In B2B communication, Power Point has become synonymous with high-touch customer engagement.  But, has the servant become the master?  Power Point is the internal corporate currency.  The opportunities to easily churn out rich media presentations is evident; entire off-shore agencies have emerged to quickly and cost-efficiently produce power point.  And, Power Point has become the presentation vehicle of choice in academia.  Not just university, but primary and secondary schools in the U.S. now include power point as part of the curriculum.  Power Point is indeed a high-impact presentation tool with increasing capability to use rich multimedia assets in storytelling.  A picture is truly worth a thousand words in a B2B high-touch engagement and showing solutions at work, showing a rich 3D rendering of a product still on the drawing board, or showing a customer reference singing your praises is certainly effective.  I do see a couple of risks.  One is the vehicle becomes too much of a crutch for the content and the delivery.  If the prospect is staring at imagery flying around a screen, she may not be paying attention to the root message specific to her situation which is the core objective of the engagement.  Will the presenter become lazy knowing that the story will tell itself?  I recently had a hardware malfunction and had to present an hour strategy session on a white board from memory.  It turned out to be pretty invigorating and raised my level of engagement significantly.  Some of the best sales presentations I have seen have been forty minute conversations based on 1 or 2 key ideas (albeit reinforced on 1 power point slide on a screen in the background).  I’ve also detected a subtle shift in the high-touch environments where basic Power Point is perceived as indistinguishable from the competition.  One observed answer to this dilemma, flashier and fancier power point with embedded video, thunderous sounds and high-flying animation.  An unfortunate side-effect is computer crashing file sizes and the potential need to cart around external speakers and other paraphernalia.  Another observed approach,  a retro movement towards customer-tailored physical boards just like the ad agencies use on t.v.  High-touch engagement across the sphere of decision-making and influence is exceptionally important in the later stages of the B2B sales cycle.  But,  vigilance is required to ensure the differentiated “what” that needs to be communicated doesn't’t get lost in a rich media clutter of “how” it’s presented.  And, sometimes the competition can be outflanked by redefining the media supporting the message instead of seeking to win the power point arms race.