Want to nail that meeting with your PowerPoint?

People who know what they are talking about don't need PowerPoint. - Steve Jobs

There is a rise in anti-PowerPoint* movement. PowerPoint is not allowed in Jeff Bezos' (CEO, Amazon.com) staff meetings. Instead employees compose 6-page narrative memos that gets read during the 'silent reading period' at start of the meeting. Some executives in the Silicon Valley have also adopted 'no-PPT' meetings (example: Yahoo!'s Marissa Mayer).

I think the reason behind this trend is from execs seeing too many situations where PowerPoint presentations went bad, exposing the below downside of 'presenting in slides'**:

• Representing ideas in bullet points doesn't deliver full context. Also, compared to full sentences and paragraphs it tends to lack clarity and contemplation.
• Problems rarely get solved on a slide. Execs want employees to be biased toward action, 'hashing things out at the table.'
• People are either spending too much time to format their slides ad nauseam, or not putting efforts at all - both cases very unproductive.

So then, is PowerPoint-driven meeting a soon-to-be the artifact of old-school business practice?

For me the answer is 'No'. I still believe PowerPoint presentation is one of the most important forms of business communications. When done right, it enables one to effectively share their thoughts by utilizing text, visuals, and audio. I have yet to come across with a better medium that provides such sensory latitude, information visualization, and reach (ppt files can travel via email attachments without voice-overs). Pros weigh so much more than the cons to think of PowerPoint-free meetings as a main stream.

That being said, I want to share two things I keep in mind to create a clear and effective PowerPoint deck, maximizing my chances of delivering a successful presentation.***

1. Focus on clarity, not brevity.

• Don't be tied to bullet points: While ideas can be succinctly represented in bullet points, bullet points do not guarantee succinctness. I try to write out the headlines in a full sentence to provide much context to what the slide is about. One good practice is to take the headlines from each slide and see if it tells a full story.

• Tell what it means (the 'so-what'), not what it is: Stating a fact tends to prompt individual interpretation while telling what it means motivates action. For example, a slide that says "Revenue grew by 30% last year" does not inform the group if they should go celebrate or do something else. Instead, saying "Increased investments are required to accelerate the current 30% growth rate" provides the audience with a much clear message about the presented data and your intent.

2. Whether you like it or not, visuals matter.

A picture is worth a thousand words. When used appropriately, visuals can be extremely powerful in making complex points come across clearly. (Note: Obvious opposite spectrum, visuals can also ruin the entire presentation)

Pie vs. Waterfall

While both charts can be used to visualize the composition that make up the whole, I like using waterfall chart as it is more effective in representing each drivers, especially in scenarios where you also need to highlight negative impact.

Horizontal vs. Vertical

PowerPoint slides are built mostly in landscape mode (i.e., wider across than height). Stacking your charts vertically can highlight differences in data points more effectively than in a horizontal layout. It also provides more space to add in necessary text commentaries without cluttering the slide.

General formatting

• Label your charts: More than too many times I've been in meetings where the first question was 'what is this chart about?', which often throws the meeting off the rails. Make a habit of describing the chart, axis, and units.
• Reference markings: Use asterisks up to three references (i.e., *, **, ***), numbers for references enumerating four or more (e.g., 1,2,3,4...). But hopefully there aren't that many references to mark in the first place.
• Fonts: Use one font type consistently across your presentation. Optimize for legibility than readability to maximize spot reading experience.

As a final thought, remember that tailoring presentation style to your audience, and diligently prepping and practicing for your presentation will be critical if not the most important things in nailing the meeting. This applies universally - PowerPoint or not.

Photo: Ben Stanfield, Flickr

* I am using the word 'PowerPoint' to describe presentation-based meetings rather than to specify a productivity software from Microsoft. (Like 'Googling' typically means searching the web)

** Some of these points have also been mentioned and referenced by Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos through their books and interviews.

*** This is specific to business meetings where primary meeting objective is to give a readout, conduct a discussion, or come to a decision on a given topic. Does not apply to presentations in larger settings (e.g., TED talk, WWDC, Company all-hands).