How to avoid alienating people in a presentation!

I wrote this in 2015 but I saw something the other day that prompted me to reprise it...

Do you feel obliged to? have a PowerPoint presentation for that little talk??

You need to demonstrate a command of your subject and yourself, but there is more to this than having a comprehensive set of slides.

There will be times, though, when you’re in front of an audience or a group and actually need some other presentation aid.? It could be worthwhile using a flip chart or some props. How about standing up and winning them over with strength of personality? Humour is more powerful than statistics.?

If a Power Point presentation is the best support to get over your case then...

Less is More. More than three points on a PowerPoint slide and you’ve probably put your whole argument up there. Your audience will get bored anyway, if they’ve got all your ideas in writing in front of them why should they bother listening? They may even start wondering why they came at all when you could have emailed the material to them instead!

Blue is the colour…except when you’re putting blue on blue for people to look at. It’s actually a problem to focus. This is why World War 2 Aircraft had blue undersides so the enemy would find it difficult to hit them from the ground. Never use pastel colours for writing.

Your host may not have a projector. Check in advance. More seriously, I was once giving a presentation and using the laptop supplied by the venue which had a version of Microsoft Office that didn’t include PowerPoint. Luckily I’d brought my own laptop. The moral is to never trust another’s? equipment and always have back ups – a memory stick and some slide printouts. If you do use other equipment check beforehand that the screen view behaves in the way you expect. Compatibility issues can wreck your day.

If you’re using a laptop do you need an adapter or lead to connect it to a large monitor or projector or a smart screen? How about an extension lead and a floor safety sleeve to cover as it snakes away into an inconvenient corner plug?

Please never read out every word on a slide. The slide is there to give the audience a backup of what you are talking about or to illustrate your words with a chart or picture of some kind.

Please position your laptop away from the projector beam so you don’t have your shadow on the screen every time you move.

Please look at the laptop to keep your position in the progress of the talk– not the screen. Turning to the screen turns you away from the audience and your voice will become muffled or at least vary in clarity. Your slides may be wonderful and to be admired but your talking is more important.?

Overall however, the best advice is to remember there were people before the technology. If it all breaks down, try winging it and talking to people instead – as long as you are prepared, you might be pleasantly surprised. at how authoritative you can be with your subject. These good people are there to hear what you have to say after all.