That depends; do you want to use technology to genuinely enhance the learning experience for your audience? Or are you using it as a crutch for yourself because you think it will make it easier for you to give the presentation? Worst of all, are you using PowerPoint because everyone else is using PowerPoint and you feel stupid if you don’t?

Only use technology if it helps your audience understand and remember your messages more effectively. A related question people ask me is “Do I need to use PowerPoint or video in my presentation?” Again, you as the speaker should never need to use PowerPoint or any technology. You should be great simply by talking. The real question is “Can your audience benefit in anyway by seeing some visual, graphic, image or video of what you are talking about in order to better understand your ideas?” If the answer is yes, then start creating a PowerPoint slide or use another method of showing video clips.

For example, I frequently give a keynote speech around the world called “Bully Pulpits: Speaking Secrets of World Famous Leaders.” I am certainly capable of giving the speech without any PowerPoint or video clips. But I decided it would be much more interesting, insightful and memorable for my audiences to see short video clips of Reagan, Churchill, Clinton and Oprah in action rather than just hear me talking about them, so I have a PowerPoint Presentation that includes video inserts.

PowerPoint presentations often have a well-deserved reputation of being dreadful, not because there is anything inherently wrong with the PowerPoint program. All of the flaws associated with bad PowerPoint flow from one fundamentally flawed decision the presenter made before the presentation started. In the case of bad PowerPoints, the presenter decided to use PowerPoint as a crutch for himself or herself, not as an actual aide for the audience. Once the decision is made to use visual and technology in a way that is truly helpful to the audience, most of the problems of bad PowerPoint completely disappear.

If you are going to use PowerPoint or video technology in your presentations, you must realize that it is a big commitment. You need more rehearsal. There will be a lot more moving parts that can go wrong. Ultimately, it is your responsibility if people cannot see your slides, or if there is no audio coming out of your speakers (if you even remembered to bring speakers). Nothing is more feeble that a speaker standing up and complaining to the audience about bad audio, blurry charts, or hard to read print.

You don’t hear Mick Jagger complaining about his lighting or sound system when he is performing in front of a concert of 90,000 people in a stadium. Why? Because he got to the stadium 6 hours earlier to do a rehearsal and sound check. If it’s good enough for Mick, it’s good enough for you. You are both in the business of providing satisfaction to your audience.

Whether you use PowerPoint or not, it is important to realize that you will never give a “PowerPoint Presentation.” There is no such thing as a PowerPoint Presentation. You are giving a “Tom Presentation” or a “Meg Presentation.” PowerPoint is simply one tool to help things along. You aren’t giving a PowerPoint presentation anymore than you are giving an electricity presentation. Granted, electricity is nice to have, especially during a presentation. You use the electricity to power the lights, the microphone, the laptop, the projector if you are using one, and maybe a TV, but you aren’t fundamentally giving an electricity presentation, are you? Electricity is just a helper; so too are your PowerPoint slides or other video extras you choose to use.

Before you put any one slide or video clip into your presentation, ask yourself these questions: 1. Will this genuinely help my audience understand and remember my points better? 2. What is the worst thing that will happen if I leave this slide or video clip out of my presentation? I love PowerPoint and other AV aides and use them everyday myself, but you‘d better have a good answer to both of these questions before you use these tools yourself.