How do you use slides to make your point?

A few years back, I sent my deck to a planner, who wrote back in a panic, "Do you know you're only speaking for an hour? You sent 75 slides!!!" I said, "Yes, that's about right. I'm guessing you didn't look at them. Most are just photos or have about three words on them. I take the audience on a visual experience while I'm telling stories. Sometimes, I'll go through three or four slides in a sentence." She was hesitant, but let it go. After the presentation, she said, " I'm not sure I believed you even after you explained it, but I have to admit that you completely pulled me and the audience in. And you finished in 59 minutes on the dot." Milo Shapiro public speaking skills coach https://PublicDynamics.com

One of the best ways to make presentation an interactive one is by minimizing the text and use more of bullet points, images (funny or unrelated looking, that makes them look curiously and wait for you to talk about it.) That goes a long way with your spontaneity though. In my personal experience, I put a "remote control" image on a slide in-between my speech, i guess everyone was lost at the moment till I say "You own your life, be in CONTROL of what you do with it" That was the moment it made sense and applause followed. Just a typical example of minimized text at speaking engagement slides presentation.

It’s super important to understand that slides are a means for the to an end, not the end themselves. With that in mind, each slide must be a powerful one, having a strong reasoning of why it’s being seen by the audience without overloading them. Majority of the time, this is to empower the speaker as they speak, whether that’s a conclusion, an intro to a topic, or a funny one liner to grab the attention of the audience. Hence the reasoning of minimal text slides rather than paragraphs!

Yes, slides are "just" a way to improve your message, to complement your conversation, gestures and tone. Keep slides minimal but meaningful. Don't waste a slide not using it to "say" something that adds to your message.

When using text, make every word count. For instance, label a graph what you want people to take away from the graph. If the graph shows a trend you want to highlight (e.g. walking increases weight loss), make that the title of the graph.

In conference speaking, you never know what you are walking into. The screen resolution or screen size or screen distance to the audience can make the most well thought-out slide unintelligible. I've realized that its better to have one large recognizable image that helps tell your story, than three specific pictures with 20 bullets jammed into one slide. My favorite format is to have a visual with a single 2-4 word bold statement, prompt or question overlaid. This helps me remember the next story I was to tell in the presentation and gives the audience something visual to attach emotions to. Plus when you use big visuals and few words, your expertise comes out stronger and your prep work for the conference becomes significantly easier!

If you use visuals like charts and tables, give them titles that convey what you want people to take away from the slide or table. That way, they don’t have to think too hard about it.

If possible, practice giving a presentation in front of others. At the end of the presentation, ask the audience what they thought of the visuals. What you’re looking for is if the visuals detracted from the presentation.

Like many other things there is no correct or incorrect way of using slides. For me the planning stage of a presentation is key, identifying key points which you want to be remembered. Visuals are memorable and used appropriately they can really help retention of these key points. Innovative left field visuals work especially well as they require thought and this will help embed them in the memory.

Give a visual a title that conveys what you want people to take away from the visual. That way, people don’t have to think too hard about the purpose of the visual.

Don’t overdo the animations. Because they are moving pictures, people may become distracted by them and continue to watch them as opposed to listening to the speaker. Ultimately, speakers want their words to be remembered, not the fact that they had cool animations.

To use animation effectively in your slides, keep things simple and purposeful. Include only key phrases or words on your slides to avoid clutter and make your points clear. Use animations sparingly to reveal information gradually, show processes, or highlight changes. Ensure the animations are smooth and not overly flashy to keep the audience focused and engaged. By applying these principles, you can make your slides more interesting and easier to understand.

One of my favorite and most impactful ways to use interaction is using it to provide real-time feedback. This has been invaluable in adapting content on-the-spot. The immediate response allows the speaker to gauge the audience's level of understanding, interest, or even confusion. For instance, if a query indicates a concept hasn't been grasped, the speaker can revisit or explain it differently. Similarly, if there's keen interest in a particular sub-topic, the speaker might delve deeper into it. This dynamic exchange ensures that the presentation aligns with the audience's needs and interests. By keeping a finger on the audience's pulse, the speaker ensures content remains both relevant and relatable, fostering a more impactful connection.

Plan your presentation as a story. Ensure slides are simple clear and deliver several key points when planning, ensure the colours, font size and language used are inclusive A powerful image can equate to a thousand words -use images where appropriate. They can be more powerful than long narratives or bullets Time your presentation and the time it takes to deliver the key message from a slide Avoid lots of gimmicks and fancy transitions - could be a recipe for disaster Use slides as an aide memoir rather than something you read.

Practice not only talking to each slide, but making transitions from slide to slide. It’ll force you to know what’s coming next and make you seem more prepared.

Also consider the accessibility of your slides in relation to what you say. Apart from ensuring contrast and not relying on colour alone to distinguish things, you should make sure to say the things that are on your slides, to make sure that there is parity between what people can hear and what they can see. To avoid having to read out a lot of your slides, don't put too much text on them.