Remember that audiovisuals are meant to support and enhance the verbal delivery of your presentation – not to serve as a visual replacement of it. Each slide should contain only bullet points to keep your audience focused and allow you to speak without relying heavily on printed notes. Displaying only a bullet point requires your audience members to listen to your speaking voice in order to grasp each key point, yet the projected display stimulates and satisfies their need for visual interaction.

When you remember to focus on only the key points of your presentation, it becomes easy to streamline your PowerPoint presentation.

How many slides should you have?

The answer depends on several factors, including:
1 – the length (duration) of your presentation
2 – the amount of technical terms, required data displays, comparative data, and new concepts being introduced
3 – the level of audience participation you’re planning
4 – the diversity of the information being presented

Generally speaking, you should have no more than 2-3 slides per five (5) minutes of presentation. So a 30-minute presentation shouldn’t need more than 18 slides altogether, and many presentations of this length could get by on fewer slides.

As a general rule, you will want to group similar bulleted points together on the same slide, and always give each chart or graph its own slide, unless you are comparing side-by-side data that fits easily and legibly on a single slide.
If in doubt, leave it out. And at the end of your presentation, it’s a good idea to include a summary slide that features the key takeaway points of your presentation. Leave your audience with a visual representation of your most important points.

Remember, when it’s time to rent a projector, your friends here at Projector123.com are ready and willing to supply you with exactly what you need – and we’ll even deliver it directly to the location of your choosing. Click here to request a projector rental now.

If you need a PowerPoint presentation projector for your next meeting or event, order a fast, affordable, hassle-free projector rental today from Projector123.com.

Use Powerpoint to enhance your presentation, not cripple it

by Dave Taylor

I’m not the first person to point out that Microsoft’s mainstay meeting and presentation application Powerpoint is usually anathema to any sort of useful communication, and that most speakers rely on it as a crutch rather than a memory jog, but I just got back from a three day marketing conference and was really struck by how most of the presenters were still falling into BPS (Boring Powerpoint Syndrome).

You know what I’m talking about if you ever go to meetings or attend any sort of workshop or conference. These are the folk that use plain white backgrounds for their slides and cram ten to fifteen bullet points on each slide, each bullet point a full sentence.

Nothing as succinct as “China: Up 15%” but “Our sales in the Pan-Asian region are up 15% over the same period in 2005, according to market research firm AsiaReportInc”.

And yet, I’m also convinced that Powerpoint can be used very effectively and be a real asset to a meeting or presentation. But only if you understand the basic benefit of Powerpoint in the first place…

Having given hundreds of talks at conferences and workshops, I have learned a number of basic facts about what comprises a good presentation.

The most important is passion: if you want to get your point across and communicate effectively, you really need to be excited and enthused about what you’re saying. You can see this by watching two of my models for public speaking, Anthony Robbins and Tom Peters. In fact, I’ll get back to Tom Peters shortly because he’s the only other person I know who really uses Powerpoint well.

When you’re listening to someone talk on stage, do you watch them or stare at their slides or presentation? Probably the latter, and it undoubtedly lulls you into a zombie-like state where you’re hearing what they’re saying, but it’s not getting past the first layer of your brain and being processed. I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about!

Now, imagine the same presentation without any slides at all. There’s not much you can do other than pay attention to the speaker, is there? If they’re lively and excited enough (remember, I said that passion is the #1 most important factor in a good speech) and if the lighting and room architecture isn’t terrible, you’ll be riveted to them, and your attention will be 100% focused on what they’re saying and, perhaps, selling.

So is there a middle ground? Yes, I think that there is.

Let me show you what I mean, rather than just talk about it, though. Here’s one slide from a highly-lauded two hour presentation I gave over the weekend to a rapt, standing-room-only audience:

Intriguing? Now, imagine that I bring that on the screen, read it out and pause for 10 seconds to let the message sink in. Then I spend the next five minutes talking about what I mean and why it’s so darn important for anyone doing business online. No transitions, no floating graphics, no text that slides on from the side, no bullet points. My total slide deck for two hours? 17 slides.

I can’t take credit for this approach to Powerpoint, though, because I shamelessly rip this off from Tom Peters, who has these amazing, multi-hundred slide presentations that are comprised of slides that contain one word or quote, against a dramatic, colorful background.

The other people who presented at the conference? They had slides more typified by this mockup:

I can’t demonstrate it here, but you also need to imagine that this actually comprises SEVEN slides in the presentation because each bullet item slides neatly onto the screen as that point is raised by the speaker (or, often, before they’re ready so they have to go back and forth in the presentation until they can sync up again).

And y’know what’s happening during all these slides and transitions? The speaker has to compete with the slide for the attention of the audience, and often, they lose. If you can’t be more interesting than some dull slide you’re showing, well, maybe you have a bigger problem, but it’s a sure bet that you’re not selling what you want to sell, be it an idea, campaign or product.

In the end, I would passionately encourage those of you who make presentations to either try flying without a safety net – skip the Powerpoint completely – or really work hard to minimize your slides. Make the slide reinforce the one key point for a given section of your presentation, and then tell me the rest. If I wanted to read your slides, after all, I’d ask you to email them to me.

That’s my take on Powerpoint slides and presentations. What’s yours?

Enjoy and be sure to post your feedback!

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Presentation Planning Checklist

This presentation checklist will help you deliver successful presentation. This is adapted in part from Business Communications: A Cultural and Strategic Approach by Michael J. Rouse and Sandra Rouse.

Presentation:

* Does your introduction grab participant’s attention and explain your objectives?
* Do you follow this by clearly defining the points of the presentation?
* Are these main points in logical sequence?
* Do these flow well?
* Do the main points need support from visual aids?
* Does your closing summarize the presentation clearly and concisely?
* Is the conclusion strong?
* Have your tied the conclusion to the introduction?

Delivery:

* Are you knowledgeable about the topic covered in your presentation?
* Do you have your notes in order?
* Where and how will you present (indoors, outdoors, standing, sitting, etc.)?
* Have you visited the presentation site?
* Have you checked your visual aids to ensure they are working and you know how to use them?

Appearance:

* Make sure you are dressed and groomed appropriately and in keeping with the audience’s expectations.
* Practice your speech standing (or sitting, if applicable), paying close attention to your body language, even your posture, both of which will be assessed by the audience.

Visual Aids:

* Are the visual aids easy to read and easy to understand?
* Are they tied into the points you are trying to communicate?
* Can they be easily seen from all areas of the room?

Be sure to rent your projector from Projector123.com to ensure the highest quality visual presentation at affordable prices. Rent a projector today!