Effective PowerPoint presentations

For me, the clue is in the name itself. PowerPoint. The 'POINT' is key - this is a program designed to support presentations with points.

How often have you sat down to presentations lasting anything from 15-45 minutes (or more - a mistake in my view), never more so than in Japan, and seen something like this:

> Slides with 100-300 words, many of which the speaker then repeats verbatim. I've seen more in Japan. Even more reprehensible in a way, given the amount of information even two Chinese characters can convey.

> Text-heavy slides, which replicate paper handouts which everyone gets (needless double-dosing)

> Standard delivery, similar slides, endless in Japan (。。。でございます。。。と思っております)

> A lack of video or animation or anything to grab the viewer's interest

When I attend a presentation and I see all of the above, I end up not seeing it to completion. Unless I've had a massive cup of tea beforehand, I tend to doze off and zone out. So say all of us?

SUMMARY:

> PowerPoint presentation should have minimum text - think POINTERS for your speech, NOT your speech itself.

> The speaker and a spontaneous (as far as possible) talk should be the focus.

> People want to feel some (positive) emotion. Build empathy with personal anecdotes.

I'm going to repeat that point - build EMPATHY with PERSONAL ANECDOTES. The concept of simply 'delivering information' which is available to all participants any time with a few clicks and searches is obsolete.

> People want to get something from your presentation which *they CAN'T Google at home*

Tell them a story. Convey your feelings. A few Sunday morning reflections on how to present well, which is not an easy skill to master but a very necessary one.