HOW TO BE BETTER AT POWERPOINT

“18 RULES TO CONSIDER”

1. 10-20-30 Rule: Best practice, a presentation should have ten slides, last no more
than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.
2. Presenters still cram several ideas into one pitch deck: Some presenters still
cram multiple ideas into one pitch deck. They don’t even bother to filter out the
unnecessary stuff and keep only the crucial points. Avoid overwhelming your audience
with a barrage of ideas. If a slide isn’t necessary, do away with it.
3. People’s attention span is getting shorter: We’re in the age of social media, where
the best content is short and fast, and people appreciate things that don’t take much of
their time. Always be considerate of your audience’s time and level of interest. Even if
you’re given an hour to present, make it no longer than twenty minutes. Use the extra
time for setting up your equipment or holding a Q&A session.
4. Readability is a crucial factor: The number one rule of presentations is simple: The
audience is the boss. People at the back should clearly see the presentation the same
as those in the front. Optimize the font size of your text to accommodate all of your
viewers. The thirty-point-font rule should encourages you to limit the number of words
you put in each slide. Don’t overload your slides with information.
5. Reveal one bullet at a time: The trick when presenting text, like a short list of
bullets, is to make your point without losing the audience. If you show all the bullets and
text at one time, the audience has a tendency of trying to read it all rather than listen to
you.
6. Fade to black when speaking: Your slides are not the point—you are. When you
fade to black you regain your audience’s attention. For example, after presenting one
solution (that’s also shown on the screen), fade to black while you expound on how to
apply the solution.
7. When in doubt, dump it: Slides can be essential – they can also be a distraction. If
you’re struggling, trying to decide if you need a slide, or not, ask yourself: “Will it make
my speech better?” If not, I dump it! Remember, nobody will miss what isn’t there.
8. The 1-6-6 Rule: Quite simply, each PowerPoint slide should have one main idea, a
maximum of six bullet points, and a maximum of six words per bullet point.
9. Sketch out the story: Simple, but crucial. Before you open up PowerPoint, know
exactly what you want to say, then break up that story into slides. Each slide should be
a minute or two talking point.
 HOW TO BE BETTER AT POWERPOINT
“18 RULES TO CONSIDER”

10. Illustrate, don't repeat: Basic but critical tip. Your audience isn't going to remember
every word you say or unlikely to write down the contents of your slides. You want them
to get the gist of your argument, and remember the main points. So don't repeat or read
verbatim the words on your slides. Use each slide to illustrate the point you are making.
The key thing with the visuals is to capture and keep the audience's attention. Use few
words as possible on each slide and sum up your points. Remember that a graph, pie
chart or image tells a thousand words.
11. Keep it simple: Similar to the previous point but relates to the number of slides as
well as the complexity of information contained on each. Best way to tell a story is with
the fewest number of words. Make each slide a memorable sign post for where your
argument is going, but keep it to as few slides as possible with which you can tell the
whole story.
12. Theme sections: Make any PowerPoint presentation look professional by utilizing a
consistent theme. Making sure the core elements are on the same place on each slide
and use similar fonts and colors. Break up your presentation into sections, and then
subtly theme each section.
13. Use images and transitions, but use them well: A subtle transaction here and
there can add pace and sheen to your talk, but forcing every slide to dissolve into the
next quickly becomes laughable. Never, ever use a crazy transition without irony. And
be careful to avoid over using clip art. Illustrating a point is good, forcing your audience
to view myriad shots of models pulling quirky poses is not so good.
14. Practice makes perfect: Use all of the time available to practice and get it right.
That means standing up, flicking through slides, speaking out loud, timing yourself. It's
perfectly feasible to present without practice, and if you are used to the task it may be
that practice will blunt your edge. But if you have the time to get familiar with the pose,
the timings and the message, why wouldn't you?
15. Introduce yourself: The most important part of any presentation is the beginning.
Hold up your head and introduce yourself. Who you are, what you do, and why you are
standing in front of them. Tell the audience where you came from and what you are
going to address. Set an agenda, and set the terms; if you want questions throughout
tell them. If you want silence and then questions at the end - let them know. The most
important thing is to break the ice between you and the audience.
 HOW TO BE BETTER AT POWERPOINT
“18 RULES TO CONSIDER”

16. As many notes as you need: The fact is that being able to talk with or without
notes is not a key competency test. If you can do it, great, but the important thing is to
have with you the level of notes with which you are comfortable. With one
exception…not a good idea to write out your presentation verbatim, and read it. If you
do this you will naturally keep your eyes glued to the page and fail to react to or interact
with the audience. Put down bullet points for each slide, and then refer to them as you
go. You may realize you’ve not used the notes at all, but gives you confidence knowing
they were there.
17. Avoid paragraphs: Paragraphs can become too difficult to read. Excessive use of
paragraphs in a presentation can become boring for the viewer. Paragraphs can make it
too difficult to keep a person properly engaged. Stick to easy-to-read bullet points and
great graphics. Reserve the use of paragraphs for the presenter’s script.
18. Brevity matters: If you communicate a concept in one slide clearly, do so. If you
can condense the content into a slide without losing the meaning of the point being
made, condense it into one slide. Keep in mind the average attention span of a person.
Shorter presentations may have more of an impact on the audience.