Want to improve your public speaking? Ditch the slides, or at least…
by Mary Boza Crimmins
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I first heard the phrase ‘death by PowerPoint” many moons ago when my oldest son, Peter, was in college. Apparently, it was the fallback method of instruction for some of his professors.
Like college professors, many speakers feel more comfortable when they have a lot of words on their slides. However, fewer words and better visuals on slides will benefit their overall presentation.
If you can relate, here are a few pointers for creating more effective slides for your next presentation.
Limit the number of words on each slide. Using many words on your slides may be your fallback because you are nervous or want to impart every fact. Remember, it’s ok if you forget to say something or repeat yourself. We’ll address how to conquer nervousness next week.
Use fonts that are easy to read and use a large font size.
Use a solid background with a font color that complements it; avoid a busy appearance to your slides.
Use as many clear and large visuals as necessary to augment your story.
While visuals can be helpful, remember multi-tasking is not a real skill. If your audience is paying too much attention to your slides, then they aren’t paying attention to you. Pause to direct attention to the visual and keep it displayed as you share the story that goes with it.
Eliminate graphs, charts, lists, and other graphics your audience can’t easily read. It frustrates the audience when a speaker refers to items they can’t see.
If you’re concerned an audience member will want all the information you shared, create two sets of slides. First, create the slides with all the information you want to share, then copy it and eliminate as much as possible on the presentation copy.
Next week, I’ll share some ways to prepare to avoid sweaty pits and nausea while you're in front of an audience.
