I’ve blogged many times on how NOT to use Power Point.  Most people use it incorrectly, and it becomes a barrier between speaker and audience.  For example, they create word slides, really speaker notes, with many bullets of text, expecting – what? – the audience to read along with them?  Or, they go nuts with the animation, swoops, and flying headlines that make audiences dizzy to little purpose.  Or they use cheap-looking clip art that creates a tacky image of speaker and organization in the mind of the audience. 

But what about the right way to use Power Point?  What does that look like?  Is there any right way?  Following are 10 rules for using Power Point successfully.

1.  Write your speech, either in outline, bullet, or text form.

2.  Look for all the moments in the speech that could be illustrated using a photograph.

3.  Find high-quality photographs from an online stock house to illustrate these moments (if you don’t have your own photographs).

4.  Look for all the moments in the speech that could be illustrated using a chart or a graph to present numbers (that are hard to understand without a chart or a graph). 

5.  Create these charts and graphs. 

6.  Look for all the moments in the speech that could be emphasized by using one single number to highlight your point. 

7.  Create a slide with that one number in really large type – with no more than 5 words describing it.

8.  Assemble these photographs, charts and graphs, and numbers in a Power Point deck.

9.  Throw out all but the best ones; no more than one for every three minutes of talk – in other words, no more 20 slides in 60 minutes.  Fewer is better.

10.  Create an opening slide with your name, contact information, company logo and so forth, but resist the temptation to create an agenda slide unless you’re speaking for at least a half-day. 

Follow these rules and you’ll be using Power Point in a way that enhances, rather than detracts from or competes with, your presentation.  For a brilliant look at how to style your sides, try Garr Reynolds, Presentation Zen (http://tinyurl.com/3mtu4h).  For how to structure and write a persuasive speech, look at Give Your Speech, Change the World (http://tinyurl.com/mhhdd3).  For how to deliver the presentation with authenticity and charisma, try Trust Me:  Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma (http://tinyurl.com/mfs7ve).  Good luck!

Comments

[Jonathan Thomas]

I think all of these tips are light years beyond what the majority of the population are doing as far as PowerPoint design goes. However, I have a tough time subscribing to the "no more than 20 slides in 60 minutes" rule. I realize that so many people use the slides as an information dump that they end up force-feeding the audience information. Thus, restricting a designer to 20 slides may help them simplify their message in order to focus on the core points. Certainly for a beginner, this is a fair tactic. As you progress as a PowerPoint designer, I feel that you can create a wonderful backdrop to your story and keep the audience's attention if you create engaging slides, regardless of the number. I recently created a presentation for a 60-minute talk with over 100 slides. My slides are simple, and many of them have no words at all. I keep pace with the amount of slides in order to avoid the speedy finish often seen where presenters skip by numerous slides that they didn't have time to get to.

Larry Lessig is a great example of someone who is on this end of the spectrum, using numerous slides and progressing through them in a fast pace. Often a slide is only up for a second or two. This style doesn't leave much time for the audience to focus their eyes on the presenter, but keeps their attention and creates a great backdrop for the story. One of his presentations can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs

There is NOTHING wrong with having 20 slides in a 60 minute presentation. In fact, there's nothing wrong with having 2 slides. I also believe there is nothing wrong with 200. It's all in the presentation. Granted, I do realize there's some sort of limit. A presentation with 2,000 slides would never be successful (or comprehensible). I simply think it is up to the designer how many slides they need to convey their story while matching their presentation style.

[Nick Morgan]

Hi, Jonathan -- thanks for the great, thoughtful comment. The rule I put forward is (as you hint) for folks who need guidelines to get them started on the right track. I too have seen PP talks with more slides than 20 per hour that worked well, because the slides were visual and supported the story flow as it sounds like your slides do/did. The point is not to have the slides as speaker notes, or a distraction, but support. Then the absolute numbers don't matter as much as the quality of the support.

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