PowerPoint Is Not the Enemy

Sometimes I hear people mention that PowerPoint – or slides for that matter – must be abolished. They say that to deliver a compelling speech, you should not use slide software at all, because it is distracting to the audience.

This could not be further from the truth.

PowerPoint, just like any other slide software out there, is just a ‘tool’ to help convey your message. That's why slides are considered ‘visual aids’.

And why are visual aids important? Because we have convincing research to show that human beings are predominantly visual creatures. Such research indicates that the retention rate of information can be amplified by a whopping 6.5 times, when accompanied by relevant visuals. 

Our visual perception comes first when we want to understand our world – and as you all know especially today, with 24/7 news channels we DO want to understand what's going around us; everything from the most catastrophic disasters to dogs rescued from a river by good Samaritans. 

Anyway, like I said PowerPoint is just a tool to amplify your message in a world where you speak to other ‘visually-prioritized’ human beings. It's no different than a four-star restaurant chef skillfully using her knife to prepare the most delicious platters in the world. Sure enough, just like a knife, or any other tool for that matter, you can use it in a good way or in a bad way. And when I say bad, I mean, really really bad...

Nothing makes the audience cringe in their seats more than a slide that looks like this:

Or this:

But these are horrible uses of this tool we generally call PowerPoint (replace this with your favorite software title). Just because the software comes with a zillion features does NOT mean you should utilize each one of them in your next presentation. Heed to the wise words of Leonardo da Vinci when he is said to have said "Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication".

Here are three tips you can use to achieve simplicity in your slide designs:

1. Create / Leave empty space on your slides.

Instead of the standard templates that come with your favorite presentation software, start designing your slides completely from scratch. Because standard templates start by asking you to enter text — and all sorts of it!

When you start with a completely empty slide, make sure that every single thing you put in there serves a purpose. Does your company logo really (I mean really!) need to be on each slide? Do you really need those colored boxes that have no business other than a cause for distraction? If there are things on the slides that do not add further meaning to your speech, don’t be afraid to hit the DELETE button rigorously.

2. Think big. And then bigger.

When placing text boxes on slides (and yes you will need to do that), make sure you use a minimum number of words with an ample character size. There are numerous suggestions on the internet saying such- and- such number of slides, such- and- such font sizes, etc. Forget them. Don’t be bound by rules, but just make sure that the poor guy in the furthest back row doesn’t have to reach for his binoculars if he wants to see what you’ve chosen to place on your slide.

3. After simplifying your slides, simplify them a little more.

I know that you spent your entire afternoon making sure that the pie chart looked perfect. But this isn’t the time for emotional attachment. You will not be nominated for office design awards for that Q4 results chart, but the audience will appreciate your efforts in keeping things easy to comprehend. And speaking of easy-to-comprehend, don’t be afraid of splitting complicated slides into multiple but less complicated slides. Adding more slides to the presentation and increasing the slide count is something many people refrain from, but it’s an unnecessary worry. No-one will be angry at you for adding more slides and making things easier to understand. But you will see their wrath if you hit them with a single slide containing a gazillion points!

So, there you have it. It's not the PowerPoint that should be your nemesis; it's the way we use it.

Use it wisely, and your audience will love you (at least) 6.5 times more!