Death By Powerpoint – Creating Presentations That Compliment (not Kill) Your Message
If I see one more PowerPoint presentation …
We’ve all said it.
We’ve all heard it.
What was once a revolutionary tool for enhancing the rote presentation has become a threat in the corporate marketplace. Personally, I want to run for cover anytime I see a junior executive in command of a clicker and a projector in the boardroom.
A large part of my business is working with clients to create compelling presentations with visual impact – without losing their audience. This process generally begins with my clients sharing their presentation outline with me and we begin to work together to see what’s essential and what’s best left for another form of communication.
Here are some pointers for creating high-impact visual presentations without losing your audience along the way:
Determine what is visually versus verbally essential.
One of the most common mistakes that presenters make is feeling that everything they say during a presentation must be printed (verbatim) on a slide. In my experience, presentations are much more compelling – for both the audience AND the presenter – if the slides are merely a starting point. Your audience can read your slides just as well as you can!
Keep it simple!
Your audience is captive. Remember that! My clients have found that simple, easy-to-read visuals on the slides have the greatest impact. Leave more complex charts, graphs, and data for handouts distributed to your audience prior to the presentation. Handouts generally work best for smaller groups, as flipping to the right page is time-consuming and can detract from your presentation impact. If you are using sound to accompany your presentation, make sure you’re prepared to face the challenges of audio and how to get around it if it doesn’t work at “go time.”
Keep it fun!
Granted, not all presentation subjects are laughing matters, but messages are delivered much more effectively with a well-timed quip or visual comic relief. There is always an opportunity to interject a bit of humor into your presentation, and your audience will thank you for it! It also helps if you are relaxed when giving your presentation. Rehearse it in front of colleagues prior to delivery, and you’ll feel much more comfortable with your message AND chosen humor!
Have a clearly defined message in your presentation and stay on-topic.
You know it, I know it. Nothing’s worse than a presentation with no focus. Your audience is there for a finite period of time to receive a specific message. Give them what they came for, and they’ll thank you for it! When designing client presentations, I find it helpful to organize them in outline form. Once I have the outline, I write a paragraph or two that summarizes the entire presentation and see how it flows. The summary should tell a story. More specifically, it should tell the story you set out to tell!
Give your audience the benefit of the doubt.
You should design your presentations with a specific demographic in mind. Are you presenting to CEOs? Nurses? Volunteers for a children’s charity? When you design your presentation for a specific audience, you can make certain stipulations when it comes to the information on your slides. They already know certain things (just like you), and with this in mind, you can create visually compelling content that goes deeper than if you had to explain everything about your subject from A to Z.
Think pictures, not words.
It’s a timeless phrase: a picture paints a thousand words. Choose images that reinforce the message you seek to deliver instead of telling your audience your message through text on a slide. Words printed on slides in a presentation should be one of three things: Key Points, Labels, or Names. If they’re dissertations, pontifications, paragraphs, or diatribes, you’re going to lose your audience’s attention faster than you can work the lights in your boardroom!
Effective presentations aren’t hard to design, and there’s no need to kill your audience with PowerPoint. Just keep the following phrase in mind when designing your next presentation:
On track (know your audience), on topic (know your subject), and on time (don’t hold them captive!).
Erika Napoletano is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. With over fourteen years of experience in sales and marketing, she utilizes that knowledge to assist her clients develop high-impact marketing tools. For the past seven years as a freelance copywriter, she’s enjoyed seeing her clients have tremendous success through efficient marketing. For more information about Erika Napoletano and RedheadWriting, please view her portfolio at: http://www.ifreelance.com/pro/27784
