Thursday, March 13, 2008

A Critical Point About PowerPoint

PowerPoint can be a useful support tool when used correctly. However, in most cases, PowerPoint slides scream, "I want you all to see the 3x5 note cards I prepared for you last night, which I rehearsed at Starbucks an hour ago." (Thanks Steve Cruz.)

Forget the long bullet points and power-paragraphs. People of all cultures and backgrounds think in pictures. Use graphics to support your message. People are persuaded by "trusted advisors," not PowerPoint. How will you become the trusted advisor if your audience is reading slides during most of your presentation?






Not sold? Try looking away from your screen for a moment and recalling what you remember from it. The text or the graphics?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I sat through a conference with multiple presentations illustrating your points on Power Point. The text heavy presentation was distracting. I don't remember what I read or what I heard while I was reading. The presentation using little text and more pictures allowed me to really listen to what the presenter was saying, using simple images as anchors to her key ideas.