6. BULLET POINTS
• Effective presentations do not use very many bullet points
because it distracts the audience from what is being spoken
by the presenter
• The information in bullet points is made more clear by
spreading the information across several slides that represent
the story being told
• The information in bullet points should be included in a
handout given after the presentation has been concluded.
• Bullet points do not engage the creative side of our brains,
and therefore, the listener is not fully engaged.
• Bullet points are not creative and take virtually no effort to
put together.
• Pictures can often tell a much more engaging story than any
amount of word will be able to convey
Greatest PowerPoint tip ever: Press the F5 key for a shortcut to “begin slideshow.”
How do you prepare an effective presentation?One that communicates to your audience in a way that captures their attention and helps them better understand the point of your message.
Most presentations are boring.
Because they are full of charts…
Graphs…
And way too many bullet points.
It’s death by PowerPoint.
Your goal should always be to sell your audience on your idea. They must buy your message, or you are wasting your time. The point of your presentation is to persuade your audience to action, or entice them to think differently than they have before. You are not there simply to present information. They can find out information for themselves. You must sell them something. Get them to buy your message.
But how?
Your presentation should tell a visual story.
Remember, there is a vast difference between what people see and what they hear. People process visual images with the right side of their brain; the more creative side. They process spoken words with the left side; or the more analytical side.Your presentation should appeal to their visual, creative mind while your narrative—or words—should appeal to their intellect or analytical side. In other words, you speak to them what they need to know while showing them things to excite their imagination and draw them into your message. No one like to see just words on the screen.
There must be a transfer of emotion. Your message must be transferred to them, and the only way to do that is to involve their emotions.
Pictures evoke emotions much more quickly than words.
Great pictures accompanied by great narrative move people to action.
Think of your self as a great salesperson. You are selling your audience on your idea.Commercials are a great example. They combine great narrative—or information—with visual images that stir the audience to action. You are making a commercial when you present. Would anyone buy your message?The whole point of this commercial is that stains will really hurt your chances in an interview. Tide could have developed a long list of reasons and put them in bullet-point format, but the commercial is much more effective.
So, how do you make a great commercial presentation?Contrast
Craft your slides for great visual impact.
No more than 6 words per slide as a general rule of thumb, and get rid of the bullet points. If you have information you need your audience to see; put it in a handout and give it to them after the presentation.
Finally, speak with great confidence and know your material well.
By the way, always include a black slide at the beginning and end of your show for professionalism.Another tip is the by pressing the “b” key, you can cause the screen to go black during the middle of a presentation which is helpful if the conversation gets off-topic and you don’t want the audience to look at the screen. Press any key to resume.
