Goodbye, Bullet points. Hello Transmediation (and Effective & Memorable Communication.)

Even these days, many people appear to have the attitude that what is most important in a presentation is how THEY feel in their own comfort zone and what the audience wants is totally unimportant. Also, if scientific research shows they are doing something wrong, the research is incorrect! With this mindset, it is not worth your time arguing with them. If this is the way you feel, stop reading now....

To obtain maximum benefit from this article, I strongly recommend that you read the following posts first:

(1) 2000-2012 International Presentation Skills Survey Results. Short Link: https://wp.me/p2guX2-d3

Our updated research (from 2012 to date) indicates that the points evaluated in the original survey are still areas that cause audience members to disconnect from the communication: Presentation, training session, lecture, etc.

(2) The Psychology and Use of Bullet Points in Presentations. Short link: https://wp.me/p2guX2-fL

Both the previous posts and this one will be of use not only to Presenters, but also trainers, teachers, professors or anyone else involved with formal or informal communication to groups.

Since it appears that some people have not heard that Bullet Points are not effective ways of communicating in oral communication activities, I hope that this article and the ones indicated above help to clarrify matters.

Please note: If you prefer to stick to the “old” tried-and-true (!!!) methods, go ahead...it is only your reputation (and your students, too) as a communicator at stake!

If you really want to save time, energy and cost, simply write what you want to say as a text, save it as a PDF and send to the audience via email. Voila! The reader can read it whenever, wherever and as many times as they like without being bothered by someone talking while they are reading. It also saves everyone’s time.

Some key points to remember about the use of bullet points:

1. Working memory.

Recent research into the role of working memory indicates that Miller's postulation of 7+/-2 chunks of information has been reevaluated. The accept optimal quantity of information that can be held in working memory is now placed at 3-4 chunks as has been demonstrated by Cowan and Shu & Carlson as well as other researchers - If these chunks are covering completely different and related information. It appears that the brain can process up to 14 visual elements at one time.

The implications for bullet points/paragraphs/slides full of text are obvious: Too much information will not be processed properly which wastes everyone’s time..

Sources;:

Suzanne B. Shu & Kurt A. Carlson, The rule of three: How the third event signals the emergence of a streak, (2007). Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 104 (2007) 113–121; Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A.. Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill. (2001):

Suzanne B. Shu & Kurt A. Carlson, When Three Charms but Four Alarms: Identifying the Optimal Number of Claims in Persuasion Settings.(2013)

2. The role of Wernicke’s Area.

Both reading and hearing are processed by Wernicke’s area. When Wernicke’s area is processing ONLY written text it normally results in higher-level thinking. When ONLY processing hearing, once again, higher level thinking occurs. However, when both occur simultaneously, preference is normally given to reading. The hearing input does NOT get processed: So why do people continue to read their slides when it is a waste of everyone’s time and energy?

A simple test: Put up a slide full of bullet points and start reading it and watch what your audience do: Until the person has read the whole text, they WILL NOT listen to the speaker.

Research conducted by Dr. Bruce Hilliard from Murdoch University, Perth - a leading expert in psychohysics, neurobiology and neurophysics - indicates that If you are using bullet points, it is useful to shade the text on the screen once it has been read so that it remains on the screen and shows the logical structured being followed but does not distract attention from the following element.

What is Transmediation?

Transmediation is the process of changing information from one communication channel to another. In this case, it is from written text to visual. This is a useful technique to enhance study skills for students of any age!

Why bother to use Transmediation?

• The information is more easily processed mentally.
• It enables the presenter to ensure the messages reach the cognitive brain.
• Visual material is more memorable.
• Colour is much more effective than B&W.
• Transmediation can make the format used more salient.

Special tips:

• No dark coloured backgrounds to distract from the content. Always ensure excellent contrast between background and foreground text.
• No strange and redundant features on each slide. (Avoid PowerPoint’s Templates!)
• Keep every slide simple, clean, balanced and uncluttered as recommended in Gestalt psychology.

Slide #1 This is an example of a typical “open-show” bullet point slide. All the information is revealed at the beginning and the audience are overwhelmed with information.

Slide #2 Shows the possible influence of the Primacy / Recency effect on audience memory and retention.

