Duct Tape Marketing

We all feel victimized by bad PowerPoint presentations: We are prisoners of too much text, too many bullet points, the speaker reading from the slides, the speaker standing in the dark while the screen is illuminated, and charts and graphs that are so small they are unreadable. So why it is that when you are responsible for creating the slideshow, you perpetrate the exact same crimes against your audience?

You may complain about the evils of PowerPoint, but if you haven't learned alternative options, you will be doomed to repeat the same mistakes as the speakers whose presentations you dread. Here are a couple of quick tips to improve your presentations right away.

Pointer 1: Make sure your text is visible

How big is the room? How many people will be there? Your text needs to be large enough so that people in the back of the room can see it, at minimum 24 point, but best at 30 and above. If you can't say everything you need to say on a slide with big text, you're trying to say too much.

There should be enough contrast between the text and the background so that it stands out. If you're using a large image as your background, your text might need to be in a light color with some shading behind it to make it more visible.

Text should be in a simple, sans serif font (such as Arial, Tahoma or Verdana), and preferably bold. A serif is the little flourish or detail at the ends of a letter; Times New Roman is an example of a serif font. It's easier to read serif fonts on paper and in books, but sans serif fonts are preferred for slides. Narrow fonts are also harder to read from afar.

And keep fonts and placement of text consistent throughout your presentation. Multiple colors, sizes, fonts and animations are distracting and just make your presentation look unprofessional.

Pointer 2: Use less text

When we read text, we are actually speaking the words in our heads. This is called subvocalizing: "the act or process of inaudibly articulating speech with the speech organs". In fact, various muscles associated with speech actually move imperceptibly when we are reading.

Imagine listening to a speaker live while also wearing a headset listening to the same speaker, delayed by a half second. This is what's happening when we read text-heavy slides that a speaker is also reading from or describing. We are hearing the words in our heads and also hearing the speaker at the same time.

If we're listening to the words in our heads that we're reading on the slides, we can't also be listening to the speaker say the same thing at the same time. Cutting down on the amount of text on your slides will remedy this situation and allow your audience to fully concentrate on what you're saying.

Consider using a simple sentence to express your point, with a full-slide visual to illustrate. You won't be tempted to read from the slides, and your audience will be better able to retain your information. For more instruction on image-based PowerPoint, see Cliff Atkinson's book, "Beyond Bullet Points."

Pointer 3: Check the venue

You are the presentation, not the PowerPoint. The speaker should be the center of attention, and the screen positioned in the corner to the right of the speaker, from the perspective of the audience. When the speaker has to stand in front of the screen, it interferes both with the visuals and with the speaker's audience connection. Standing in the corner because the screen is in the middle also creates a barrier between speaker and audience and places too much emphasis on the slides as the main focus of the presentation.

In addition, make sure that the lights are up in the room and that there's no glare on the screen. When the lighting is dim, the speaker fades into the dark and the audience falls asleep!

Pointer 4: Use a remote

This is one easy step that will completely change the way you interact with the audience. Before remotes, presenters had to stand next to the computer and press keys or click a mouse to advance their slides, making it difficult to physically move around the room and connect with the audience. Nowadays, there is no reason to be tethered to the computer. Get yourself a remote device and walk freely around the stage. Remotes have a variety of features and distance ranges; some can be used as a mouse, some have laser pointers, and some have timers built in. Find one that feels comfortable in your hand and is intuitive to use.

There are many ways to improve your PowerPoint presentations, and these are just a few. But incorporate just one of these and your audiences will no longer feel a need to report your crimes to the public speaking authorities.