I’m going to guess the answer is probably not. So why, do so many people use randomly colored, swirly, special effect laden, eye lasering graphics for their presentation slides? It’s funny how we treat PowerPoint (or Keynote or Prezi or whatever) as if it’s in its own little corner of the world and things we create with it don’t have to follow the same principles of good communication as other media. And then we wonder why it is so maligned.

Obviously there are many reasons: they don’t know any better; they are trying to cover up the fact that they don’t have good content and think this will jazz it up; they don’t know any better; and, well, you get the idea. A little restraint with the tools would show a lot of respect for the audience. But using a template that’s flashy isn’t going to nail the sale or help the learner or make your case any more than sending your resume on a love-sick teenage girl’s note paper.