It also shows that the writer’s intention is not necessarily the same as that received / perceived by the reader / audience. It is vital to remember that “Last in, first out!” commonly occurs.

Slide #3 Shows the transmediated version.

• The graphic would be animated from the center out and in a clockwise direction.
• Every element (circles, lines, fill, etc.) can be edited to make specific elements more salient.
• There is very little text.
• No element has more importance than another.
• Provide a break from written text.
• Much more memorable.
• The presenter can spend as much or as little time on each element as required-

Slide 4: One simple way to use bullet points.

If you have no option but to use them - is to place a reduced “bare-bones” version of the text on the slide. Each element should be animated to appear when YOU want it to appear. Show the first element on the slide and give the audience a second or two to read it and then give them the full version thereby permitting Wernicke’s area to process the two inputs correctly. Continue in the same way with the rest of the material.

Please note that the first elements on this slide have had the text faded to reduce audience distraction.

Slide #5: This one illustrated the typical type of slide used to outline “historical” information that is, once again, overloaded and has all the problems associated with heavy textual content.

Slide #6; This slide uses the “Gutenenberg” structure of visual perception.

that starts with the Primary Optical Area in the top left hand corner and then progresses horizontally to the top right hand corner, then diagonally down to the bottom left and corner and finally horizontally across to the bottom right-hand corner (the Terminal Optical Area)

Each element should be animated and appears when the presenter requires it.

Notice the use of black and white images and the final element being is colour. This is so that the audience subconsciously focuses on the coloured element which is the most important!

Slide #7

This slide shows one of the traditional methods of presenting the relationship between three elements with a unifying nexus. However, if can be more clearly and memorably be presented in a different way.

Slide #8: Visually memorable & Combines images & text.

Sources;

●   Moreno, R., and Mayer, R. E. (2002). Verbal redundancy in multimedia learning: When reading helps listening. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(1), 156163.

●   Mackiewicz, J. (2008). Comparing Powerpoint experts' and university students' opinions about Powerpoint presentations. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 38(2), 149-165. 

●   Berk, R. A. (2012). Top 10 evidence-based, best practices for PowerPoint in the Classroom. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal, 5(3), 17.

●   Kombartzky, U., Ploetzner, R., Schlag, S., and Metz, B. (2010). Developing and evaluating a strategy for learning from animations. Learning and Instruction, 20(5), 424-433. 

●   Walsh, M., Asha, J., and Sprainger, N. (2007). Reading digital texts. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 30(1), 40. 

●   Ploetzner, R., and Lowe, R. (2012). A systematic characterisation of expository animations. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(3), 781-794. 

●   Ploetzner, R., Lowe, R., and Schlag, S. (2013). A systematic characterization of cognitive techniques for learning from textual and pictorial representations. Journal of Education and Learning, 2(2), 78-95. 

●   Catrambone, R., and Seay, A. F. (2002). Using animation to help students learn computer algorithms. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 44(3), 495-511. 

●   Rayner, K. (1998). Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research. Psychological Bulletin, 124(3), 372-422. 

●   Olusola O. Adesope, John C. Nesbit : Animated and static concept maps enhance learning from spoken narration, Department of Educational Leadership & Counseling Psychology, College of Education, Washington State University, 356 Cleveland Hall, Pullman, WA 99164-2114, USA & Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

●   Florax, M., and Ploetzner, R. (2010). What contributes to the split-attention effect? The role of text segmentation, picture labelling, and spatial proximity. Learning and Instruction, 20(3), 216-224. 

●   Boucheix, J.-M., Lowe, R. K., Putri, D. K., and Groff, J. (2013). Cueing animations: Dynamic signaling aids information extraction and comprehension. Learning and Instruction, 25, 71-84. 

●   Boucheix, J.-M., and Schneider, E. (2009). Static and animated presentations in learning dynamic mechanical systems. Learning and Instruction, 19(2), 112127.

●   Allison E. Carey, Transmediation and the Transparent Eye-ball: Approaching Literature through Different Ways of Knowing., Language Arts Journal of Michigan, Issue 1, Literacy, Literature, and the Arts, October 2012

●   Marjorie Siegel, More than Words: The Generative Power of Transmediation for Learning, Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l'éducation, Vol. 20, No. 4, Cultural Psychology and Semiotics. (Autumn, 1995), pp. 455-475.