The drama unfolded in a quiet meeting room. As an audience, we sat silently in rows of modest chairs, as the presenter moved unassumingly toward the front of the room…almost lurking. He glanced awkwardly at his watch, fumbled briefly with the data projector remote and then it happened.
WARNING: What happened next is graphic in nature and may contain information that could be uncomfortable and all too familiar for some readers.
The first slide rang out with a series of popping sounds, followed by more slides all with a hail of bulleted text…there were bullets flying everywhere. My first reaction was to shout out to innocent bystanders in the meeting room.
GET DOWN!...get down everyone…save yourselves from the armor piercing software induced images appearing so rapidly that I finally lost count of all the text bullets sprayed into the audience.
I found courage and moved out from beneath the table I ducked under to avoid the bullets. There were numerous casualties. Some audience members were sitting cross armed and feigning attention all the while fighting back the urge of a restful nap in anticipation of this tragic event coming to an end. Others were seemingly gasping for air as they yawned uncontrollably. Others were simply in shock as they rolled their eyes and squirmed in their seats. Some were simply muttering indistinguishable words under their breath.
Luckily the armed presenter had a change of heart early on in this ominous event. He must have.
I watched him turn almost stoically, ever so slowly toward the screen and face directly into the path of the flurry of bulleted text as he read word after word after word on each slide. We couldn’t tell if he was in pain as we could only see his back for the rest of the presentation. How brave he must have been to save the rest of us from the hail of bullets.
The presenter survived, but the presentation was pronounced as lifeless by the coroner at the scene. Too bad…he didn’t have a chance is what I overheard.
When officials finally arrived …well actually they came to serve break refreshments and many of us exchanged our version of the events and prepared our statements for the pending presentation investigation.
The scene I’ve just portrayed was prompted by many readers that have asked me for my opinion on the use of PowerPoint in delivering presentations.
Now it’s time for my infamous Presentation Rant. Give me a Break!
PowerPoint in my opinion takes a bad rap. I’ve heard audiences groan prior to a presentation, ‘oh no, not another boring PowerPoint presentation’. Since when did software get a mind of it’s own? So I thought I’d test the theory. I sat with my eyes glued to a blank PowerPoint slide I opened on my computer…and waited. After waiting several minutes, waiting for rows of bulleted text to magically appear…nothing. I glanced around to see if anyone was watching and I hit a couple of keys, and poof the evidence of my keystrokes appeared. With that my experiment debunks the myth of PowerPoint having a mind of its own. I’m not a crime scene investigator but something tells me the presenters appear to be the prime suspects in serial PowerPoint offences.
PowerPoint is a marvelous medium and a powerful presentation tool. My proviso, when it’s used with respect for its presentation power. It can also be as dangerous as an automatic weapon in the wrong hands….see story scene above. Point made.
The scene I‘ve portrayed is not uncommon. I have been witness to that scene too often to mention. It happens in the workplace and other presentation situations almost daily worldwide. This costs money, time and resources for major corporations and entrepreneurs alike and all too often.
Stop! …if you find yourself saying ‘lock and load’ when creating bullet points on slides.
Remember, a bullet point is just that…a portion or context for information you will detail with narrative. I’ve even seen bullet points with punctuation at the end. Here I go again… Give me a Break!
Save the punctuation for complete sentences. Save the sentences for your next novel. Once sentences appear row after row on slides in your presentation …there appears the presenters trap! The trap of reading from the slides and worse yet if they are sentences…many presenters recite them to their audience like a soliloquy. I’ll bet audiences welcome any opportunity to brush up on their reading skills.
The Presenters Trap: Reading word for word from slides is a demonstration of an amateur presenter.
Opinion varies as to how many lines or bullets or even words per bullet should appear on slides. I’ve heard the 5 by 5 or the 3 by 5 opinions, 5 by 5 being a maximum of 5 bullet points and a maximum of 5 words per bullet point per slide. As a PowerPoint minimalist at heart, even those guidelines are lenient for my liking. Firstly I don’t think in terms of bullets…the software does…it even defaults to bullets. A 45 minute presentation I deliver regularly has only 5 slides and each slide has 3 or 4 words per slides and not a bullet to be found. As a presenter only you can deliver the message the way you can not your software application. My question, do you need to use any bulleted text at all?
Thoughts first – then decide format, whether bullets, text or digital imagery
It’s time to take a stand…repeat after me…PowerPoint should be used for GOOD…not for EVIL. Repeat this mantra as required.
My presentation coaching practice regularly has me reviewing PowerPoint presentations. How do I put this…sometimes I find it painful to review the presentations I receive as I put myself in the audience position and what I would feel as an innocent victim to excessive bulleted text.
TIP: Make PowerPoint your Friend – Not your Foe
Something I learned very early in my presentation career was that I could be an expert in a select number of areas. Otherwise I would become successfully mediocre in several areas. My expertise is in delivery of presentations. Let me be more specific…I specialize in voice, body, persuasive language, movement and presentation choreography. I should also mention story development…and that would include delivering powerful testimonials and product demonstrations in selling environments.
Now when it comes to PowerPoint architecture …I’m pretty good….but I’m not an expert.
Recently a speaking colleague said something to an audience I was in that was very powerful for me. In today’s business marketplace when delivering a presentation he said, ‘being good isn’t good enough and being excellent is expected!’
That prompted me to offer this to you. When you need expertise…. Hire expertise!
When I require PowerPoint expertise I go to the experts. With that said, I work only with top experts in the presentation field. In fact I’ve heard it said that I’m picky with who I work with. Personally I like to think of it as being selective in the professional presentation field.
It is my pleasure to disclose to you an expert I have worked with that has helped me with PowerPoint architecture and development. You heard it here first. My personally selected presentation expert that I have partnered with is Dave Paradi, MBA, internationally known for Think Outside the Slide™. Dave rescues business presenters from ‘Death by PowerPoint’ and other electronic sins.
Earlier this year I was engaged in a high production value presentation project that required PowerPoint expertise and presentation creativity. No Problem. I knew who to go to.
I simply contacted Dave, the Think Outside the Slide™ guy and I knew the rest was in the proverbial presentation bag. Dave Paradi jumped into action and developed presentation ideas I hadn’t considered and handled the aspects of what I considered tricky PowerPoint architectural development with calm and passion and in a fraction of the time it would have taken me.
In fact, I had the pleasure of speaking personally with Dave on a topic near and dear to my heart (and your bottom line), revealing underlying costs in presentation development. His recent published article, ‘The Hidden Costs in PowerPoint Presentations’ prompted me to interview Dave and offer his recorded conversation to my many readers as he unlocks the secrets of developing more profitable PowerPoint presentations.
Follow this link to learn more about his services and to hear Dave Paradi, MBA, Think Outside the Slide™ as he offers powerful and persuasive PowerPoint Tips. While there, you are welcome to post by e-mail link your most difficult PowerPoint obstacle and other questions you want me to ask Dave. I'll assemble the best and most popular questions and record another idea filled session with Dave in the next few months.
Download and listen to his 4 minute audio interview posted on my web site…a quick and easy presentation investment you can make in developing your professional career.
Finally, for your next presentation, deliver it with power, passion and a PowerPoint masterpiece. Make it count!
Great Presentations!
Richard Peterson, North America's Presentation Coach
The Presentation Coaching Institute
