How to wreck a presentation

How to wreck a presentation before you start (followed by how to save it - with ten points on developing a slideshow that will work for you).

The wrecking formula is quite simple. Plenty of slides with lots of text, little or no practice, and insufficient time to prepare - in other words, the modus operandi of the vast majority of presenters in our modern day. Truth is today more people than ever are being subjected to appalling presentations by people who should know their stuff and think they know how to present but don't, primarily due to arrogance. In previous newsletters I've written about the value of proper preparation, the folly of lack of practise, our fear of ridicule, why we need to learn how to present properly, and some tips on how to handle the great presentation destroyer - question time. If you missed any of these articles and wish to review them you can find them here. Today I'll give you a handful of tips on preparing your slideshow.

Let's just get something out of the way. Can you get away with not having a PowerPoint slideshow? Yes, you can. In fact, no slideshow is better than a bad one. Well then, why bother? Because a good slideshow can dramatically enhance the power of your message under the right circumstances. Assuming that you can see, did you know that 87% of the information obtained by your brain comes via only one of the five senses - the eyes? Which explains the immense damage caused by a bad slide show. The purpose of a slideshow is to enhance your performance, not replace it. So then, what are the secrets? What I'm going to give you now is going to make your show look far more professional, and take you a quarter of the time to put together.

1. Use slides to illustrate key points, not every point. A presentation with 15 slides is far more powerful than one with 35 slides. It also takes far longer to prepare 35 slides and usually cuts into your practise time. There - I've just cut your preparation time down by more than half and we've only just started!

2. Use the same font throughout your slideshow. Choose one font that looks good and stands out well - and stick to it. Also remember that if you go below font size 32 on a slideshow you run the risk of people at the back not being able to read it (not to mention that you'll be tempted to write too much!).

3. Keep points brief and avoid sentences - especially long ones. If you use a long sentence make sure it's the only text on that particular slide - apart from your heading.

4. Clipart died at Christmas in 2001 when Santa got stuck in the chimney after one helping too much of Christmas pud, and various attempts to resuscitate it have failed. Use photos and the occasional graph.

5. A standard slide has a heading, some bullet points and a photo. The old company template with logo perched in the corner bottom right like your Gran's ancient parrot is a bit "yesterday" and just distracts the viewer from the message.

6. Once you've chosen a transition that you like, it's best to use that same transition throughout. If you're going to use different transitions, it's going to take you much longer and you'll need to check the show a few times to make sure they work.

7. On the menu bar at the top, use the "Custom Animation" tab to bring points in as you discuss them. If you're not familiar with PowerPoint, it takes some tinkering to get the hang of it.

8. If you're going to chat to your audience about other things in between your slides, place a black slide in between.

9. Simple slides are more effective than cluttered ones. Avoid too many special effects.

10. If you feel you don't have the time to learn how to use PowerPoint effectively by tinkering around, it may be worth investing in a one or two-day practical course to learn the tricks.

Bonus tip: Review the flow of your slideshow at least twice before going into the first of your two or three practise sessions. If you find that you have a slide that does not enhance your overall message - scrap it, no matter how attached to the slide you've become.

In my next article on presentations, I will address what you need to do when actually presenting with a slideshow. In the meantime - go and review your current ones and identify any of the areas where your slideshows are falling short. And if you're still using overhead transparencies, don't despair. A good OHP presentation knocks the socks off a bad PowerPoint show!