We have all been bored to death by PowerPoint presentations with slide after slide containing line after line. It gets to a point where you just want to run from the room screaming. So how do you use PowerPoint intelligently while you keep an audience fascinated with what you have to say?

 

First of all, let go of the obsession with piling on the information. People with technical expertise have a lot of trouble realizing that most people do not want to hear all of the details. You may think every little point is vitally important, but take a long cold look at it from your audience’s point of view. Then narrow it down to what really matters to the audience, and leave out the rest or move it to a handout. Ask yourself, what do I want them to remember two weeks from now? And ask yourself, what are they really looking for? For example, if you are seeking approval for a project from an executive, they typically want the vital few facts that will determine their decision.

 

Next, think about which parts of your presentation are about conveying facts and concepts and which parts are really about trying to evoke an emotional response in the audience. Many people want to pretend that emotion is not part of business, but it is a very important part. Often we want people to be enthusiastic or excited, or to feel that they should trust the presenter. When you are in the emotional realm turn the projector off. You will do much better if you simply talk with your audience, and build a person to person connection. The easiest way to do this is to push the “B” key on the computer. The screen will instantly go black, and people will pay attention to you rather than stare at the screen. When you are ready to resume showing slides, push B again, and the screen comes back to life.

 

For the parts of your presentation where you are actually trying to teach, use slides to get your ideas across. Typically, that doesn’t mean listing point after point after point after point. Look for ways to represent your information, concepts and new ideas visually in simple charts, diagrams and illustrations. Photographs and video clips can also be very powerful. Yes, it takes a little longer to build these kinds of slides, but you only need a few of them. Instead of burying your audience in dozens of points, your goal is to have them understand and remember the few points that really matter.

 

And finally, learn to simply be a good speaker. Practice getting your ideas across clearly and concisely with only your voice. Then when it is appropriate to add slides, the combination of your words and visual representations will be even stronger. And practice storytelling. This may be the most powerful tool in any speaker’s repertoire. Many of the ideas we want to get across in our presentations are best illustrated by using real-life examples in the form of stories or short anecdotes, and audiences tend to love them.