Putting PowerPoint On A Stage

by Maureen Dyvig, partner at d.trio

PowerPoint. We love it. We hate it. We love to hate it…especially when it makes that occasional font size, bullet shape or spacing decisions for us.

Most of us, however, rely upon it to help us in a multitude of expressions. We sit in meetings and review slide after slide of information and it serves the purpose of helping us to present details in an organized way. We love this about it.

This all changes when speaking or presenting to a group. If you are standing at a podium, the rules of PowerPoint should change dramatically. Although it can still serve as a organizational tool, the presenter must resist the habit of relying on PowerPoint as a crutch filled with bulleted items to simply help them remember the points they intend to make.

According to Robb High, new business consultant, when addressing an audience the PowerPoint slide should contain no more than 10 words. Think of the slide as a bill board. When this shift happens the presenter becomes story teller and your audience would much rather hear a story than read bullet points.