"I wonder if there's a way to make a PowerPoint that can be shown, but the slideshow images cannot be captured by a digital camera."

A Lingering Comment

The scenario went something like this. A researcher had put plenty of time into a research project. She went overseas to an international conference to present on her research findings. While she'd written a short overview of her presentation, the actual presentation itself included tables of sensitive never-before-published data that could be swiped or that could be used for others' experimental work.

During her presentation, several in the audience took photos of her slides using digital cameras. Thus, her comment about having PowerPoint slideshow templates done in colors that are hard or impossible to capture using digital cameras.

My first response was, You're kidding, right? Conferences are all about showcasing and sharing the work. They're about connecting with other professionals in the field. They're about sharing work that one has created.

Then, I thought more deeply of the divide between the so-called hard and soft sciences. Before a presenter publishes a work in a prestigious journal, he or she has to prevent leakage. He or she has to ensure that no one else claims the same research as his / her own, particularly where research has direct implications on research and development (R&D;) and patents.

The soft sciences don't (as) often have a tight link between research and profit, so the rush to publish and to present is more about professional responsibility, ego, and practicing professional skills.

Photos of Presenters

This past year, I've been at several conferences where my photo was captured. One was taken in a large hall where the photographer was so far away that she probably got nothing very useful. I would have been a blob at the panelist table up front. The lighting was poor.

In one recent conference on my home campus, I was presenting on RLOs...and an audience member brought out a camera and took about a half-dozen photos of me. I was in a public venue, but it seemed silly to have these photos taken. I had no idea what it was for...and as a presenter, I'm really not there for a photo session.

I guess my version of the request would be - can you set up the lighting so that my image doesn't appear on digital photos?

Conference Proceedings and Getting it Right

Then, I remembered a conference that I was very peripheral to many years ago when I worked at a university overseas.

The university I was at dealt with agricultural issues. They were hosting a conference on pork production, and their published conference proceedings were all in English. The organizer had several questions and had come to my home to settle them. The pages I read of the proceedings used a frustratingly incorrect mix of English and that country's main language. It was like looking at a poor student paper - with mistakes (often several) in every sentence.

As diplomatically as I could, I offered to edit, and he politely declined.

The long proceedings went to press that way, replete with mistakes. I hope the data in it was accurate, but the language surrounding the findings wasn't. (How can accurate research findings be conveyed with flimsy language?)

The Public Aspects of Public Presentations

I've gone to conferences where presenters do not seem to be clear that they're in a very public venue. The participants come from all over, and they represent various interests - some from government, academia, private industry, and various permutations in between. The information presented can end up anywhere, and this may mean that presenters should do everything in their power to communicate effectively and to present accurately. On the flip side, if there's fear that the information should go where it shouldn't, it does seem incumbent that presenters protect what they don't want shared. That means being purposive about information - controlling what is shared and what isn't.

I guess that also means trying to find a way to share sensitive data in a professional conference without giving away the raw numbers. There would be ways of doing that - sharing adjusted analyzed results instead of the raw numbers.

That would mean finesse in handling audience questions.

That would mean caution in the professional relationships and alliances made.

As for her request for such PowerPoint slides, I wonder if there may not be an engineering or programming solution here, too.