The document discusses how to improve PowerPoint presentations by providing six anti-zombie tips to avoid boring and ineffective presentations. It emphasizes the importance of having a clear purpose, eliminating excessive text, improving design, effectively communicating data, using unique images, and planning and rehearsing the delivery. These strategies aim to help presenters engage their audiences and create more impactful presentations.

1. Destroy PowerPoint Zombies! by @EricPesik
Have you ever felt trapped in a bad PowerPoint presentation? Ever listen to a speaker drone on like a zombie? Do boring
uninspiring slides leave you feeling like the walking dead? Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie! Here are 6 tips to avoid Death by
PowerPoint!

2. Have you ever felt trapped in a bad PowerPoint presentation?

3. What makes PowerPoint so unpleasant?

4. Audience Complaints: (1) reading the slide, (2) text too small, (3) too many words, (4) overly complex diagrams, (5) poor color
choice, (6) no clear purpose, (7) no flow of ideas; Data source: www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

5. The experience is so common there is a word for it “Death by Powerpoint”

6. Are you a PowerPoint Zombie?

7. Braaains!

8. Are you a PowerPoint Zombie? (1) unclear purpose, (2) mind numbing wall of text and bullets, (3) ugly design, (4) unintelligible
charts and graphs, (5) boring clipart and stock photos, (6) mindless rambling

9. Are you a PowerPoint Zombie? (1) unclear purpose, (2) mind numbing wall of text and bullets, (3) ugly design, (4) unintelligible
charts and graphs, (5) boring clipart and stock photos, (6) mindless rambling

10. Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie!

11. 6 tips to cure bad PowerPoint

12. Zombie PowerPoint Symptom #1: Unclear purpose

13. The Disease: Zombies have no purpose

14. The Cure: Know your purpose - your presentation should have a clear flow and purpose

15. Your purpose is not what you want to say

16. Focus on your audience: (1) what do the want to hear? (2) what do they need to hear? (3) what is entertaining

17. What is your one key takeaway point? Prepare you call to action!

18. Audiences really want you to craft a clear message that has a flow and purpose. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

19. If you can’t clearly state what you want to accomplish, you are not ready. Postpone or cancel

20. Once you know your purpose and key points, start planning in analog

21. Turn off the computer. Don’t plan in PowerPoint

22. Working in analog helps keep you focused and on point

23. Why are audiences bored? Because they don’t understand the message and feel they are wasting their time. - Dave Paradi,
ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

24. Anti-Zombie Tip No. 1 : Your presentation should have a clear flow and purpose

25. Zombie PowerPoint Symptom #2: Mind numbing wall of text and bullets

26. The Disease: Zombies vomit text and bullet points

27. Bad PowerPoint slide example

28. Bad PowerPoint slide example

29. Bad PowerPoint slide example

30. The Cure: B.L.U.F. - Bottom Line Up Front

31. Place communications and recommendations at the beginning of each slide

32. Then delete everything else on the slide

33. Example: Bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla,
bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, . . . therefore, we should vaccinate against zombies

34. Don’t do this

35. Bottom line up front

36. Vaccinate or Die!

37. 1 BLUF per slide - 1 short line summarizing each conclusion or recommendations

38. Think of you slides as a series of billboards

39. One message per sign

40. Make it big enough to be read from the back of the room

41. Save the wordy details for your spoken delivery

42. Or put it in backup slides

43. If you ever hear yourself say, “I know you can’t read this,” just turn off the projector. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

44. Anti-Zombie Tip No. 2: BLUF Bottom Line Up Front

45. Zombie PowerPoint Symptom No. 3: Ugly Design

46. The Disease: Zombies don’t care about design

47. The Cure: Blend text and images to illustrate your point - put creative thought into your design

48. Look at other presentations for inspiration: Source: http://www.slideshare.net/featured/category/presentations-public-speaking

49. Use “blank” page layout to create your own pages

50. Use text creatively

51. 95% of design is typography. Source: https://ia.net/know-how/the-web-is-all-about-typography-period

52. This is Calibri; This is Times Roman; This is Arial; This is Comic Sans

53. This is Face Your Fears; This is Troika; This is Berlin Sans

54. This is also Troika

55. This is also Troika

56. This is also Face Your Fears

57. Typical typeface, but color and size variation adds interest. From Asia’s Increased Competitive Landscape - HR Implications on
Talent Attraction and Retention http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/asias-increased-competitive-landscape-hr-implications-on-
talent-attraction-and-retention

58. More typical typefaces with color and weight variation. From Effective Internal Controls by @EricPesik
http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/effective-internal-controls-14459584

59. Multiple typefaces. From Fighting Global Corruption by @EricPesik
http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/fighting-global-corruption

60. Multiple typefaces. From J.P. Morgan and the Princelings of China by @ericpesik http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/jp-morgan-
and-the-princelings-of-china-by-ericpesik

61. Unusual typefaces plus variation. From this presentation Zombie Powerpoint http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/zombie-
powerpoint-by-ericpesik

62. But don’t over-do it with too much variation. Stick to 2-3 fonts and colors

63. According to Microsoft... at least 30 million PowerPoint presentations are made each day. Source: Alexei Kapterev, Death by
PowerPoint http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint/

