Listen, young office young workers, odds are that as the youthful, tech-savvy person in your workspace, someone’s going to ask you to create a PowerPoint for them. And if your experience is anything like mine, your coworker is going to ask you to put A LOT of text on each slide. Like so much text that nineteenth century Russian novelists would be intimidated.

There’s a serious disconnect between what people WANT to see on the screen when they’re listening to a presentation and what they, in turn, SHOW people when it’s their turn at the podium. Everyone seems to nod their head in steadfast agreement when I talk about how much I hate dense, wordy PowerPoint slides. But then they turn around and create the same sorts of slides themselves. (Or, as the young, tech-savvy person in my workspace, they ask me to do it.)

It’s time to fight back. The next time someone asks you to create a PowerPoint presentation for them, ignore what they tell you and follow these rules instead. While it may get you in hot water initially, the universe will ultimately reward you. I promise.

Rule #1: THESE ARE NOT YOUR PRESENTATION NOTES

Seriously. This one kills me. If you need notes during your presentation (and, sure, most presenters do) then try HOLDING THE NOTES IN YOUR HANDS. Projecting the points you want to cover on a big screen is OVERKILL. And it has the not-so-lovely side effect of ensuring that everyone has read ahead of what you’re planning to say before you’ve even said. Presenters NEED to remember that, unless your audience is a room full of infants or hamsters, people can READ faster than you can talk.

And, no, having each bullet appear sequentially as you talk about each one is not an effective way around this problem. Really.

Rule #2: YOUR POWERPOINT IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE YOU

While it may be tempting to be really comprehensive with your slides, tying everything you want to say into a nice little package that can be sent as a ppt file via email to anyone who asks, this kind of thinking ALWAYS leads to a bad presentation. There is absolutely no way you can effectively lay out everything you want to talk about in a presentation on PowerPoint slides and still keep your audience entertained.

When in doubt, remember this: You are NOT presenting a PowerPoint presentation to an audience. You are presenting YOUR IDEAS to an audience. The PowerPoint is a mere enhancement.

Rule #3: LEARN THE PROGRAM BEFORE YOU DIVE IN

PowerPoint is not a complicated program, but that doesn’t mean you should just dive in and start creating your presentation without doing a little bit of learning first. Here’s a little test to let you know if you’re ready: Do you know what a Master Slide is and how to use it? If not, then learn THAT before you start. The Gen Y employee you get to help you later on will thank you for it.

Also, Times New Roman? No. Comic Sans? Double No. (Even if it is such a ‘fun font!’) Animation? Triple No. Your title zooming across the screen one-letter-at-a-time accompanied by machine gun noises? No No No No No.

Rule #4: REMEMBER THAT POWERPOINT IS VISUAL

As often as I’m annoyed by what people include in their PowerPoint presentations (see #1), I’m also generally dismayed at the stuff people leave out. PowerPoint is at its best when it’s used for visual information. So if you’re talking about the increase in sales over the last quarter, don’t just list those numbers in a table — make a chart! Trying to create a feeling of collaboration or innovation? A picture works wonders. These should be the bread and butter of your slides — if there isn’t any way to convey what you’re talking about visually, then you likely don’t need a slide for it.

And, as stupid as it sounds, don’t forget the obvious stuff. Include a slide with your name on it. People will appreciate it not only because it helps them remember, but also because it lets them know the proper spelling. Ditto your phone number and e-mail. And any sources, whether they be books, URLs, movies, or whatever, should be shown on screen, so people can be sure to record them accurately if they want to look them up later.

Rule #5: CONSIDER THAT YOU MAY NOT NEED A POWERPOINT

In a lot of circumstances, PowerPoint can serve as an effective visual aid during your presentation. But there is no rule that says EVERY presentation need its own PowerPoint presentation. In fact, some presenters might find themselves stronger without it. If you find yourself thinking more about the upcoming slide than you are the core idea you want to convey to your audience, removing the PowerPoint may prove beneficial to both you and your audience.

After all, Lincoln never had PowerPoint, and the Gettysburg Address still turned out okay. (With PowerPoint, it might have turned out like this)

Photo by fling93. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Tags: powerpoint, presentations, tech support