A reader recently asked if ‘old school’ flip charts still have any value in today’s high tech presentation and training environments. When I teach ‘Train-the-Trainer’ ‘Effective Presentation’ workshops, I always stress their value and practicality.
- You can post them around the room and keep referring to them easily throughout the meeting, workshop or presentation. Can’t do that with slides.
- Also post blank sheets around the room to get people out of their seats and generate ideas for specific discussion topics. Try doing that with slides.
- Just seeing a flip pad in the room when people arrive suggests it will be an informal, interactive session and not more ‘Death By PowerPoint’ or another canned ‘Data Dump’. So many workplace presenters and trainers abuse PowerPoint so much that its mere presence creates a negative connotation and expectation of more pain.
- I prefer the pages with a light blue grid – really makes it easier for me to write straight and neat.
So, give this old school tool a try. You may find your audiences flip over flip charts.