Not many people in today’s modern workplace remember the
world before a little company called Microsoft was founded. Likewise,
the trusty PowerPoint software from Microsoft Office has
been used to communicate a near endless stream of ideas over
time, across the world. By this point though, people have become
so numb to PowerPoint presentations because they have had to
endure so many bad ones. Who among us has not experienced
(typically against our will) a horrible PowerPoint presentation that
made us want the computer or projector to stop working? You
don’t want to be that person, do you? Read on then to learn some
tips to put some zing into your next PowerPoint presentation, for
your sake and for the sake of your audience.
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Planning is very important, in
war and in PowerPoint presentations
(and PowerPoint presentations
about war). Don’t create
the PowerPoint presentation
before writing up the script of
what you are going to say. Since
the point of your slides is to
illustrate and expand what you
are going to say to your audience,
you should know what
you intend to say and then
figure out how to visualize it.
Unless you are an expert at improvising
(and most people are
not), make sure you write out
the script before generating the
visual/audio portions of your
presentation. As a bonus, having
a script that builds toward
something, a climax, is more
appreciated by your audience
than you can imagine.
At any given moment, what
should be on the screen is the
thing you’re talking about. Audiences
almost instantly read
every slide as soon as it’s displayed
so if you have the next
four points you plan to make
up there, they’ll be three steps
ahead of you, waiting for you to
catch up rather than listening
with interest to the point you’re
making. Plan your presentation
(specifically the transitions
between and among slides) so
just one new point is displayed
at any given moment. Bullet
points can be revealed one at a
time as you reach them. Charts
can be put on the next slide to
be referenced when you get to
the data the chart displays. Your
job as presenter is to control the
flow of information so that you
and your audience stay in sync.
Some veterans at giving PowerPoint
presentations say that
images add visual interest and
keep audiences engaged, but
others say images are unnecessary
distractions. This article’s
suggestion is to split the difference
and use images only when
they add important information
or make an abstract point more
concrete. Otherwise, just get
the information out there so
your audiences can absorb it,
then the PowerPoint presentation
can be concluded (and not
dragged on).
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