How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint
Who hasn’t suffered through a mind-deadening PowerPoint presentation at some point in their lives? Here are a few ways to avoid death by PowerPoint:
Make Words Scanable – If the audience is made to read your PowerPoint they will ignore your spoken presentation. On bulleted slides, try not to exceed three lines with seven words in each line. Telegraphic prose and phrases are preferred. Empty space on word slides will enhance readability.
Have Audience Take Notes – If you give the audience a copy of your PowerPoint, they will not take notes. Writing notes from your spoken presentation has been proven to significantly increase audience retention of the message.
Images Are Important – PowerPoint is a visual medium. Use primarily images – pictures, charts and simple diagrams – to enhance your spoken message. An effective PowerPoint never gets in the way of your presentation. Use hi-res images that reinforce and complement your message. Before presenting, double-check that your images maintain their impact and resolution when projected on a larger screen.
Easy on the Effects – Transitions such as text fly-ins can convey information in digestible bites making a complicated slide easier to understand. However, overuse of special effects such as animation and sounds may make your presentation “cutesy” and could negatively impact your credibility.
Brand Your Slides – Use a “branded” template to frame your slides. A stock template from PowerPoint will look amateurish and generic and won’t properly reinforce your message. In the event that you must distribute your PowerPoint as a file or hard copy, remember to place your copyright on the template to protect the intellectual property on each slide.
Watch Slide Overdose — Limit the number of slides. Presenters who constantly “flip” to the next slide are likely to lose their audience. A good rule of thumb is one slide lasts at least a minute.
Navigation — Know how to navigate your presentation. Audiences often ask to see the previous screen again. Use a laser or mouse arrow (instead of your hand) to point to detailed parts of a slide.
Preview — If possible, set up and view your slides on the screen and in the room you’ll be using for your presentation. Make sure that all words are readable from the back corner seats.
Talk to Your Audience — Do not speak to your slides. Direct your speaking toward the audience and not to the PowerPoint slide.
Plan B — Have a back-up plan in the event of technical difficulties. Remember that your Plan B transparencies and handouts should present transitional fly-ins as separate slides but animation and other special effects will be absent.
Theme — All slides in your PowerPoint should point towards the main theme of your talk – and should be aligned with your firm’s branding promise. If they remember your main message, you have done your job — and you have a huge head start on winning their business as you systematically follow up your presentation.
Brand well and prosper!
Andy Cleary