- Don’t use too many slides. It’s very tempting as they are so
easy to prepare, but if they proliferate they can divert the
attention of the audience from the key points you want to
make (remember the rule of three). In a 40-minute presenta-
tion you should aim to keep the number of slides down to 15
or so – never more than 20. And the number should be
reduced pro rata for shorter talks. - Don’t clutter up the slides with too many words. The rule of
six should be adopted – no more than six bullet points and
no more than six words per bullet point. Keeping slides
down to this number concentrates the mind wonderfully. - Make the font size as large as possible (another good reason
for keeping the number of words to a minimum). Try to
ensure that the heading is not less than 32 points and the text
not less than 24 points. Ensure that the text can be seen
against whatever background you select (yellow text on a
deepish blue background stands out quite well). - Use diagrams wherever you can, on the basis that every
picture can tell a story better than a host of words. Diagrams
break up the presentation. There is nothing more boring
than a succession of slides that are entirely bullet-pointed. - Use the PowerPoint facility for cascading bullet points
(custom animation/appear) with discretion. It offers the
advantage of making sure that each point can be dealt with
in turn and is thus given greater significance. If the whole
list of points is displayed at once the audience will be
tempted to read it as a whole rather than listening to each
point separately. But cascading every list of bullet points can
bore and distract the audience. Save this approach for slides
in which you have to elaborate on each point separately.
Also use the other PowerPoint facilities with discretion. The
‘fly’ facility provides a variation in the way in which bullet
points are presented to an audience, but does not add much
if you use it every time. It is also helpful if you want to build
up a diagram or flow chart to emphasize the sequence of
points; but overdoing it can be messy and create confusion.
It is tempting to use the ‘dissolve’ facility to provide elegant
variation; but again, it can simply distract an audience who
have come to hear what you have to say rather than to be
present at a demonstration of PowerPoint tricks. - Do not try to be either too slick or too clever. Consultants
often make this mistake when making presentations to
How to Make Effective Presentations 279