Friends Don’t Let Friends Abuse Power Point

“Blasphemy!” I said. I always followed the rules. I never used too many lines per slide. I never used more than five words per line. I always used a dark background with a light font or a light background with a dark font. I never used clip art. My PowerPoint presentations were textbook and to challenge my use of it was to challenge my very being.

PowerPoint is a household name, and even though other presentation software exists, I’m guessing that most of us couldn’t say what they are. According to Jerry Weissman, author of the book Presenting to Win, there are more than 30 million PowerPoint presentations given every day. But, as my friend explained, just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it a good idea.

There are two kinds of PowerPoint users. First, there is the speaker who used to be charismatic and interesting before using PowerPoint. Second, there is the speaker who was never interesting to begin with, and now, with the help of PowerPoint, he or she can project those same uninteresting topics onto a wall in conveniently unattractive bullet-point form. As Tad Simmons, editor-in-chief of Presentations magazine, suggests in his article, “Does PowerPoint Make You Stupid?” if you have nothing to say, PowerPoint will help you say it.

Let’s discuss how PowerPoint can kill charisma. Take, for example, this excerpt from former Notre Dame Football Coach Knute Rockne’s famous “Win One for the Gipper" speech:

“None of you ever knew George Gipp… But you know what a tradition he is at Notre Dame. And the last thing he said to me: ‘Rock, sometime, when the team is up against it - and the breaks are beating the boys - tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper... I don't know where I'll be then, Rock, but I'll know about it - and I'll be happy.’"

Look what happens when we put it in PowerPoint form.

Slide one: George Gipp – A Notre Dame Tradition
Slide two: Where we are now

• Up against it
• Breaks beating boys

Slide three: Where we want to be

• Giving all we’ve got
• Winning one for the Gipper

Slide four: In conclusion

• Gipp will know we won
• Winning will make him happy

If PowerPoint could destroy one of the most inspirational sports speeches of all time, imagine what it’s doing to your speech about projected sales growth.

Now let’s examine how PowerPoint can act as a crutch to less-experienced speakers. PowerPoint gives these individuals an excuse to avoid eye contact with the audience by giving them the opportunity to read the text line-for-line off of the screen. In addition, the rigid form of PowerPoint isn’t conducive to sharing anecdotal evidence with the audience. The speaker is more likely to stick to the information presented on the slide than tell a funny story that helps the audience relate to that information. Nuanced subjects are broken down into overly simplified bullet points.

What’s worse, if a member of the audience has a question, the order of the presentation may need to change. The speaker fumbles trying to find the right slide and fumbles again when trying to get back on track. What will this person do if the computer crashes? Will he or she be prepared to address the crowd?

Despite its downfalls, it is important to remember that PowerPoint, when used appropriately, can be a useful tool. PowerPoint is a visual medium, it works great for pictures and easy-to-understand graphs. Let’s say you traveled to New Orleans to assist with the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and were asked to give a speech to the local Rotary Club on your experiences there. Instead of listing the horrifying statistics in bullet-point formula, simply say them. The numbers are sobering enough as they are; projecting them on a screen doesn’t make them any more effective. Instead, when talking about the devastation, flash a picture on the screen of a shattered house and fallen trees. The bottom line: Avoid text on your slides as much as possible. If you can read it, just say it. Your audience isn’t in kindergarten; they don’t want to be read to, they want to be spoken to.

At the end of the day, it’s still OK to use PowerPoint, but instead of 20-30 slides at an average rate of 45 seconds per slide, try cutting it down to 4 or 5 slides at an average rate of five minutes per slide. You’ll notice a drastic improvement of the quality in your presentations and, more importantly, so will your audience.

The next time you see a friend get behind a keyboard to prepare a speech, remember that you have an obligation to step in and take away his or her mouse. Your friend may start to argue with you, but you’re not only saving the presenter, you’re saving the life of everyone who has to listen to the speech.

Ethan Ax is an Account Executive with Sherman & Co. Public Relations who specializes in speech writing and presentation coaching. He will be leading an interactive seminar on giving effective presentations in Indianapolis on October 25. To attend, call 317-923-6775 or contact him at ethan@shermanandcompany.net.