Relational Presentation

I am intrigued by Bob Lane's Relational Presentation approach. But here's the dilemma (from Visual Being, talking about Bob's presentation at PowerPoint Live):

"Ironically, during the presentation, Bob revealed the potential and the pitfalls of nonlinear PowerPoint presentation. Although the audience was clearly impressed by his ground-breaking concepts and his freeform, interactive presentation style, his presentation ultimately suffered from information fragmentation. His presentation did not have a predetermined destination, and that is exactly where it arrived. Many of the attendees voices the opinion that the session lacked a clear takeaway."

Before the fact, you may want the flexibility of a relational presentation rather than a linear one. But time itself is linear - after the fact, every presentation that is given was de facto linear - one point was made, then another, and then another until the end. Questions might have been raised along the way to change the direction, but that is all now part of a linear sequence of communication.

The dilemma, then, is while having the option to change directions within your presentation is a benefit - it allows for more interactivity - you run the risk of following a path that is not as clearly thought through as one that was carefully planned in advance.