I was impressed by the drafts of your Big Idea proposals that I read during class today, and I’m glad to see that so many of you have made good progress on this assignment. This weekend, you should review your peers’ feedback on your drafts and revise your document with their suggestions in mind. For some of you, this will mean making small changes. For others, this will mean overhauling the entire proposal. The good news is that your proposal isn’t due until Wednesday, December 1, so you still have time to turn your rough draft into a beautiful finished product.
On Monday of next week, we will discuss the difference between persuasive written documents and persuasive oral presentations. Before you come to class, please read “PowerPoint Is Evil,” by Edward Tufte, and “In Defense of PowerPoint,” by Donald Norman. Think about these two essays, then be ready to answer (with specific details) these two questions: What is the worst PowerPoint presentation you’ve ever seen? What is the best PowerPoint presentation you’ve ever seen?
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we won’t meet as a class on Wednesday or Friday. However, if you would like to discuss your Big Idea proposal with me before the break, you can stop by during my regular office hours on Tuesday afternoon.