The More Powerful PowerPoint

New Trends in PowerPoint

With Denise Wright

WARNING

It’s time you were warned

A bad PowerPoint can cause a

slow and painful

DEATH

Death

By

PowerPoint

Can Be Prevented

Just follow the new and exciting

guidelines!

Guideline Number One

The problem is that most people

speak at

150 WPM

Yet most people read at

250 WPM

Guideline Number Two

Ditch the Bullet Points

Examples

Common PowerPoint Mistake1. Some people like to put everything they are

going to say on their slide

2. Although this means you do not have to remember what you are going to have to say on your slides, this does make your slides boring

and text heavy and may cause peoples’ eyes to glaze over

3. People will begin to wonder why they are even listening to you as they have already used

up all their brain power reading ahead and drawing their own conclusions

4. All of this before you even reach the bottom of your…

This is a Very Important SlideIn case you had not understood the fact that this is a very important slide from the heading I am going to make sure that you read the information again in many different waysThe problem with very important slides (VIS) is that you try to get as much information on them as possibleBecause, as we all know you can’t just say something once you have to make sure it is said or shown three times in three different ways just to get the same message acrossThat way you can’t say I didn’t tell you soThe sad thing is this can cause PowerPoint presenters to develop presentations with lots of different levels and lots of bullets to put across the same key message over and over and over again

Here I am again! I am important! Read me !!! Please remember I am important, even if I am a third level bullet point!!!

It doesn’t matter how many different ways you try to cram the information in

By now – nobody will be reading it anywaySo it’s all pretty pointless

And you will end up wasting your timeDo you want your information to be read – give it out on

paper in a handoutWHOOPEE

PHEW – is that it now?

Not exactly exciting is it?

Avoid Bullet Pointitess

AvoidUsingTooManyBulletPointsToGetYourMessageAcross

TooManyAndYourKeyPointWillBeLostWithin

TheSeaOf ExcessiveBullet PointsDoYou Get MyPoint?

Guideline Number Three

Spell Checks

Big mistak – nothing makes you look stupider than selling errrs

Many presenters forget to spell check their presentation

Guideline Number Four

More Data

Less Effectiveness

Let’s demonstrate this

By adding more!

In some desperate attempt

To convince you of their point

Guideline Number

Five

Avoid Bad Color Schemes

Clashing backgrounds and font colors can lead to

- Thumping Headache- Motion sickness- Distraction- Unexplained rash- Mental Confusion- Continual fidgeting

Guideline Number Six

Animation

Can be good

For visual learners

Can be effectiv

e

Of what?

And not actually

And you end up

You are trying to

say

Going WOW

AnyoneNotice?

And not actually

Can be effectiv

e

Losing everyon

e??

And your PowerPoint becomes this

Fidget

BORING

Blah, blah, blah

Wow

HUH?

WOW

AnyoneNotice?

BLAH

DUH

Yawn

More Animation

Less Effectiveness

So how do you avoid mindless texts and

bullets?

We’ve all heard the proverb

A picture is

Example of an ineffective PowerPoint slide

Does it make you feel like this?

Let’s remake it with the new guidelines……

Now, wasn’t that better?

Let’s review

Communication involves emotion

If you can’t explain it short and simple

Then you don’t understand it

This is bad communication

This is good communication

Avoid using boring clipart, if possible

YourWord

sPer

Slide

Less text and data is

Make only ONEpoint per slide

Lose the bullet points!

Don’t use bad color schemes

Use pictures

An excellent example from Rick Altman – Conference Host Extraordinaire

The