Volume 7, March 13, 2000

"Multimedia or Bust?"
by Tad Simons, research by Dr. Hayward Andres and Dr. Candace Petersen, Presentations, February 2000, p. 40

A study was funded by Presentations and 3M Co. to determine if computer-based multimedia presentations help presenters communicate better and more persuasively. The findings of the three studies are:

1. Facts and Procedures: "When dealing with procedural or fact-based information in a training situation, the results of the study support the contention that multimedia enhances people’s ability to understand and process this type of information—though only slightly more effectively than overhead slides. Curiously, however, when respondents were asked to rate their perceptions of the presentation’s ability to engage them, the respondents did not choose multimedia as the superior medium; they chose text—even though information recall was demonstrably better in the group that saw the multimedia presentation. When asked to rate the effectiveness and overall quality of the presentations, the respondents rated multimedia and overheads about the same—though strangely, text beat out overhead slides slightly in the assessment of presentation quality, even though there was technically no presentation other than the layout in the pamphlet." (p.44-45)
2. Processing Info and Passing It On: "For the type of cause-and-effect information conveyed in Study No. 2, multimedia again proved to be a slightly superior medium, both in how it communicated the necessary information and in how people perceived they were engaged in a productive, meaningful session. The differences were not dramatic, however, and, once again, the study respondents rated the experience of reading a piece of paper by themselves better in terms of overall presentation quality than sitting through an overhead slide presentation." (p. 47)
3. Perception and Persuasion: When asked to choose between two hypothetical banks with identical fees and services, a vast majority of respondents preferred the bank represented by an enhanced multimedia presentation. Although no difference existed between the two banks, respondents said they felt the bank represented by the multimedia presentation was more credible, was more professional and offered better services and fees. These results would seem to support the contention that enhanced multimedia (animation, sound, video) is a powerful enough medium to alter people’s perceptions of a given product or service and to persuade them to choose one way or another, all other things being equal." (p. 49)

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