One of the keys to presenting is to make sure you’re taking time to stop and connect the dots of information in your presentation. Without connecting the dots with your audience, they won’t be able to see how the big picture comes together.
For the last six months I’ve had the joy of writing this blog, allowing me to have some great conversations. Some readers are presentation experts, but many are presentation novices, simply trying to learn a few tricks to help them present more effectively. What I wanted to do is stop and take a moment to connect the dots. I wanted to get back to the basics of presenting and give a brief synopsis of what we’ve been talking about.
So if you are to only read one of my posts, I hope it’s this one. You can call them commandments, tricks, tips, or best practices. Here are my five basics of effective presenting and PowerPoint design.
#1 – YOU are the Presentation (not your slides)
This originally wasn’t #1 (not to say that these are in any particular order), but I realized that everything stems back to the fact that the words “presentation” and “PowerPoint” are NOT synonymous. Your presentation is the show, and YOU are the star. Your slides are simply a visual backdrop, there to emphasize your key points. Your audience’s eyes should be on YOU as much as possible, because that’s where the valuable information is coming from.
#2 - Bullet Points Suck
Filling your slides with bullet points is an absolute no-no. Most presenters rely on their bullet points to act as a script. Bad idea. Send us an email and save us all an hour of our time. Even if you don’t use it as a script, they’re not accomplishing anything on the screen. Your audience will either read the bullet points or listen to you. Science has proven that they can’t do both.
Solution – Take your current presentation and move ALL of your bullet points to the “Notes” section. Both Keynote and PowerPoint have this. Now, take a look at your bullet points and figure out how many key ideas you have. Separate each key idea on a single slide. We’ll work on the design later.
#3 – Less Words, More Images
Since we know that we are the “stars” and our slides are just there to support our ideas, let’s stop filling them with words and start adding some images! Now we’re not adding images for the heck of it – there’s a reason behind it. Science has shown that the most effective way to teach is to stimulate as many senses and possible, and vision trumps ALL the other senses. So why not leverage that? Use images (full screen whenever possible) that support your ideas (which are now in the Notes section, right?!).
#4 – Presentations are a Conversation
One mistake many presenters make is that they present AT their audience. Unless you’re giving a presidential address, always remember that a presentation is a two-way conversation (is there any other kind?). You’re not speaking at them; you’re speaking with them. Get them involved. Ask questions. Allow them to ask you questions during your presentations (not just at the end). Learn about them beforehand. What are their needs? What are their pains? What compelled them to listen to you? When you have a conversation, you keep the audience engaged. It gives a more personal feel and keeps their minds focused on what you’re talking about and how it relates to them.
#5 – Keep it SIMPLE
If each presentation expert were to create a top 5 list, I bet this point wouldn’t be in most, but it’s in mine. Simplicity is the cornerstone to my presentation style, especially when it comes to PowerPoint design. Actually, simplicity defines the way I live my life. I constantly clean out my closet and fill bags of clothes to give to Goodwill. Too many clothes result in too many decisions. The same goes for your presentations. Too much noise on your slide results in confusion for your audience. What is the point? What am I supposed to be looking at? What do all those numbers mean?
Focus on simplicity in your presentations. Don’t overwhelm your audience with information or they simply can’t digest it all. Create slides with one image, or one word. Make it easy for the audience to know what they should be paying attention to and what your point is!
I know there are many more I could list, but I wanted to limit this post to the five that I felt were most important. I'd love to hear some more presentation basics/commandments that you live by!
