How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint Presentation
PowerPoints are the punching bag of the public speaking community.
Many speakers look at it in disgust:
‘A PowerPoint? Nah, I don’t need that.’
A lot of audiences sigh when they see a PowerPoint.
They have been the victims of a death by PowerPoint moment.
A moment where a speaker bored the audience to death by reading off the slides word for word.
Despite the hate towards PowerPoints, I am not against it.
I believe it is the incorrect culprit of poor presentation skills.
The real culprit is the usage of PowerPoints.
Allow me to share when these slides come in handy.
Drone Story
There was one time I went to this networking event & met a businessman.
He was a unique fellow.
A hybrid between a realtor and a technologist.
His company had been selling drones that would allow potential homeowners to see different homes before purchasing.
The drones allowed them to see vivid imagery of the home without actually visiting the place.
This would free up realtors from manually showing the place.
The gentleman was also slotted as a speaker at this event.
He kindly excused himself from our conversation as he was about to get called on stage.
Once he got called on stage, the audience quieted down & the gentleman began talking.
The talk consisted of what he was telling me about the drones in our conversation.
His message was smooth.
However, there was a problem.
This guy was using his hands a lot.
Since he was speaking in front of an audience, he was trying to get more animated to breathe life into his drone story.
But rather than breathing life into anything, he was just making us dizzy.
I could see different audience members making fun of the speaker.
They began mocking his mannerisms in the shadows.
The speaker was sharing a revolutionary message.
But his awkward hand gestures were overpowering his message.
Smart to Use PowerPoints?
This speaker is someone who needed a PowerPoint.
I’m willing to make the following bet.
- If this guy had a PowerPoint with a picture of his drones, then his awkward hand gestures would have been reduced by 20%.
- If his PowerPoint had videos of the drones, then his awkward hand gestures would have been reduced by 65%.
This was a scenario where PowerPoints would have helped!
The first step to seeing whether you should use a PowerPoint is to ask the question:
Will a PowerPoint amplify my message?
In Toastmasters, the first speech a member gives is called the Icebreaker speech.
This speech allows the speaker to talk about their life & give the audience a highlight into who they are.
Can you use PowerPoint to share images of your life?
Sure.
If you are giving a rundown of the different locations you lived in throughout your life, then PowerPoints will help.
But if you are targeting 1 moment from your life…
Let’s say the first day you became a father.
A PowerPoint is not needed.
A simple story engages the audience’s imagination better.
Ask the question:
‘Will a PowerPoint amplify my message?’
If the answer is no, then proceed without it.
If the answer is yes, then proceed on.
Never Be Reliant
I’ve lost count of how many times a speaker was supposed to use a PowerPoint for their presentation…
But there were technical issues.
All it takes is 1 wire to go missing for your slides to not function.
Plenty of speakers just threw in the towel.
They were like:
‘I definitely can’t speak without my slides.’
They didn’t even consider that the slides would not work on speech day.
You should consider it….
After determining that you need a PowerPoint, the next thing to ask is:
Hypothetically, let’s say a wire goes missing on speech day, would I still be able to give the speech?
Your answer should be yes.
If it is yes, then something miraculous happens.
The content of the slides becomes leaner.
- Rather than write paragraphs, you write bullets.
- Rather than write bullets, you use pictures.
- You look at the audience rather than the slides.
More composure from your end!
So, use PowerPoints, no problem.
But have enough courage to deliver the talk even if the slides do not function.
Recap
Overall, I don’t think PowerPoints are bad.
Instead, these slides are misunderstood.
They are misunderstood because we treat them like the king rather than a guard dog.
The message should be the king, we the prince, and our slides the guard dog.
We make the slides the guard dog by asking:
‘Are PowerPoints needed?’
If the answer is no, give your talk without one.
If the answer is yes, then ask:
‘Hypothetically, if a wire goes missing on speech day, would I still be able to give the talk?’
Once you say yes, you’ll notice your PowerPoints becoming lean & efficient.
It’s designed in a way where it complements you rather than overpowers you.
Honing Presentation Skills
When you understand the basics of public speaking, it becomes fun.
A lot of your decision-making is simplified when the message is seen as king.
The message becomes king when you know a lot about it.
You know a lot about your message when you can ramble on it.
If you can ramble on it, now it’s just a game of choosing the relevant points to deliver to the audience.
That’s where your slides come in.
Public speaking is not only a creative task that is done with raw inspiration.
There are a lot of frameworks and logic buried within every speech.
In my eBook, Speaking Wizard, I share more of the frameworks of public speaking.
You will learn:
- What exactly is a speech?
- How to effectively brainstorm a talk.
- Methods to structure loose thoughts into an engaging speech.
- How to deliver the talk with confidence on speech day.
- Plus, a bonus chapter on Toastmasters.
If you are ready to improve your public speaking skills, then be sure to check out the eBook here:
