I just finished writing a speech and building a PowerPoint presentation for a client. (How ubiquitous PowerPoint is these days!) This is a speech designed to persuade the audience to use the services of an organization which they distrust and fear. This is a speech that needs to be persuasive, comforting and inspirational. But...you guessed it...it HAD to have an accompanying deck of PowerPoint slides. Does anyone else see a disconnect here?
There are certainly places where PowerPoint can enhance a presentation. It can be a good reference to keep the audience on topic; it can show a picture with more flair than by handing out a paper copy; it can aid comprehension by visually displaying numbers in a chart or graph. But motivate....inspire....persuade....I think not.
ARE WE AFRAID?
Why are we so reluctant to just TALK to our audience? Are we afraid of having all eyes on us? Are we afraid we really don't have much (enough?) to say? Are we afraid we'll forget half of our points if we can't read them off the screen? Are we afraid we'd show too much passion for our message without the passion-less structure of the PowerPoint template? Are we afraid of our audience?
If an alien from another (non-PowerPoint-enabled) planet happened into any presentation around the country, she would certainly think so.
THE 10/20/30 RULE
Even in the rarefied world of venture capitalists, where presenters deliver intense make or break pitches, there is apparently still, according to Guy Kawasaki, far too much dependency on the technical wizardry of PowerPoint and not enough emphasis on grabbing the audience's hearts and imagination. Kawasaki, author, VC and avowed Apple evangelist, offers us the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint...wonderfully valid for any presentation...even ones not asking for money.
APPEAL TO HEARTS TOO
Seth Godin, in his post on Really Bad PowerPoint, says:
"You can wreck a communication process with lousy logic or unsupported facts, but you can't complete it without emotion."
In every presentation you are persuading and motivating your audience to do something. So to appeal to minds and hearts instead of just minds, eliminate or at least minimize the PowerPoint slides. With the extra time you've saved, focus instead on:
- crafting illustrations, anecdotes and stories that make your message come alive
- researching what the audience knows about your topic, what they need/want to know and what you can say that will resonate most strongly
- choosing the most powerful words you can find
I can't think of a better conclusion to my rant on PowerPoint than to share this cartoon with you, found on Laura Fitton's provocative blog Great Presentations Mean Business.
Great post! Complementary to Chip & Dan Heath's insights in Made to Stick
Posted by: KareAnderson | June 19, 2007 at 05:41 PM