We've all been there: the never-ending meeting. What started
out as a potentially interesting presentation about a new
start-up company has turned into "death by PowerPoint." When
the presenter finally stops talking and the lights turn back
on, all you can remember is that you almost fell asleep.
The following are some helpful tips for making the most out
of a PowerPoint presentation.
1: Presentation First, PowerPoint Second
The biggest mistake people make when creating a PowerPoint
presentation is that they make PowerPoint the presentation's
focus. The focus should be on the presenter and on the
compelling story that he has to tell. PowerPoint is most
effective at providing supplementary information, like
simple, colorful graphs, but should never be the main source
of information. The worst thing a presenter can do is to turn
around and read from the PowerPoint screen. If all of the
information is on the screen, then there's no need for the
presenter.
2: Tell a Story
The goal of any presentation is to sell the audience on
an idea. It could be a pitch for investing in a new company,
a plan for reorganizing a business or a proposal for
a scientific research project. For the audience to understand
the presentation on an intellectual as well as an emotional
level, it needs to be told as a cohesive narrative -- a story.
The audience needs to know three things:
* Where we are now
* Where we want to end up
* How we're going to get there
PowerPoint slides should be used to communicate those three
simple ideas. This is best accomplished by simple text
statements, strong images and graphs.
3: Show It, Don't Write It
Human beings are highly visual learners. It's much easier for
our brains to remember a strong, unique image than a series
of facts and figures. PowerPoint is a great, easy-to-use
program for creating dozens of different types of graphs and
charts. Remember that the simpler and bigger the graph, the
better. For example, if you want to drive home the point that
Windows PCs control a large majority of the home computer
market, show a pie chart with a huge chunk of the pie filled
in with red and the word "PC." No matter how many stats you
quote, this image will get the message home faster and will
stick with the audience longer.
4: The Rule of 10
Guy Kawasaki -- former Apple "chief evangelist," venture
capitalist and professional speaking guru -- has established
his famous "Kawasaki Rule of Ten" in which he only uses 10
slides during a PowerPoint presentation, often in a "top 10"
fashion. Those 10 slides generally consist of nothing more
than a single sentence or phrase and a supporting image. The
10 slides give the audience powerful visual cues that
reinforce the message that Kawasaki is communicating. And
since the audience knows that there are only going to be 10
slides -- and 10 main points to cover during the presentation
-- they know when the presentation is about to end. Which
brings us to our final tip.
5: Keep it Short
No one ever complained about a PowerPoint presentation being
too short. The second an audience gets bored and stops paying
attention, the presentation loses its effectiveness. The
audience not only stops processing new information, but
begins to resent the presenter for wasting their time.
Kawasaki, for example, thinks that an ideal PowerPoint
presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes.
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