Difference what powerpoint allows you to do and what you can do with a static PDF on the projector. The extra that powerpoint offers you is virtually useless; a bunch of flash with little substance. Hardly any justification for its existence.

This becomes more stark when you compare powerpoint with another part of Microsoft Office: Excel. Excel is actually amazing software. Innumerable small businesses are basically run through Excel. Excel is truly user empowering software that lets lay-people exploit the power of their computer to solve real problem.

Compared to Excel, powerpoint is just sad. In theory it keeps people in the audience of any presentation awake, but in reality it fails at even that. Excel empowers users to solve problems, while powerpoint is little more than an emotional crutch for people who are nervous in front of crowds.

Excel is amazing software. It can do so many things.

The problem with PP is not PP, but that most people do not know how to give a presentation.

The problem with powerpoint is it doesn't give people leverage, which is to say it doesn't make poor presenters better at presenting. I've never even seen evidence of it making good presenters better at presenting.

No offense to PowerPoint fans! I've observed people making pointless presentations to shore up their brand as employees, not to facilitate trade.

It has other uses but... Have you not seen what I describe? That would be a useful data point for me if true.

Not really but I guess that's dependent on company culture. You work at a stack rank place?

Where I work Power Point is mainly used to make presentations that are easy to read on a projector screen (as it should be used).

On many places it seems to be used as a general document writer application ... so what we emotionaly associate with Power Point might differ alot.

Actually I think this memory of mine comes mostly from Academia about a decade ago! Not really in the workplace.

I've seen it a couple different ways. When a supervisor asks a subordinate to produce a powerpoint that the supervisor will edit/present to higher-ups, it generally looks as you describe. When a team leader produces a set of slides for their team, it's not so transparently theatric.