Microsoft’s Powerpoint is a very simple product. It does the job for what it is designed quite well. Unfortunately most people don’t know how to use it.

And the failure is not because people don’t read the Powerpoint manual. The issue is not about Powerpoint at all, but about the presenter. As part of the work I do in training presenters I have noticed a relationship between the comfort a speaker has on stage and the quality of the Powerpoint presentation.

You’ll notice the best presenters only sometimes use powerpoint, and when they do it is a single line of text, or a picture. They use it very specifically and very simply. The worst presenters have their entire speech in 8 point so everyone ‘can’ read it. The best presenters know Powerpoint is there to assist the presentation and audience’s understanding, the worst presenters sometimes think that a flashy powerpoint will distract the audience’s attention from their quivering voice.

When creating a Powerpoint presentation there are several things to keep in mind:

• The slides go with your words. Produce your slides when you know what you are going to say.
• A picture is worth a thousand words.
• The slides are not there to be understandable without your speech but there to represent the idea you’re talking about.
• You are the reason the audience is listening.
• Use huge fonts. Readable from the moon. At least 30 point.
• The slides are there for your audience, not for you.
• Keep it simple - each slide should be understandable within 5 seconds.

For some more information, Guy Kawasaki talks about [1] this specifically and has some examples. There is the always very useful [2] www.presentationzen.com. And you can download some other examples from [3] Tom Peters.

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