More Powerpoint rules

17 October 2006 | Internet, Marketing, Media, Online Writing, Power Point, Public Speaking | Comments

I was at one of our Summits today and got to see a bunch of different Powerpoint presentations, some terrific and some less than terrific. Hence, some new rules:

• If you’re giving a research presentation that has an abstract component, start with a concrete example of the benefit that adopting the abstract method will give the audience. Audiences love both concrete examples and a clear understanding of the benefits that listening to a long explanation of something might bring them.
• Corrollary: DON’T start with a research methodology or description of the system, unless you want your audience to fall asleep.
• Be careful about using video in presentations. Any momentum that you might have built up in your presentation evaporates when you show video: video has its own rhythm and pace, different than yours. If the video is good enough, go ahead and use it, but realize that you’ll have to start over again momentum-wise.
• If you’re asking your audience to focus their eyes on slides, then don’t be afraid of moving around the room while you do so. I frequently hop off the stage and roam around the room if I’m going through slides. It keeps people in the audience on their toes and allows you to share their point-of-view.

More to come on this.