Want to Give a Great Presentation? Use Ugly Sketches

Martin J. Eppler is Professor of Media and Communication Management at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and Director of its Institute for Media and Communication Management. He has won 12 MBA teaching awards and six best paper awards, including the 2018 getabstract International Book Award and the 2021 European Innovation Excellence Award. Eppler has published 24 books and more than 300 articles in the fields of management, organization studies, communication, and visualization. His research focuses on knowledge visualization, collaborative creativity, information quality, and communication management. He has been a visiting professor at institutions including Georgia Tech, Simon Fraser University, and Cambridge University, and has dedicated 30 years to researching how visualization can boost creativity, collaboration, and decision-making in professional settings.

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Big Ideas

Eppler challenges the conventional approach to presentations and offers three counterintuitive practices for using visualization to enhance collaboration:

1. Make Visuals "Ugly" - The Power of Provisionality

• Beauty is the enemy of collaboration. When visuals look too polished, they trigger the "museum effect" - people simply admire them rather than engaging critically
• Sketchy, provisional-looking drawings invite collaboration and signal "this is work in progress"
• The technical term is "low perceived finishness" - it invites others to contribute and improve
• Industries like banking and telecom already use "pencil selling" - sketching products for clients rather than using slick slides - and research shows this leads to more sales

2. Lead with Visual Metaphors

• Visual metaphors are more powerful than diagrams, charts, or bullet points
• They access what people already know, making complex ideas concrete and memorable
• Example: Eppler's boss summarized his 40-slide market analysis as "a fortress built on sand" - instantly communicating that the market was both hard to enter (fortress) and not worth entering (built on sand)
• Research with BMW Financial Services showed that presenting strategy through visual metaphors (like a mountain trail) resulted in better retention and higher motivation to implement compared to bullet points or diagrams
• Effective metaphors must be: simpler than what you're explaining, concrete, and relevant to the audience

3. Use Visual Variation - Start a Series

• Don't overload a single image; instead, create a sequence that invites others to extend it
• Based on "variation theory" - you don't truly understand something until you understand it in more than one way
• Example: Using bridge metaphors to illustrate communication problems (one-way street, misalignment, overcrowding) naturally prompts people to think of additional scenarios
• This sparks collective imagination and collaborative problem-solving

Implications for Educators

Rethinking Presentation Standards:

• Educators should reconsider the emphasis on "professional-looking" PowerPoint slides. Rough sketches and doodles may actually be more effective for learning and engagement
• The "museum effect" applies in classrooms too - overly polished presentations can shut down student thinking and participation

Promoting Active Learning:

• Incorporating "ugly" sketches and provisional visuals invites students to become co-creators of knowledge rather than passive recipients
• This approach democratizes the learning process - students don't need artistic skills to participate

Enhancing Comprehension and Retention:

• Visual metaphors can make abstract concepts concrete and memorable for students
• Educators can use metaphors drawn from students' experiences to bridge new learning with prior knowledge
• Example: Eppler's use of career path variations (not just upward stairs) helps students reimagine possibilities

Building Collaborative Skills:

• Teaching students to use visual variation develops their ability to think flexibly and build on others' ideas
• This practice mirrors real-world collaborative work environments

Addressing Diverse Learning Styles:

• Visual methods complement text-heavy instruction and support students who are visual learners
• Sketching and doodling can boost creativity and help students process information more deeply

Practical Application:

• Educators can model these techniques by: sketching concepts on the board rather than using pre-made slides, asking students to create visual metaphors for topics they're studying, and having students build on each other's visual representations
• This shifts assessment from polished final products to collaborative, iterative thinking processes

WATCH TED TALK HERE (opens in a new tab)