Down with death-by-powerpoint!




For many good reasons slide presentations have gotten a bad wrap. You've likely suffered through a presenter reading text-heavy slides or glazed over when a presentation is filled with technical terms that you aren't familiar with.

Now I know that YOU would never do either of these things, but you might like to ramp-up the impact of the presentations you make.

We know that the more senses you engage, the more information your audience members will remember.

Here are a few tips to help you do just that.


  1. Use lots of relevant visuals. Visuals have more of an emotional impact than words so take advantage of this. You don't have to have words on every page. Sometimes an image is all you need to make your point.
  2. Remember that your slide isn't a stand-alone product. You are going to be there to speak to the information. With this in mind, use as few words as possible to make each of your points. If one word will do as a cue, that's all you need.
  3. Use more slides. That's right. When someone asks how many slides I have, I answer with how long the presentation will be. The number of slides is not indication of the length of the presentation as each could be shown for seconds. Certainly, you don't want a slide to be up for more than a few minutes. It's boring and your audience loses interest. (Just like you do when you're in the audience.)
  4. Get out from behind the lectern. You are more likely to connect with your audience and them with you, if there is no barrier between you.
If you're a fan of TED talks like I am, you know how impactful a presentation can be. For presentation info, visit TEDx.

Happy presenting!
Colleen

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