Can you believe how much time executives devote to speeches and presentations? Practically no one likes giving them—think of all the tedious hours spent preparing mind-numbing PowerPoint slides. Even fewer people like being on the receiving end—think of all those hours having said slides read aloud or explained in excruciating detail. And all for naught, really: study after study shows that presentations are a particularly ineffective way to transmit information, whether to colleagues, subordinates, or clients. People just don’t absorb much of what they hear.
A version of this article appeared in the April 2001 issue of Harvard Business Review.
