pop. A molossus contains three short words, like: Yes We Can and an epizeuxis is the repetition of words, like location, location, location. Fascinating right?

With quotes from business people and examples from a range of industries, there's something in here for everyone, from small business owners to aspiring leaders, speech makers, executives and office workers around the world.

Delivered with a great sense of humour and a light and breezy approach, Everything I Know about Life I Learned from PowerPoint by Russell Davies is an endlessly interesting and entertaining book and I highly recommend it.

Next slide please!

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *

[Corporate Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the first half of the book which looks at the history and culture of PowerPoint and how it is used and misused by different institutions. An eye-opening joy.

The second half was a 'tips' section which was very hit and miss. I ultimately skimmed a lot of it. He tells readers how difficult it is to write a 'how to' guide because it's so easy to fall into certain traps, then proceeds to fall into those very traps.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Russell Davies makes an impassioned defence of Powerpoint and how to make the best use of the software to capture your audience's attention and sway them. Davies acknowledges that PowerPoint is not the answer to everything. "Presentations and documents are not interchangeable. Sometimes you need the rigour and clarity of prose. And one of the downsides of PowerPoint's ubiquity is that people default to it. They will bash out some bullet points when they should be sitting, thinking and writing down a solid argument….Bad presentations are normally bad because they should have been documents. And vice versa. It's just that in a time-pressed modern organisation people don't have the space to do both well. So you end up with ugly hybrids….paragraphs of text on the screen, vast spreadsheets pasted into a document at a tiny size."

The most powerful insight from Davies' book for me was his calling out the disdain and contempt that senior leaders - from senior Whitehall mandarins to Jeff Bezos and Edward Tufte - have for PowerPoint as an exercise of power. Davies notes that "in many organisations, the more powerful you get, the less PowerPoint you do. Powerful people tend to receive presentations, not give them. And when they do give presentations, they probably won't do their own slides. Someone else will do that for them. Or, very often, they'll stand up and extemporise. Badly. Because no one can stop them." For senior leaders, they want to consume the content at their own pace, not at the presenter's. And so each time a senior leader instructs their people to just talk things through, they forget or ignore "how easy it is for them to do, and how hard it is for people without power to do the same." Davies argues that the problem isn't about Powerpoint per se, but may be because "the meeting has been designed solely to meet the informational requirements of one person, or one organisational caste."

For Davies, PowerPoint "creates access. If you're already in power and you got there by being confident, fluent and good at public speaking, then PowerPoint seems simultaneously trivial and threatening." The Whitehall example Davies cites would perhaps sound familiar to many bureaucrats:

"Whitehall culture was based on words, language and argument. They wrote papers and memoranda. Their meetings were discussions of papers that everyone was supposed to have read but which almost no one had. Those discussions were captured in notes, which were circulated but not read and eventually archived. Useful, difficult, decisions were never made because every shade of opinion could simply be added to the paper. Memoranda are infinite. You don't need to decide anything. You can just write it all down. The civil service lived in Word, in .doc."

Davies was working in Government Digital Services and he describes his team's culture as the polar opposite. "We, on the other hand, wanted to move quickly and decisively so we decided to work in .ppt. We kept our words very brief and very big. We set vey clear presentation rules. Fonts no smaller than 30pt. No more than six words a line. No acronyms. No clip art."

Davies does offer various pointers on how to become a more effective presenter. Most are fairly well-known but Davies presents them in a pithy and entertaining manner:

#1: Divide your presentation into three sections - the power of three is real e.g. What Won't Change; What Can Change; What Will Change. Or Story of Self; Story of Us; Story of Now. Or Where We've Been; Where We Are Now; Where We're Going.
#2: Make your words short, big and clear. Remove words like "key", "holistic", "evolve". This makes your arguments sharper, more coherent and creates alignment (cos people know what you mean).
#3: Make your pictures relevant, big and clear. Illustrate, don't decorate.
#4: Don't have many colours. Don't have many fonts.
#5: Don't start your working on your presentation with the beginning. Start by looking back from the destination and figuring out how you got there. Get your closing right.
#6: Make clear what you're asking for. Don't just do an update - frame it as an ask to be more effective.
#7: Use oratorical devices to make your presentation more memorable e.g. tricolons (the power of three again!), alliteration, rhythm (short, short, long)
#8: Write headlines for your slides, not headers.
#9: Think of your presentation as a series of posters

I also learned a bunch of new words in the process. Words like tricolon, molossus, and epizeuxis.

[Jack Roscoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stunning reflection on the value and exchange of knowledge, and a funny and powerful exploration of creativity and the art of simplicity and ideas. Also: good PowerPoint tips.

