Executive PA Australasia October November 2016 | Page 57

Give power to your point
We get some tips from best selling author and speaker
Rob Redenbach on the four key mistakes people make when using
PowerPoint and how you can make sure you avoid them
INDUSTRY EXPERT
2 Drop the token images
3 Say what?
4 Prepare, prepare, prepare
Poor presenters use images
that have no personal connection to
themselves or to their audience. Just
because an image is high definition and
taken by a professional photographer,
doesn’t mean it adds value to your
presentation. If, for example, you wish
to show that your organisation is
multicultural, don’t download an image
of nameless strangers smiling for the
camera. Instead, find an image that is real,
one that has genuine relevance to the
people in your audience. And if you don’t
have such an image, then go without!
PowerPoint has historically been an
effective way to engage audiences
and add a certain WOW factor, but
modern audiences have, quite simply,
seen enough to last a lifetime. In
saying that, used wisely, PowerPoint
can usefully reinforce key messages if
you don’t fall into the trap of thinking
‘more is more’. Having attended more
than 650 conferences in more than 30
countries, I’ve sat through more ‘death-
by-PowerPoint’ sessions than I care to
remember. But from this experience, I
have identified four key errors in the use
of PowerPoint – errors that cross cultures,
demographics and industry types.
1
You are the true visual aid
Imagine yourself talking to a group
of friends. Would you read from notes
and point to a screen? Of course not.
You’d look them straight in the eye as you
spoke. Study footage of truly masterful
presenters such as Barack Obama and
you’ll see that they look at their audience.
Eye contact engages people. It conveys
sincerity and confidence. Every time
you put on a new slide you are telling
your audience, ‘Don’t look at me, I’m not
important, look at this.’ Really? If you’re
not important, what are you doing there?
Presenting is a privilege and an honour,
but standing in front of a live audience is
no place for false modesty. If your goal is
to share a message of substance, success
begins by having the audience focus on
you, the messenger.
Poor presenters cram slides full
of too much information in a font that
is too small to read. You’ll know this is
happening when you hear the presenter
say, ‘You probably can’t read this, but ...’ or
‘If you can’t read this, it doesn’t matter ...’
As frustratingly illogical as these types
of statements are, what’s even worse
is when a presenter is oblivious to the
fact that apart from the people in the
front row, the majority of their audience
cannot read what’s on the screen at all.
Rather than take the easy option of
puffing up your presentation, invest effort
in preparing so well that you can maintain
eye contact with your audience from
start to finish as you roll through your
key points using stories and real-world
examples to engage your listeners. E
About the Author:
Listed by BRW as one of Australia’s top ten professional
speakers Rob Redenbach is the best-selling author of
What I Didn’t Learn at Harvard. Rob is a keynote speaker
at the PCOA conference in November
INFO
www.redenbach.com | www.pco.asn.au
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