Why Jeff Bezos prefers memos and banned Powerpoint presentations

So, you’ve probably heard this story before: Amazon, the massive tech giant, loves doing things their own way. One of their standout practices? Banning presentations in favor of the humble memo. 

Over 20 years ago Bezos famously sent the below email explaining briefly why he wanted to ban the use of memos.

At its core his reason was simple — memos forced much deeper thinking and unlike bullet points in a presentation, which can often be vague, loose thoughts, a well-crafted memo demanded thoroughness and precision. 

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5 Reasons Why Memos > Presentations

1. Encourages Deep Thinking

Jeff Bezos view was that writing a memo requires the author to think critically and deeply about the topic. This process not only enhances the quality of ideas but also helps identify potential pitfalls and challenges that might not be apparent in a less rigorous format.

PowerPoint tends to oversimplify complex issues, reducing them to bullet points that often gloss over crucial details. A memo, however, requires a full exploration of the subject, ensuring all aspects are considered and clearly articulated.

2. Tighter Narratives

Memos require a cohesive, well-connected narrative from start to finish. Each sentence, paragraph and section flows logically into the next, creating a seamless argument. 

Each slide within a PowerPoint presentation on the other hand is typically much more independent. Sure there is an overall narrative, but the connective tissue from slide to slide to slide is a little looser which when multiplied across 10 or 20 slides means you can get away with gaps in your logic.

3. Idea Over Presentation

In presentations, a charismatic presenter can sway opinions, sometimes overshadowing weaker arguments that might be more valid. 

Memos level the playing field: here, it’s the quality of the idea that matters, not the charm of the presenter. This shift prioritizes content over delivery, ensuring that the best ideas win based on their merits.

4. Engages Critical Thinking

Reading a memo requires active engagement. You can’t just quickly tap through a memo like you can with a presentation, which means the reader has to lock in and engage to think critically about the content. 

This compares to presentations. We’re all guilty of it, but most people typically tick through a presentation looking for a chart or image to catch their attention. End of the day, presentations are more visual documents and so it gives readers a licence to be more passive in consuming the material.

5. Greater Longevity

Memos have greater longevity in communicating decisions and ideas. They serve as a comprehensive record that can be referenced long after the initial meeting, without the need for a voiceover or additional explanation. 

Presentations, on the other hand, often rely on the presenter's narration to fill in gaps, making them less effective as standalone documents.

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Most professionals default to using PowerPoint presentations when needing to communicate something a little more complex — it’s just what we’ve been conditioned to do!

And if you need to present the document, then absolutely a PowerPoint presentation might be the right format. But if not, take a second to think about which format is best for you to get your message across clearly and quickly. Think… what would Bezos do? :)

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