Training

MORE POWERFUL POINTS

A badly thought-out PowerPoint presentation will have your colleagues snoozing in no time.

words by > Lee Gimpel

It would not be fair to say that I hate PowerPoint. I do, however, fear it. Aft er all, I’ve had some very unpleasant moments with it. Who hasn’t? If you’ve ever been anywhere near a meeting— from the PTA to the corporate boardroom—the chances are good that you’ve had to endure some very painful presentations made possible by Microsoft ’s ubiquitous get-up-and-talk soft ware.

Somewhere along the way, we forgot that we were supposed to be making a presentation and not “doing a PowerPoint” (or, for that matter, a Mac-based Keynote).

Dave Paradi, coauthor of Guide to PowerPoint (Prentice Hall, 2006), says that slideshow presentations oft en lack strategy and structure.

Before pondering what color background to use, Paradi insists on starting with a clear end goal. Do you want to persuade, as with a sales call, or merely inform, as would be the case with an HR manager explaining a new benefits package? Oft en a presentation meant to persuade simply informs without attempting to convince a client or a management team.

The Power to Change

Analyze the audience (what do they know; what do they want to know?), decide on your main points, gather appropriate supporting information, organize the flow and figure out how you want to interact with the audience— that way the slides should create themselves.

“Th ink of PowerPoint as a visual aide and not the presentation itself,” says Joe Sommerville, Ph.D, president of Peak Communication Performance in Houston.

“I’ve seen people literally freeze if their PowerPoint wouldn’t work,” says Sommerville. “Even if everything goes wrong—you’ve got mismatched cords, a power source that won’t work, computer freezes, whatever—you should still be able to give the presentation.”

Indeed, people replace practice and flair with the crutch of having the whole presentation written out, slide by b-o-r-i-n-g slide. Th e audiences’ top complaint is when the speaker simply reads the slides like a Teleprompter.

“If you’re going to put everything in writing, that’s called a report and you just e-mail it!” says Paradi.

Quick Tips

Get the Picture
“Death to Screen Beans!” declares Sommerville. Instead of using the same tired clip art—including those whimsical cartoon characters—cast your net wider for more relevant art that isn’t a visual cliché. Try Getty Images’ Photodisc (www..photodisc.com) or Hemera (www.hemera. com). Or use your own digital photos when it makes sense.

In Control
When choosing a remote control to help you fl ip through your presentation, go with a radio frequency (RF) zapper rather than an infrared (IR) one. A remote that uses RF doesn’t require line-of-sight to your computer—so you can hold it discreetly and make it seem like your transition timing is impeccable.

Most remotes bundled with projectors are infrared. Paradi recommends the lightweight and dependable RemotePoint Navigator from Interlink Electronics, which costs $149 (www.interlinkelectronics.com).

Outsource the Report
Many companies now offer to jazz up your PPT with fl ashy graphics and professional backgrounds. Should you use these design doctors? It’s not a bad idea, but remember that just because someone can create stunning displays doesn’t mean he or she understands the fundamentals of giving a winning presentation. A pretty veneer won’t fix poorly conceived ideas.