NEWSLETTERS
Antidotes For “PowerPoint Poisoning”
by
Roberta Prescott
"PowerPoint
Makes You Dumb" - The New York Times
Have you ever:
Watched a desperate presenter dealing with technical problems?
Heard
a droning voice reading word for word from dense slides?
Gotten
eyestrain from slides that you couldn’t see from the first
row?
Been
put into a PowerPoint coma?
Welcome to the club. In a recent Dilbert cartoon, after hearing the
presenter say:
“
… and now for slide number 397 … ”
-- the listener collapsed, and Wally exclaimed --
“PowerPoint Poisoning!”
It
is estimated that 30 million PowerPoint presentations are delivered
every day. Corporate America is addicted to the use of PowerPoint.
Yet in appropriate doses PowerPoint presentations can provide a healthy
diet of visual stimulation that will help you make a clear, compelling
presentation.
Check
these antidotes to help reduce PowerPoint toxicity.
The Poison: PowerPoint Indigestion
The Antidotes:
- Edit
ruthlessly. Limit lines to 5 and words per line to 5.
- Have
one slide per 2 minutes of presentation.
- Use
the "Sixty Minutes" technique of bolding out a key phrase.
The Poison: Myopia
The Antidotes:
- Use
strong contrasts: black on white; white on black.
- Use
large fonts: 40-44 point for titles, 32-38 point for body text.
The
Poison: Flying Objects
The Antidotes:
- Don't
overdo the bells and whistles.
- No
words flying in from all directions.
- No
overuse of animation and sound effects.
The Poison: Technical Difficulties
The Antidotes:
- Arrive
early, check the equipment and give it a test drive.
- Always have a back
up.
- Burn a CD of your
presentation, have a floppy disk, bring
hard copy.
-
Print out your
speaker notes to use “just
in case”.
- Rehearse
with your wireless remote so that you know where you can move, and where the dead spots are.
The
Poison: Lost The Patient
The Antidotes:
- Reading
word-for-word from your visuals = presentation death. Instead,
have a conversation with the audience.
- Make
eye contact. They didn't come to see the back of your head.
- Give
your visuals and our eyes a rest. Use the “B” key
to bring
the
screen to black. (Useful during audience interaction). Hit “B”
again, and you’re back
in your presentation.
The
Poison: No Prescription
The Antidotes:
- Transitions
are road maps that keep the audience with you. Instead
of “on this next slide you can see …”, try “That’s
the state of
the industry. Let’s
look at what we’re doing to increase market share … “
- What
do you want? Have a strong concluding slide with action steps.
Use
these antidotes and the prognosis is good for rapid improvement,
so that PowerPoint becomes an efficient and effective addition
to your outstanding presentation.
©
The Prescott Group
