|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Refusing to relinquish my crusade to free audiences from the overwhelming information overload of PowerPoint slides that look like white pages torn from the phone book, I appeal to the presenter's desire for freedom. Lose all that "really important stuff" on your slides, liberate yourself, and you'll be heard loud and clear.
Go get 'em!
Debbie Fay
dfay@bespeakpresentations.com |
|
Why your PowerPoint Presentation is Putting You in a Straight Jacket
If you've seen any movie of life in a mental institution, chances are you've seen someone in a straight jacket. If you are guilty of putting most or all of your presentation on your slides, you are putting yourself in a straightjacket - metaphorically speaking. Unless you have "escape artist" in your skill set, you're going to want to overhaul your PowerPoint presentation. Immediately. Here's why.
Most of my clients who suffer from information overloading on their slides utter the same mantra, "This is really important stuff". Let's assume for a minute that it is "really important stuff". First of all, putting it on a slide for the audience to read does NOTHING to guarantee they will "get" it, and second, too much of this "really important stuff" puts you in the metaphorical straight jacket. You feel compelled to talk about it because it's up there on the big screen.
You lose the ability to speak off the cuff, respond to a question, tie in to a current event; you don't have time for any of that! You've got too much "really important stuff" to get through. You get bogged down, you find yourself reading what's on the screen, (even though you know doing so is a cardinal sin in presentations) because you have no alternative. You MUST address it ALL. About a third of the way through, you find yourself wishing the presentation was over. No such luck, you've got slide after slide PACKED with "really important stuff".
Instead of putting yourself in a straight jacket, how about creating slides that illustrate a few key ideas? Maybe 3 words, a graph, chart, photo or diagram? A provocative question or quote? With less stuff of any kind (really important or not) you will be free to go into as much or as little detail as you like. Maybe for one presentation your second point requires expounding upon, while for another group it's point number three that needs more explanation. The sparseness of your slides enables you to adjust your presentation for your audience, your time frame, your setting and your own sense of what's more and less important given these three variables. With visuals that elicit your key ideas rather than explaining each of them in gory, grueling detail, you create a dynamic, fluid experience for your audience and yourself. And when was the last time anybody ever remembered all of the "really important stuff" spelled out on PowerPoint slides anyway?
So, take a deep breath and use the delete key! C'mon, I know you can do it. Get really daring and (gulp) delete whole slides! Give yourself and your audience the gift of visuals that illustrate only the key ideas and you'll be heard.
|
Upcoming bespeaking engagements:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DVR Alert! Jeff Sherman's Business Buzz: Wednesday July 23, 8:00 PM, Channel 5, Farmington Valley BNI 9 Alive: Tuesday, July 29, 7:00 AM; 5 Minute Tips and Tools for Powerful Presentations. 9 West Cafe, 9 West Broad St. Stamford, CT www.bnict.com Soundview CEOs: Tuesday, August 5, 3:00 PM; Great Presenters and Presentations, Separating Fact from Fiction; Soundview Club, Marriott Stamford CT www.soundviewclub.com
|
|
| Too chicken to touch the delete key? Here we come to save the day! We'll help you edit (or create) a PowerPoint presentation that frees your mind and allows you to be heard! Contact bespeak today!
call: 203.259.6487
go to;
or email:
|
|
|
