How to Avoid “Death-By-PowerPoint”

I was recently asked to assist an executive secretary with “polishing” the company’s PowerPoint presentations. 

My brief was simple:

• Bring the slides to life.
• Visualize the slides (make the content visually appealing).
• Ensure each slide speaks for itself.
• Make the presentation meaningful.
• Include simple, punchy elements for maximum impact.
• Ensure the slides are effective.

Don’t we all want to see slideshows like that? So what was the problem? I had the strategies to improve the slides but the real problem was that the executive secretary didn’t originate the slides. The executives who sent her the slides had no idea there was something wrong with them. Moreover, the secretary didn’t have the authority to ask the managers to change their slides. To make matters worse, their charts were sent to her as pictures, so she couldn’t change them anyway.

Then to crown it all, it turned out that the CEO who asked that we “visualize the slides” didn’t like pictures on slides.

So who should have been attending training on improving presentations in the company? More to the point, can people identify what makes a clear, impactful slide?  Here are thoughts on Microsoft PowerPoint Effectiveness:

The CEO is spot-on with what good slides should do and how they ought to look. But achieving these objectives involves re-imagining your company presentations and being prepared to go through a period of trial and error to maximize the impact factor.

Here are a few questions to start asking about your presentations:

• Who is your audience, and what do you want the presentation to achieve?
• Is this a report to the Board, a client, or for an internal meeting?
• Is this a presentation to sell the company’s products to new clients?
• What is your content about?

If it’s a report, how are you going to make sure that all the detail is there without boring your audience as you present slide after slide?

Can you think of creative ways to achieve your objectives using Microsoft PowerPoint?

• Are you producing slide after slide of boring bulleted text?
• Each slide should only carry one message.
• Can your PA recognize the key points on the slide and reduce the number of bulleted points?

Does she have the authority to change an executive’s slide?

• Are you overwhelming your audience with numbers?

• Can your audience see at a glance what the numbers mean?
• Do you put tables of Excel data in your presentation like this?
• Or can you use diagrams and other charts to show what the numbers mean?

Keep your eyes on our future blogs that will show you creative ways to maximize the potential impact of PowerPoint—without falling into the “Death-by-PowerPoint” trap so many of us have come to dread. There are also numerous resources on the internet offering great ideas about designing a good presentation. Here’s a YouTube video to get you going.

Do you or someone you know need PowerPoint training?

Contact us for details about the next Microsoft PowerPoint effectiveness workshop.