Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is a widely used software program that enables users to create presentations incorporating text, images, sounds, and animations. Initially developed between 1984 and 1987 by Forethought, Inc., it was later acquired by Microsoft. PowerPoint transformed the way presentations were made by allowing users to design projectable slides and generate accompanying notes and handouts efficiently. After its launch, PowerPoint quickly gained popularity, particularly after it became available for personal computers, ultimately controlling about 95% of the presentation software market by the early 21st century.
While PowerPoint has become a go-to tool for business, education, and community organizations, it has faced criticism for potentially diminishing public speaking skills and leading to uninspired presentations. Despite these critiques, when used effectively, PowerPoint can enhance communication by supporting speakers with visuals and key points. However, some presentations suffer from information overload or lack of engagement, underscoring the importance of thoughtful design and delivery. Today, approximately thirty million PowerPoint presentations are conducted daily around the globe, reflecting its integral role in modern communication.
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is a computer software program that allows users to create presentations using words, images, sounds, and animations. Developed between 1984 and 1987 by programmers at Forethought, Inc., the program was later purchased and promoted by the technology company Microsoft. Throughout the years and after many updates, PowerPoint became the world's top presentation software and one of the best known programs in modern computing. It has also, however, garnered some criticism for its arguably harmful effects on its users' public speaking abilities.
Background and Development
Prior to the early 1980s, people had few technological aids for making presentations. Businesspeople and educators generally relied on notes and copied handouts to convey their data. Some used basic overhead projectors with transparent plastic sheets, or slide projectors with slide shows, to display information for audiences. While generally effective, these methods were still limited in their capacity and sometimes difficult to design and execute. Although computers were becoming increasingly common in companies as well as in schools and homes, digital technology had little impact on the traditional forms of presentations.
Starting in 1984, a small team of programmers including Dennis Austin, Robert Gaskins, and Thomas Rudkin began developing plans to digitize presentations for overhead projection. These programmers were employed at the technology company Forethought, Inc., based in Sunnyvale, California. Their proposals set out plans for a program called Presentation that would be compatible with the popular Apple Macintosh computer.
One of the earliest proposals, made by Gaskins in August of 1984, laid out the goals and approaches for the new product. It would be designed to appeal to anyone who had to make presentations, including business managers, teachers, and salespeople. Gaskins noted that people spent $3.5 billion on business presentations in 1982, largely to create millions of slides and transparencies. Computer-based presentations, he posited, could create and present more information faster and less expensively than traditional means.
The Presentation program, even in its earliest manifestations, was designed around the concept of creating projectable slides with customizable borders, graphics, tables, fonts, and other features for display on computer screens. The program would also help presenters create personal notes as well as handouts for audiences and provide some guidance to help in the design of effective presentations. All of this would be contained within a single master file, easy to store and operate.
The programmers believed their creation would make complex presentations clearer and more effective, allow users greater control and ability to make changes, and greatly reduce the time and costs involved in the entire process. Forethought, Inc. approved the project, and the programmers got to work in late 1985. The first version of the program was completed by spring of 1987.
Immediate Success
In 1987, due to a conflict over trademarks, Presentation was renamed PowerPoint. Later that year, burgeoning technology company Microsoft purchased Forethought for $14 million and absorbed PowerPoint into its own offerings. In its first year, PowerPoint proved a modest success, with about a million dollars in sales. When it was moved from the Apple Macintosh onto the PC (personal computer) platform, however, its sales increased tenfold.
Now under the Microsoft banner, PowerPoint grew from a success into a phenomenon. The program was bundled in with many Microsoft products, including the program suite known as Microsoft Office, which also came with word processing (Microsoft Word) and spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel) applications. Over time, PowerPoint became nearly ubiquitous among computer users. By 1993, PowerPoint was the premier presentation software for personal computers. By the twenty-first century, PowerPoint controlled about 95 percent of the presentation-software market.
Every few years, Microsoft introduced updated versions of PowerPoint, each of which expanded the program's offerings. For instance, the original version only allowed slides to be printed in black and white, whereas the second version allowed color printouts. By 1992, the program had evolved into a virtual slide show, and later versions incorporated animations, transitions, sound and video clips, and other increasingly advanced features. In 2021, PowerPoint released the version PowerPoint 2021, which included co-authoring.
According to Microsoft, about thirty million PowerPoint presentations take place each day around the world. Although originally designed mainly for business uses, PowerPoint quickly began appearing in schools and various community organizations. It became a new standard for presentation giving, although its dominance in this field has been met with deeply mixed reactions by experts and the public alike.
Praise and Criticism
PowerPoint has won great popularity among people who might otherwise be anxious about public speaking, or who might have trouble organizing thoughts in an effective manner. Generally, when used properly, PowerPoint has proven to be a very valuable tool for supporting and enhancing a speaker's points during a presentation. Many analysts suggest that the best use of PowerPoint is in providing supporting graphics and key words, and that presentations done that way can be of great benefit to companies and individuals.
The popularity of the program has also brought about a large amount of criticism. Many critics feel the program is overused and that poor presenters use it as a crutch rather than a springboard to more dynamic and meaningful presentations. Ineffective PowerPoint presentations may be confusing, boring, or distracting to audiences. Some are too laden with information or are simply too long—Microsoft estimates that the average PowerPoint session lasts 250 minutes. Critics also note that poorly made PowerPoint presentations may simply employ a tedious series of bulleted lists instead of promoting truly insightful and comprehensive discussions of the issues being presented.
Bibliography
Austin, Dennis. "Beginnings of PowerPoint: A Personal Technical Story." Computer History Museum, Computer History Museum, 2009, archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2012/06/102745695-01-acc.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Austin, Dennis, Tom Rudkin, and Robert Gaskins. "Presenter Specification—May 22, 1986." Robert Gaskins Home Page. Robert Gaskins. robertgaskins.com/powerpoint-history/documents/austin-rudkin-gaskins-powerpoint-spec-1986-may-22.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Bangalore, Sanvi, and Milla Surjadi. "Nothing Says 'Party!' to Gen Z Quite Like a 50-Deck PowerPoint and a Remote Clicker." The Wall Street Journal, 4 Aug. 2024, www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/powerpoint-party-gen-z-slideshow-f82e7ee7. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Gaskins, Robert. "Sample Product Proposal: Presentation Graphics for Overhead Projection." Robert Gaskins Home Page. Robert Gaskins. robertgaskins.com/powerpoint-history/documents/gaskins-powerpoint-original-proposal-1984-aug-14.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Gaskins, Robert. "Viewpoint: How PowerPoint Changed Microsoft and My Life." BBC, 31 July 2012. bbc.com/news/technology-19042236. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Parks, Bob. "Death to PowerPoint!" Bloomberg Business, 30 Aug. 2012, bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2012-08-30/death-to-powerpoint. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
"The Problem with PowerPoint." BBC News Magazine, 19 Aug. 2009, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk‗news/magazine/8207849.stm. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
"What's New in PowerPoint 2021 for Windows." Microsoft, 2021, support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-s-new-in-powerpoint-2021-for-windows-dac3eb1b-483b-4043-a0c9-5c01c2c1a8f2. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.