PowerPoint Blues

The presentation sounded promising, and I was looking forward to it. The speaker approached the podium, greeted the audience and fiddled with the computer to bring up the first slide. I swear there was a collective groan in the audience.

The first slide was so dense with text even those in the first row had no hope of reading it. The rest of the slides were more of the same. The audience started heading to the exits after less than five minutes.

The misuse of PowerPoint is rampant in the business world. In the wrong hands, this tool can be disastrous. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If we all adhered to eight simple rules, PowerPoint could, once again, be an aid to communication, rather than a barrier.

Eight PowerPoint rules:

Ø Create your slides after you’ve developed your speech

Ø Use slides sparingly, and only if necessary

Ø Audience members must be able to read every word on a slide, no matter where they’re seated

Ø Slides are not speaker notes

Ø Aim for no more than three words or a single image per slide

Ø Every slide must be clear and coordinated with your presentation

Ø Dump the animation

Ø Rehearse with your slides.

Got any additions to the list? Let me know.

Comments

[Cliff Allen]

A rehearsal technique I use with clients is to have the speaker start at a random location and pick up the speech from that point. I show them a slide and have them start their presentation from the next slide. This helps a speaker really know every part of their presentation.