64. Most use the same default templates, fonts, and colors

65. Anti Zombie Tip No. 3: Use textual variation to enhance your message

66. Zombie PowerPoint Symptom #3: Unintelligible charts and graphs

67. The Disease: Zombies can’t communicate data

68. Bad PowerPoint slide example

69. Bad PowerPoint slide example

70. Bad PowerPoint slide example

71. The Cure: It’s not the numbers - it’s what the numbers mean - your data should support your message

72. Use data to support your message. (1) Actual slide from a presentation, (2) The real message of all those numbers. Source:
http://www.slideshare.net/thinkoutsidetheslide/the-state-of-financial-presentations-2014-survey-results

73. Don’t read the numbers on the slide. Explain why the numbers are important. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

74. Case Study No. 1

75. How often is executive management involved in bribery?

76. Raw data from http://www.oecd.org/corruption/oecd-foreign-bribery-report-9789264226616-en.htm

77. Typical default chart

78. Re-colored to emphasize relevant data

79. Do the math for the audience

80. Info-Graphic Style

81. Case Study No. 2

82. Is internet usage associated with bribery?

83. Raw data from http://www.acfe.com/rttn-archive.aspx

84. Typical default chart

85. Simplify

86. Remove unnecessary elements

87. Remove unnecessary elements

88. Make it bigger

89. Make it bolder

90. I prefer sorting large to small

91. Use color to emphasize relevant data

92. Do the math for the audience

93. Don’t tell the audience. Show the audience

94. PowerPoint slides crammed with data in tiny, unreadable font... The result? Slides from Hell. - Prof. Stanley Ridgley, Drexel
University, LeBow College of Business

95. Anti Zombie Tip No. 4: It’s not the numbers. It’s what the numbers mean

96. Zombie PowerPoint Symptom No. 5: Boring clipart and stock photos

97. The Disease: Zombies don’t appreciate images

98. Bad PowerPoint slide example

99. Bad PowerPoint slide example

100. Bad PowerPoint slide example

101. Braaains!

102. The Cure: Look for unusual images from alternative sources - use images that support your message

103. https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/by-2.0/

104. http://www.morguefile.com/

105. http://picography.co/

106. http://getrefe.tumblr.com/

107. http://publicdomainarchive.com/

108. Fill your full screen with action!

109. ...or leave blank space for drama

110. If you feel tempted to use a picture of two hands shaking in front of a globe, put the pencil down, step away from the desk, and
think about taking a vacation... - Nancy Duarte, Source: Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Delivery-Edition/dp/0321811984

111. Anti Zombie Tip No. 5: Look for unusual images from alternative sources

112. Zombie PowerPoint Symptom No. 6: Mindless Rambling

113. Braaains!

114. The Disease: Zombies don’t plan or rehearse

115. The Cure: Plan and rehearse your presentation - audiences expect better delivery skills

116. Good presentations take time to prepare

117. 86% of top executives say that communicating with clarity directly impacts their career and income. Yet only 25% spend more
than 2 hours on ‘high-stakes’ presentations. - Jim Endicott, President of Distinction Communication, Inc. Source:
http://www.distinction-services.com/dcoach/2012/02/23/insight-from-distinctions-2012-presentation-impact-survey/

118. 55% of presenters spend little or no time practicing the delivery. - Jim Endicott, President of Distinction Communication, Inc.
Source: http://www.distinction-services.com/dcoach/2012/02/23/insight-from-distinctions-2012-presentation-impact-survey/

119. Braaains!

120. The number one annoyance has not changed... The speaker read the slides to us. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

121. Presentations are becoming more popular, but they aren’t getting much better

122. Be prepared

123. Edit your slides

124. Practice your speaking skills

125. Watch http://www.ted.com/talks

126. Send us people who can stand up and make a real presentation. We are tired of PowerPoint junkies... they need to also make
great old fashioned presentations. - Prof. Farrokh Langdana, Rutgers Business School

127. Anti Zombie Tip No. 6: Plan and rehearse your presentation

128. Audiences deserve better

129. Audiences expect better

130. Escape the zombie horde!

131. Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie!

132. Review

133. Anti-Zombie Tip No. 1 : Your presentation should have a clear flow and purpose

134. Anti-Zombie Tip No. 2: BLUF Bottom Line Up Front

135. Anti Zombie Tip No. 3: Use textual variation to enhance your message

136. Anti Zombie Tip No. 4: It’s not the numbers. It’s what the numbers mean

137. Anti Zombie Tip No. 5: Look for unusual images from alternative sources

138. Anti Zombie Tip No. 6: Plan and rehearse your presentation

139. Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie!

140. If you like, please share

141. About the Author:
Eric Pesik is the Associate General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Seagate Singapore International Headquarters Pte Ltd. He is
also a former Adjunct Assistant Professor with the University at Buffalo School of Management, State University of New York,
where he taught International Business Law, Politics, & Ethics in their international Executive MBA program at the SIM campus in
Singapore.
He has been a lawyer since 1997 and is admitted to the State Bar in California, the US Court of International Trade in New York,
and the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC. He is a sought-after speaker on legal and compliance issues. You can find many of
his recent presentations on http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/presentations/
Disclaimer:
This work represents the opinions of the author alone, and is not the opinion his employer or clients.

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