How did business ever get done without a PowerPoint presentation?
It is hard to imagine making a presentation nowadays without clicking from slide to slide. Whoever you are and whatever you may be doing, there is a high probability that your presentations consist of a series of slides containing words, graphs, and images.
When preparing slides, here are my tips:
- Make sure there is lots of white (or blank) space on your slide. Do not crowd the slide with text. I have seen slides which are covered, top to bottom, with sentences. When that happens, the audience spends more time trying to decipher the text, and less time listening to you. Cut, cut, cut. Be ruthless. Place only what is essential on the slide. Yes, less is truly more.
- There needs to be coherence between the text and the image/graph. The words and image need to support each other. If the image is self-explanatory or conveys meaning by itself, text may not be necessary. The text and elaboration can come from you, when you speak. When it comes to a slide with text, perhaps one word would suffice. It may have more impact than a full sentence. Remember the first point: be partial to blank space.
- Sequencing is important. Make sure there is a logical flow when it comes to structuring your presentation. Decide which slide needs to come where in the overall sequence. Also, for every slide, decide on the sequence of points. You may choose to sequence points based on their order of relevance for a particular message you are trying to convey. And, think about the sequencing of information within a point. Should it be x,y,z or z,y,x? Perhaps, for a certain client you want to highlight z, then in that case, z should come first.
It actually takes strong clarity of purpose to make a ‘simple’ and elegant slide. You need to know what to include and what to exclude. And you need to know how to present material in an appealing way, that makes your audience interested and engaged.
Well-prepared, thoughtful slides make a positive impact on the viewer. She will better remember your presentation after it is over. So, it would be well worth your time to take a step back and critically evaluate your slides with a fresh pair of eyes.
amalfabian 