Whether you are Certificate 4 TAE student, a corporate trainer, a business person, or even a worker delivering a tool box talk, we have all come across the dreaded Powerpoint presentation. You have either had a very positive experience, or a rather negative experience with Powerpoint, depending on the skill of the presenter.
Let’s get to the heart of the matter straight off, NO ONE LIKES DEATH BY POWERPOINT. Yet the irony is, that although we all hate it, many are unaware as to how to escape it. I am not sure about you, but when I see a Powerpoint up on a screen I cringe inside and wonder “How bad is this going to be?”, simply because the majority of people have never really been trained on how to use Powerpoint in a dynamic and engaging way, that hooks and maintains an audience’s interest. The mere fact that we have the expression ‘Death by Powerpoint’ is testament. But as I always like to say, don’t blame people for what they haven’t been taught. I believe that there are 3 key myths that keep perpetuating bad Powepoints presentations.
Myth 1 – My Powerpoint slide IS the presentation. The sad fact is that most people operate from the premise that the Powerpoint slide deck IS the presentation. What they often forget is that it is the TOOL, to deliver what YOU say. YOU are the presentation and as such you need to remember that it is there to back up what you say, not BE what you say. Now this is fair enough as many people who lack confidence in public speaking will often use their slides as a crutch, “As long as I can see my slides and read them, I’ll be ok” they say. Well your audience often sense that there is a lack of connection, and it is the level of connection that makes all the difference to how much they actually take in. Remember YOU are the presentation, not the Powerpoint presentation.
Later in this article I will tell you the most powerful thing that will capture people’s attention and make them hungry to listen to you.
Myth 2 – Content is the most important thing. This myth is a strong one for most people. What they fail to realise is that with any presentation there must always be a purpose and a desired outcome. Eg my audience will do more of X or less of Y. Or my audience will know more about X. Now what presenters often fail to realise is that CONNECTION with the audience is the gateway to the information going into the minds of the audience. At the core of every presentation, we need to remember the following formula: Connection + Credibility = Trust, Trust + Rapport = Influence, Influence = Possibility of Change. When we design our presentations with the end in mind, ie a new behaviour from our audience or the audience remembering our content, we know that the most important job of any presenter is building a solid connection with the audience above all else, and the content itself is a secondary matter.
Myth 3 – Everybody takes in information the same way. Due to sheer laziness or a desire for time efficiency, presenters often fall into the trap of thinking that all audience members take in information in the same way. Whether you dispute the science and validity of the Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic learning styles or not, common sense tells us that looking at a screen for extended periods of time is not the best way to drive engagement, yet many don’t stop to consider this fact. We don’t have time to go into the science of engagement in this article, but just know that predictability is a huge catalyst for boredom, so the smart question to ask ourselves is ‘How do we as presenters become even less predictable in our delivery?”
So here are 7 Simple Tips that you can use to instantly transform how engaging your Powerpoint presentations are, and here is a hint – it’s NOT about just adding extra animations…..
Tip 1. Use the OFF button. Yes, as strange as this is, your ability to turn the Powerpoint OFF is going to be one of the most important tactics that you use. The better that you can get at breaking expectations of your audience, the more powerful a presenter you will be. Show the slide, then turn it OFF, and set up a context for the information. Also, throughout your presentation if you want to highlight key points, just turn off the slide, make a point of it, and turn it back on when you are ready.
Tip 2. Sell the Slide, Show the Slide. This is a bit of an advanced technique, but we need to realise that if there is no relevance to the information or need to know, then people’s brains shut off. Predictability is your biggest enemy, so you need to get into the habit of setting up the slide that’s coming next, and building the suspense for what you are about to show them. Sell the concept, then show the concept. Not the other way around.
Tip 3. Create Wonder and activate audience’s imagination. One of the best ways to keep an audience engaged in a Powerpoint, is to have multiple moments of powerful quotes or imagery that spark new thoughts in the mind of the audience. A slide with a powerful image and/or quote can do wonders to get your audience thinking in a brand new way.
Tip 4. Reduce cognitive load. This tip is going to sound like rhetoric, and we all know it, but human nature pushes against it. We have all seen the slides that have far too much information on them and are hard to read. Remember to aim for 3 to 5 lines of content per slide at max, and if you can represent the content via a graph or table or a mnemonic, then you are far better doing it that way then explaining it on the slide.
Tip 5. Include Videos. Yes, videos are a great way to break the state of the audience and get people even more engaged. BUT keep the videos short and purposeful as a video without relevance or purposeful can have a detrimental effect. Aim for maximum 3.5 mins
Tip 6. Empty their Cup. What presenters often forget is that the human mind can only take in so much in any one sitting. It would be dangerous to work off the assumption that everyone remembers EVERYTHING we say. Yet, most presenters seem to have that expectation, and then are surprised when people are unable to recall much from their last presentation. So as a presenter, we need to proactively be giving people an opportunity to empty their minds at regular intervals so that they can have a hope to take in the next thing we are going to tell them. Generally, you will find around slide number 12-15, people have reached some form of saturation point. So, put in either regular brain breaks, talking activities or review moments where you recap on what you have talked about, or allow your audience to share with each other what they have learnt.
Tip 7. Control their focus. The last tip to make your Powerpoint really come alive is to pro-actively tell your audience what you want them walking away with, and remembering. One of the greatest expressions to do that is, “Grab a pen and write that down!” when you get into the habit of telling your audience exactly what to write down from your slide, you will be commanding attention. There is always going to be one or two key points on each slide that are more important than others. It could be one key word, one sentence or two, but create urgency and relevance, and people will follow you along wanting to know more.
So there you have it, seven simple things you can do differently to transform your Powerpoint presentations. Will you be willing to step away from the lectern or away from the keyboard, and experiment?
Make Powerpoint your new tool to leave a truly powerful lasting impression.
For further tips on presenting or any further information on our courses at Success Training Academy head on over the following website www.successtrainingacademy.com.au, or call us on 1300 605 999.
Marc Miles
Trainer & Assessor | Consultant