This talk from TEDxBrussels felt like a breath of fresh stage. A collaboration among science writer John Bohannon, choreographer Carl Flink and the dance troupe Black Label Movement, the talk is illustrated with dance, not slides.

“I think that bad PowerPoint presentations are a serious threat to the global economy,” Bohannon says. “As you’re all aware, we face difficult economic times. I come to you with a modest proposal for easing the financial burden … Let’s use artists instead of PowerPoint.”

Intrigued? Watch John, Carl and Black Label Movement’s flat-out astonishing new TED-Ed video: “Let’s Talk About Sex.”

We at TED love slide decks — PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi (full disclosure: TED was an early investor in Prezi) and all kinds of advanced slide-fu. A great deck helps speakers add visuals to their spoken words, stay on track, and craft memorable reveals. But at the same time, we still see slides used badly far too often. Here, some slidecraft we would happily never see again (and a few new tricks to try instead).

“The powerpoint zombie that I have been trying to kill for years sounds like this: ‘Write out the sentences that I am going to say on a slide. Look down at the monitor as I read them.’ Very hard to edit.” —Laurie House, Film + Video Editor

“It gets really old to see a lot of bullet points on slides. Simplify!” —Cloe Shasha, Projects Coordinator 

“People feel like they have to have a ton of slides. When there are slides, people focus on that and not as much on the speaker. That said, the talk that I loved dearly that I wish we could do more like was Jon Ronson’s because of all the visual activity. That was fun.” —Ben Lillie, Writer/Editor

“Creative fonts. Ick.” —Kate Torgovnick, Writer

“Animated text. No more sparkles, fireworks or lens flares, please.” —Shanna Carpenter, Community Engagement Manager

“I dislike text on a powerpoint presentation. To keep our attention, use your ability to tell a story and your passion about the subject.” —Jordan Reeves, TED-Ed Program Facilitator

“I like when a speaker isn’t afraid to start their talk on a black screen. Use a slide when you need it, and when you don’t, just talk.” —Emily McManus, TED.com Editor

Using a simple slide to reveal a surprising data point, Pankaj Ghemawat wins at powerpoint during TEDGlobal 2012. Photo: James Duncan Davidson.

PLUS:

More slide tips from the TEDx manual >>

TED slide style deconstructed, by Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen >>

Yet another TED speaker is set to play a part in the Paralympics, now happening in London. At the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Charles Hazlewood will be conducting the British Paraorchestra – a 17-person ensemble composed entirely of disabled musicians. The orchestra has grown rapidly since its four-member debut at TEDxBrussels in November 2011, above.

From the start, Hazlewood’s holy grail has been the Paralympics Closing Ceremony. Inspired by the way that the Paralympic Games have changed perceptions of disability and athletics, he was eager to do the same for music. With the Paralympics bringing a rare moment of worldwide attention to the disabled community, Hazlewood saw a unique opportunity. Through Sunday’s performance and a documentary to air on Britain’s Channel 4 (read about it in The Guardian), he hopes to take major steps toward the ultimate goal – integration of world-class disabled musicians into orchestras everywhere.

But on the way to that ultimate goal, the more voice given to talented, disabled musicians, the better.

“We’re going to call it the British Paraorchestra,” said Hazlewood at TEDxBrussels, “because with the world’s eyes on London next year, and particularly on the Paralympics, we want to throw down the gauntlet to every single other country that is represented there, to say to them, ‘Here’s our paraorchestra. Where’s yours?’”

When the youngest of his children was born with cerebral palsy, Hazelwood’s eyes were opened to the disabled community. He began to realize that, in a long career with professional orchestras, he had encountered only a handful of disabled musicians. From there, he envisioned the paraorchestra. But the process was difficult, and only months before the orchestra’s debut at TEDxBrussels, Hazlewood was onstage at TEDGlobal 2011, calling the idea “a fairly impossible and implausible dream still.”

His dream is now a reality.

Sunday evening in London, the Games will come to a close, the Paralympic Flag will be handed on, and Hazlewood and the British Paraorchestra will play to an expected audience of half a billion.

Watch Paddy Ashdown’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.