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Dodge Death By PowerPoint In Your Next Presentation
Death by PowerPoint is an all too common fate for many presenters. PowerPoint is a resource used to support and enhance presentation skills; not something to hide behind if you are nervous. Presentations should always have a human face; there should always be something in the presentation that cannot be gained by simply giving the audience something to read. You need your Powerpoint presentation to support what you're saying and engage your audience, not send them to sleep!
The age old cliche is people buy from people, however in reality people buy from people with presentation skills. Whether the setting is an internal presentation or a sales presentation with a client, the way in which you present the information is crucial to its success. This may seem like a glaringly obvious observation, but too much information can kill a presentation.
Although your PowerPoint presentation can be used as a useful memory jogger, it should not be a substitute for preparation and practice. If you just dump all your own notes onto slides, you risk making your presentation dull, unclear and confusing. Be selective about the information you include on the slides. Too much information can make it stagnated and hard to digest. You should try limiting the text on each page of a PowerPoint presentation to 6 words to a line and 6 lines to a page.
Presentation skills are based on selecting what information to communicate at which point and doing it in the most engaging way possible. If you try and communicate large chunks of information through a PowerPoint page, you will more than likely lose your audience's focus. Save the in-depth information for the leave-behind handout and streamline your presentation.
Also avoid putting the exact words you want to say on the slides and just reading them. Evidence suggests that your audience won't retain or digest information that way. Your slides should support and elaborate on what you're saying, rather than just repeating it. So you might use an image, a graph or some key words to illustrate the point you're making, rather than writing out your full sentences.
Presentation skills like PowerPoint design are important, but aesthetics are second to content; content is king. If you feel that including animated point entries or sound effects will enhance a section then include them, but make sure that they are consistent ,not too garish and limited. All the fireworks and rotating titles in the world will not cover up a presenter lacking presentation skills and can just appear amateur.
Charts, graphs and videos are an excellent resource to integrate into your presentation, but ensure they are relevant. It is also a good idea to double check all the links to videos before the presentation, as these can sometimes freeze and cause an awkward moment. Entering information in different formats can break up the presentation and enhance your presentation skills.
Be careful when selecting the size and style or your font. Sans serif fonts tend to be clearest and point size 24 to 28 is about right for legibility. Keep the same font for the entire document and only emphasise words that really require it to maintain their impact.
About the Author Dominic Donaldson is leading consultant in presentation skills and communication skills training, delivering courses worldwide.
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