Most of us have sat through meetings that were driven by fancy slides and lots of data. Most people make the mistake of creating great looking slides and talking to the slides rather than the content that is contained with the presentation. I tell my people when using a slide presentation engage the audience and add value to the presentation and not just get up and read the slides out loud to your customers or the audience. So here are few tips on what a slide presentation should not be:
Mulitple bullet points on one slide (Usually 2-3 are fine)
A lot of written text (Do not put a book on one slide)
A lot of flashy graphics and music as this can detract from your message that you are trying to get across
Finally, use your slides as a means to convey your key points and as reinforcement to your message. The slides should be used to have impact not a distraction. Keep these few points in mind when creating your next presentation and you will see a dramatic impact and better response with your audience.