[Seph Uhlar]

********************
This book about slides
is much less boring
than it sounds!
********************
It's hard to pin down this 16:9 little gem, which is part history, part memoir, and part bag-of-trick. Appropriately, Davies' comes from advertising, and has a quirky, self-deprecating humor that works surprisingly well for pushing along each (initially mundane seeming) idea, supported perfectly by visuals from Stefanie Posavec.
For example, early questions about why PowerPoint worked at all, seamlessly morph into an investigation into the bizarre organisational cultures spawned by PowerPoint Presentations. Excavating palimpsest-presentations from big tech, high finance, covid, and the military has a hilarious, dismaying, and prescient effect all at the same time. Davies pieces together ideas from anthropologists, philosophers, media critics, in a way that's stimulating, without ever becoming inaccessible.
Davies' is at his sharpest showing how much he cares about slides, and other day-to-day office software, in organisational power. This part of the books is his best riposte against the anti-powerpoint coalition.
If you're lucky enough to already be the confident, well spoken, people-already-pay-you-plenty-of-attention type, you probably think slides suck. Any wonder Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, etc. are banning tyrannical PowerPoints from their companies? For the rest of us, powerpoint is one of our few allies against an audacious foe: public speaking.

[Neil Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun, interesting and helpful read. I worked with Russell at GDS and his influence on me and how I communicate runs deep. Even with that prior knowledge I still got LOADS out of this book. Not least, a really good time - it's so funny and interesting! And helpful.

[Charlotte Rfflt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre structurant pour apprendre a bien communiquer ! Des conseils essentiels pour son quotidien.

[Hamid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first started reading this book when it was first released and then put it down after the first few dozen pages to read Sweating Bullets: Notes about Inventing PowerPoint by Gaskins instead; Davies enthuses about Gaskins in the opening pages. That was a lengthy but fascinating read.

I kept meaning to come back to this but didn't make my way to it until the last week or so and I'm happy to say it was great. It's well-written, well-formatted and authored by a guy who just comes across as quite nice. Refreshingly, he takes time over the first half of the book to make a case for powerpoint, going through some of the interesting parts of its history as well as his own.

The second-half of the book is dedicated to tips for slides. He'd already explained repeatedly that presentation isn't a science and that there are many competing theories as to what works, so he explains what has worked for him. I think this is the right approach. He tries to couch what he's saying in consideration of others' experiences, acknowledging that what's worked well for him might not work so well. He lands on a few pointers which aren't going to make a profound impact if you've been presenting for a while: rule of threes, keep it short, keep it simple etc. But I still found it enjoyable and never a slog.

He also rounds off with summaries of reading recommendations (which I love) and even a little note at talking about the carbon impact of the book and how to think about offsetting it. Lovely. It's clear he's put a lot of meticulous thought into this and I appreciate it. I rarely bother to talk about printing itself when it comes to book reviews but the hardback copy I read is beautifully printed and styled.

The book is also short. It doesn't overstay its welcome. The first half alone is worth the five stars. Highly recommended for anyone interested in presenting themselves or other things.

[Simon Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines a history of the development of PowerPoint software, an ode to its functions, advice on presenting well, and—most up my street—an excoriation of poor corporate communication. The prose is written in a personal, conversational style, interspersed with PowerPoint slides—a couple of which I recently shared. It is a riot of a book.

Davies argues powerfully and convincingly that PowerPoint is often wrongly blamed for failures which lie elsewhere—usually in poor decisions about communication. Too often, screeds that should have been documents are pasted onto slides.

I didn’t understand why everyone was so contemptuous of a tool I found so joyous and liberating. I understood that bad presentations were bad. I’d sat through a lot of them. But I couldn’t quite see why everyone blamed the tool itself. It seemed like blaming pulpits for the boringness of sermons or printing for the tedium of books. I started to get a chip on my shoulder about all this PowerPointHate.

The section about presentations before PowerPoint—overhead projectors, transparencies, and those special felt-tipped pens—brought memories of giving presentations at medical school flooding back. Even in my fourth year, by which time PowerPoint was pretty common, we were routinely expected to have a backup on transparencies in case of ‘technical failure’—I remember deciding to buy transparencies that my printer could print onto, at what seemed like enormous expense. I hadn’t thought about that in years.

The second on corporate communication was great, which isn’t surprising: Davies was heavily involved with the creation of gov.uk which has a brilliant style guide. It is a shame that it is not more often followed by government departments. The line that will stay with me for longest is the astute observation that the word ‘key’ can almost always be deleted from any corporate document without consequence.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Rich B · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-catching title and design, this was a fun and interesting read. It maps out the author’s experiences and connections with Powerpoint, of which he is clearly a fan.

There’s lots of dry humour, sharp observations and comments about the impact it’s had on anyone who’s ever had to use it to give a presentation.

At the start he sets up this is neither a history of Powerpoint or a “how to” guide, though he touches on both of those topics and recommends books for further reading.

In fact, there’s clearly lots of research gone into this book as it’s well referenced and full of stories about Powerpoint I hadn’t come across before.

It’s particularly strong on how people react to Powerpoint, and how often it gets dismissed. But as he points out, it’s typically people in powerful positions who dismiss it, who’re used to being heard. But for everyone else, especially those people further down the chain, it’s a valuable tool to organise their thoughts and influence how others think. It’s the Office tool that lets you be the most creative at work for most people.

There’s lots of examples, though most of them seem to be bad usage of Powerpoint, rather than good one. The US military don’t come across well in terms of their use of Powerpoint for example. Still, it’s a lot of fun seeing where other people go wrong, and it will help you learn about how to make your own Powerpoint presentations sharper and more impactful.

