New Jersey Enterpreneur - Small Business, Entrepreneurs and Venture Capital

Want your presentations to smack your audience with impact?

Great idea, right? Well, here’s the number one change you can make today: Skip the PowerPoint.

Granted, that’s rather contrarian. PowerPoint has become a ubiquitous business tool. It’s hard to go to a presentation, sales call, trade show booth, elevator pitch or other business scenario and not see a computerized slide show.

But, all too often, people use the software as a crutch.

Now, I’m not completely opposed to PowerPoint. In fact, at times, I use the software. It does serve a valuable purpose. The problem comes when people communicate with a slide show rather than a purpose and a deep understanding of the content they want to share.

Often the slide show is used as an alternate to a comprehensive, thought out presentation

One reason slide shows fail is that they all look and sound the same. When someone sits through a day of presentations, it’s hard to differentiate any one of them. That’s why – depending on your audience, situation, and objectives – we sometimes tell clients to ditch the slide show. Instead, we look for oversized tools, 3D imaging, interactive elements and tools that complement video or slide presentations.

For example, we once helped a client produce a year-end review by developing a mock Jeopardy game … instead of yet another slide show. In another example, we created a presentation that was delivered in a model helicopter. It takes much more time and thought to present information without a computerized slide show. But the results are worth it because you gain the audience’s attention quickly and make your message memorable. That, in turn, motivates listeners to take the action you require.

Of course, there are still times slide shows work best. But to be effective, you need to apply traditional presentation development skills. Sometimes, it helps to even write these by hand on paper. Before turning to a computer, write down key elements such as:

1. Who is your audience?
2. Why are they in the room?
3. What take-aways do you want them to hear?
4. What content is crucial?

Once you’ve answered these questions, outline your presentation.

Keep in mind the traditional adage: tell them what you’re going to tell them … tell them … tell them what you’ve told them. It’s a great formula that works. Until you complete this process, no slide show can be developed from a results-based perspective.

Common Slide Show Mistakes

One reason we discourage automatically turning to slideshow software is because people don’t maintain good communication practices when putting together their presentations. Just because an entrepreneur knows her new service perfectly, that doesn’t necessarily qualify as being ready to present information in a way that will entice investors. As you prepare your presentations, consider ways to avoid these common mistakes.

It’s a crutch. Too often, people use the slide show as a replacement for, not a complement to, their presentation. If your slides are packed with so much detail and information that you don’t need to be there, just send the slide show and stay home.

Information overload. Many presenters get carried away with their slides because they are so easy to make. So the audience suffers "slide-count creep" as the quantity of slides slowly grows from 5 to 15 to 25 to who-knows-how-many. I have seen slide shows with dozens of slides. The presenters even call them "decks" as in a reference to a deck of cards. Well, if you have that many slides, I guarantee you have too many. Throw away all but the essential details that complement the speaker. There’s no finite rule on the number of slides to use. But generally speaking, a 30 minute talk needs no more than 8-10 slides.

Poor design. Remember, people looking at your slides have to have something worth looking at or their attention will wane. I’ve sat through presentations with slides that are completely filled with details. There is a common mistake where presenters feel a need to fill every square inch of the slide with "stuff." That approach simply doesn’t work. You need to create an inviting design that guides the reader.

Graphic mishmash. Not only should your slide be well laid out, there should be a consistent look and feel to the pages. Use a consistent graphic approach to your type, charts, graphics and other elements. This supports readability and understanding.

Over Programming. Naturally, you need to develop your presentation to the audience. Sometimes sound effects are appropriate. Sometimes they are not. Sometimes slide transitions are required. Sometimes not. Use this rule of thumb: When you use a special effect, make sure it has a purpose and directly supports your objectives for the presentation. Make them effective and use them sparingly to increase the impact.

You can improve the impact your presentations make using advanced planning, creative thinking and professional design techniques that effectively use the software that creates slide presentations. It’s harder, longer work. But the effort will help you create presentations that generate the results you’re looking for.

Roger A. Shapiro is the president/creative director of Mitchell Rose, LLC. He founded the full-service creative consultancy in 1997 to help clients improve the results they get from their marketing budgets. During the ensuing decade, Mitchell Rose has helped many clients achieve business goals through the strategic use of concepts, copy and design. In addition, Roger has authored a book on copywriting, "Write Right, 26 Tips to Improve Your Writing. Dramatically," and speaks often on marketing strategy and creative approaches that achieve results. To learn more about Mitchell Rose’s results-based creative, please contact Roger by e-mail at RogerShapiro@MitchellRose.net or by phone at 609-434-0030.