PowerPoint and text documents have unique advantages in crafting and communicating business strategies. Understanding and taking advantage of the specific capabilities of each tool is essential for effective communication and strategic execution, this is the central theme of the article published in the GV-executive magazine of the School of Business Administration of São Paulo (FGV EAESP) by Sandro Magalhães Manteiga, author of the article, vice president of Operations at Nubank, PhD in Business Administration from FGV EAESP.

The research analyzes the use of visual tools such as PowerPoint and textual narratives, highlighting effective ways of employing images and text in the elaboration, communication and execution of strategies. In addition, it explores the controversy surrounding PowerPoint and offers guidance for improving communication in strategy meetings.

The Fall of Powerpoint

Several researchers have been studying the use of PowerPoint for strategic decision-making. They feature the following weaknesses of the tool:

• Channel conflict and cognitive overload: Participants in PowerPoint presentations use hearing and vision to understand what is being presented, but cognitive scientists have proven that it is impossible to retain all the information while viewing images and text on a screen and listening to a presenter at the same time.

• Linearization of complex narratives: By design, PowerPoint induces the linearization of narratives. One slide follows the other in a mechanical way, making it difficult for the presenter to construct a narrative rich and complex in nuance and inventiveness. This structure tends to make it difficult to understand context and evaluate complex relationships, which characterize strategic discussions.

• Incomplete and incoherent ordering: In general, when a complex narrative is condensed in PowerPoint, it is the content that ends up compressed and somewhat sliced to fit the format of the presentation tool. This results in a false sense of order in the information, which is often incomplete and sometimes incoherent.

• Introduction of unconscious biases: PowerPoint is an incomplete instrument that relies on the variability of presentation skills and the charisma of presenters. At the same time that this characteristic can help a good presenter, it ends up contributing to wrong decisions in the opposite examples, as in the case of the space shuttle Columbia catastrophe;

• Confusing presentation dynamics: It is usually recurrent to ask questions that end up interrupting the planned flow of the presentation and that can also lead the discussion down a path that moves away from the relevant topics.

Perspectives

From a content perspective, the narratives highlight the main conclusions at the beginning of the document, to facilitate the evaluation of the reasoning and argumentation that follow, in three aspects of the strategy:

• The formulation of the challenge, i.e., what problem needs to be solved;

• The approach, method, or policy for solving that problem;

• The choice of a coherent set of actions that leverage the effectiveness of available resources.

The involvement of professionals in the development of narratives can be more flexible or more structured. Recommendations for writing focused narratives are helpful, but they should be used with discernment, directed toward relevant strategic choices.

Studies show that the combination of image and text in the strategy is more effective, especially with frequent reinforcement rituals, coordinated by internal communication. Familiarity with digital tools influences communication and collaboration, as well as understanding the dynamics of face-to-face and virtual meetings, which can boost strategic effectiveness in companies.

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