Fading into Sameness: How Too Many Slides Can Ruin Your Presentation
“I have a love/hate relationship with PowerPoint. In the right
hands, it’s a great presentation tool. In the wrong hands (and
unfortunately, most usage falls into this category) we are
cloning generations of boring slide shows narrated by speakers
we barely notice.” - Debbie Bailey
Ah, the good old days. For me, those were the days before
PowerPoint slide shows became the norm for virtually every
business presentation given in corporate America. I fondly
remember the days when presenters spoke passionately about a
subject near and dear to their heart without having to display
every single thought on a slide. I reminisce back to the time
when 80 slides for a 20 minute presentation was NOT the norm,
when presenters weren’t just slide narrators, when preparing for
a presentation meant more than putting together your slide show.
Now don’t get me wrong, I know the advantages of using slides,
however, I also know that too much of a good thing is NOT GOOD.
I subscribe to Bill Wheless’ philosophy about PowerPoint “It’s
like alcohol in the hands of a drunk. What we need is
moderation.” Somehow, we must learn to use, but not abuse, the
positive attributes slides bring to our presentations. If we
don’t, we risk looking and sounding like every other boring
business presenter. Worst of all, we become forgettable.
Think about the last presenter who strongly affected you. More
than likely that presenter used very few, if any, slides. The
most memorable presenters rely on their delivery style to make
their point, rather than a well designed slide deck.
When I first began teaching presentation skills more than 20
years ago, I struggled to convince presenters to incorporate the
use of visual aids. My how the world has changed.
Today, I have to work twice as hard to convince presenters to
rely less on their slides and more on their dynamic
communication skills. It’s almost as if presenters believe that
all it takes to deliver a successful presentation is a good
slide deck. The truth is, when asked to prepare a presentation,
presenters spend the vast majority of their time working on
their slides, rather than their delivery style.
Consider for a moment why political candidates and presidents
DON’T use slides… My guess, they don’t want to divert any
attention away from themselves. They understand what Roger
Ailes, author of the famous book You Are the Message has known
for quite some time. “For those who want to succeed, there is
only one secret. YOU ARE THE MESSAGE.”
Generally, here’s what happens when you overuse slides.
1. Your slides lose their ability to make an impact-
Essentially, slides become the white noise in the presentation,
so constant that they are no longer noticeable.
2. The audience focuses on your slides, rather than on you. If
55% of your communication power comes from your body and face
(based on the universally accepted research by Albert
Mehrabian), than NOT having the audience focused on you
diminishes about half of your POWER as a presenter. Can you
really afford to cut your power in half?
3. You are demoted to the position of slide narrator. The slides
take center stage and like the narrator of a play, you are the
anonymous voice in the background.
Just like too many slides can detract from your success as a
presenter, having a few well designed slides can strengthen your
impact. Consider these quick tips designed to help improve your
use of slides:
1. Develop your presentation first, then determine where a
visual might help the audience better understand your message.
This is a much better approach than developing your slides
first.
2. Try to boil your presentation down to the six most important
slides that speak to the heart of your message. Make sure that
each slide you chose complies with the 6 x 6 rule-no more than
six lines of text with six words on each line.
3.Better yet, make the impact of your slides visual, rather than
verbal (words written on slides). The best slides arouse the
audience visually so take a creative approach to translating
words into meaningful pictures.
In retrospect, it’s not so much that I am anti slides-I am pro
YOU! While slides do serve an important function, even the best
designed slide can’t compete with the power of YOU. YOU are the
greatest visual aid of all. Take the focus OFF the slides and
put it back where it belongs-squarely on YOU! Invest the time
you used to spend on your slides on your delivery practice and
you will STAND APART from the rest!