Probably the only down side is that after a cracking start, the writing felt like it ran out of steam a little towards the end. Not so much to spoil the enjoyment of reading it, but the ending was noticeably less sharp and punchy than the beginning.

But that aside, it’s a fun read and enjoyed it a lot.

[John Oswald · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when someone has basically put into words your own thoughts and feelings that you thought no one else felt? That. Thank you Russell - this book basically tells (much better) my own corporate story, which has had PowerPoint on a projector somewhere in the background the entire time. This is nothing less than corporate sociology, but fun, entertainingly written with proper LOL moments. And packed full of hints, tips advice. And a gloriously self aware undercurrent that it’s often only through PPT that we get to express ourselves at work sometimes. I know this to be true - one of my colleagues (I’ll spare her) actually exclaimed it late one night finishing a client preso for the next day. You know who you are :). I have lived this book and I praise Davies for writing it, and doing it with exquisite wit, self deprecation and self awareness. A minor triumph. Thank you @marcharlier and @iansanders for putting me on to it. I was tempted to call out who of my colleagues makes the best PowerPoint but that would embarrass people, and as Davies points out, most of it’s behind corporate firewalls so its unverifiable in any case… #guehennoreads #powerpoint #booksofinstagram #booksof2022

[Andrew Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, especially the first half, includes great insights and observations about PowerPoint. The creation, the growth, and many uses of PowerPoint (good and bad) are shared in a compelling, visual way. Like any great PowerPoint, the visuals here are striking and compelling.

Davies goes into philosophical ideas about PowerPoint, including how PPT can be a way to level out power hierarchies in organizations, how each slide represents a unit of thought, and how a strong slide can clarify thinking.

The second half is somewhat disconnected, full of different tips. Many are valuable, some not as much. After zipping through the first half in a couple of days, I spent the next 3 months slowly working through the 2nd half.

Overall, a recommended, valuable book.

[Shen Xu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a colleague and about a third way in, I could not help but start recommending it to other people I know.
To start with, it is a page-turner, which is unusual for a “business book”, which kept me want to know more.
It is more than how to do PowerPoint (or any other presentation) well, it exposes structural issues of our society and workplace and how using certain tools could help to level the playing field.
Don’t fret, there is also a good proportion of the book is about useful techniques to make presentations more engaging, purposeful and effective. Every idea is well illustrated and directly applicable. Something myself and my colleagues have already showcased in our own day-to-day work and is demonstrating great results.

[Ethan Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love Russell's book. It's full of wisdom, know-how, good advice, important perspetive, and a ton of heart. It's light. It's airy. It's funny. And it's useful.
I particularly liked three things:
1. His critique of the critiques of PowerPoint and slideware in general. The people that hate PPT tend to be a) leaders in positions of power (Jeff Bezos, CEOs, charismatic white men, etc), and b) people who use lots & lots of words for a living (journalists, politicians, journalists, writers, etc.)
2. His advice for people using PPT (or any slideware). Tons of great stuff.
3. The overall design of the whole book. Lovely job.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loathe PowerPoint (Keynote, and the ilk) yet love the creativity and fun of putting words and pictures together. This book suits me just fine.

It’s a light and engrossing history and philosophy of PowerPoint: how it was used at GDS, how it's not a replacement for a long-form document, how it's good for diversity, and more.

It then switches to a bag of ideas to help to make a great (or bad) presentation — which is useful, although not what I came for. But the first part alone is worth the price for me.

[Mike Cisneros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and enjoyable read. Anyone who presents regularly (or is obliged to listen to presentations regularly) will benefit from hearing Davies’s perspective. Not to say that I 100% align with his suggestions and style, but it’s rare to find someone who can talk genuinely, knowledgeably, and enthusiastically about the tools we use to communicate with one another, while still coming off as relatable and entertaining.

[Pavel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun, clever look at life, work, and presentations. The first part relies mostly on storytelling, which is engaging but occasionally feels a bit meandering. Where the book really shines is in the second half, which delivers practical tips and actionable insights—perfect for anyone looking to up their PowerPoint game. If you’re looking for inspiration you can actually put to use, you’ll love the latter chapters

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a funny book, and I like how self aware the author is. I didn’t really enjoy the first half on the history of PowerPoint, but there are lots of great, useful nuggets in the second half. I have a big presentation coming up next month so want to put them into action.

[Simon Veksner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful.

[Margherita Massazza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good introduction and review of Power Point, underlying its usefulness not just as a business tool but as a way to structure our thinking. Great!

[Tim Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal.
Simply phenomenal.
Next slide please.

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining. I'll definitely keep it on hand when working on my next presentation

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and insightful. A homage to an ubiquitous tool.

[Peter Vegel · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book about the importance of clarity and legibility in presentation, I felt the layout of this book often hampered my getting into the text.

[Massimo Curatella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful, funny, memorable. If you will ever have to do a presentation in your life: read it.

[André Bernhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for the why of Powerpoint? This is your book!

A surprisingly funny and informative book that offers much more than the clickbait title suggests.

If you are looking for a how-to Powerpoint? Read this: slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations