Powerpoint from the floor

[Guest Guest -- rhs]

While it's clear that a committee or officer giving a report or making a motion may use a powerpoint as part of the presentation, do voting members of an assembly have a right to use powerpoints when speaking from the floor in response to the report or motion?

Thanks for any guidance you can give.

[Sean Hunt]

While it's clear that a committee or officer giving a report or making a motion may use a powerpoint as part of the presentation, do voting members of an assembly have a right to use powerpoints when speaking from the floor in response to the report or motion?

Thanks for any guidance you can give.

They (as is the case for committee members and officers) do not have a right; it is up to the assembly to decide whether or not they will accept a slideshow as part of debate.

[David A Foulkes]

While it's clear that a committee or officer giving a report or making a motion may use a powerpoint as part of the presentation....

It is? Because........... why?

[Josh Martin]

While it's clear that a committee or officer giving a report or making a motion may use a powerpoint as part of the presentation,

It's not clear to me. The assembly controls its hall, so the assembly decides who (if anyone) may use Powerpoint as part of their presentation.

do voting members of an assembly have a right to use powerpoints when speaking from the floor in response to the report or motion?

No. It's at the discretion of the assembly.

[Guest Guest -- rhs]

Thanks. In our meetings the convention has been to allow reports to present data tables and the like via powerpoint. My concern had been that powerpoints used to support arguments during debate could lead to the collapse of an orderly discussion if speakers were generally permitted to line up and project presentations.

I think allowing it at the discretion of the assembly makes sense because that would allow one to challenge the notion that a speaker's or chair's assumption that powerpoints must be permitted.

[jstackpo]

Seems to me that using powerpoint is the electronic equivalent of "read[ing] papers" -- p. 298 -- for which the permission of the assembly is definitely required.

And FWIMBW, all most people do when giving powerpoint presentations is just read out loud from the slides anyway, in my experience.