I gave a talk once to a group of educators (college level) and I did not follow my slides, instead opting for a more interactive style (it was a small conference presentation, about 20 people in the room). While I think I got my message across, the presentation reviews were not that favorable. Mostly the comments were about my "interactive style." I even got one "The presenter does not know how to give presentations to senior academics."

I was rather bothered by this as I had never gotten bad presentation reviews (I usually stick to my slides). Whats worse, I thought I had done well, changing the focus to a more interactive session rather than dictating a talk about software. In any case I finally found someone who agrees with a more interactive style of presentation. The gist is death to powerpoint.

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/06/kill_your_prese.html