ideas
‘When we understand that slide, we’ll have won the war’… or How NOT to use PowerPoint
This was the sardonic response of General Stanley McChrystal, the US and NATO Force Commander, when confronted with a colour-coded flowchart with 4 point font intended to shed light on security, economic and political conditions in Afghanistan. Picture the map of the London Underground crossed with the human genome, then click here to see the slide which left him feeling so defeated.
It seems the US army is facing the same chronic abuse at the hands of PowerPoint which inflicts many of us in the corporate world. Not only does the overuse and abuse of PowerPoint confuse and irritate audiences, it means significant time is wasted designing slides which communicate nothing.
So in an effort to rescue audiences from further mistreatment, these are our tips for effective, engaging PowerPoint presentations:
- Your slides should complement, not duplicate, your message. Never use the same document as both a presentation aid and a printed information pack. This leads to the demoralising experience suffered by General McChrystal and his fellow officers. Instead, create two separate documents each designed appropriately to achieve its unique objective.
- Keep it simple. Imagine you are seeing the information for the first time. Is it accessible? Is the key message clear? If there is a chart, can you read the key? Is there anything irrelevant on the slide? If so, delete it. Avoid overloading slides, too many fonts or colours, too much written text, clip art and overly complex graphs. Don’t be afraid of white space.
- Audiences remember pictures. How can you bring your subject to life by showing your audience, rather than telling them? PowerPoint is a visual medium, so use pictures whenever possible to make your message memorable.
- Make your slides work for you, not the other way around. Slides are a communication aid only; they should not drive the presentation. Never let your slides have more control than you do.