Crafting PowerPoint Presentations that Motivate

You have probably attended at least one truly ineffective presentation (chances are you have attended a lot more than one). Often it feels like most presentations are inadequate. There are usually a combination of factors that the presenter has missed including being prepared, conquering fear, and being relevant that lead to this; however there is one other problem that presenters habitually stumble across. That is the use of PowerPoint.

Have you ever been in a presentation when the person doing the speaking is simply reading each slide on the screen? If all they are going to do is read it then why not simply send it to you in an email attachment? Another problem occurs when the presenter says, “I know that you can’t read this, but if you could you would see that…” If the audience can’t read it, then why put it in. Obviously we are in the habit of misusing this tool.

PowerPoint is not the only tool of course. There are a number of great software presentation tools available. In the PC world it is PowerPoint that is dominant. In the Mac world, it is Keynote. These tools can make a presentation fantastic – but they must be used correctly in order to do so. Too often presenters rely too heavily on them, usually because they don’t know better, and their presentations suffer. In order to use presentation software effectively we have to slow down the creation process and carefully structure our presentations before even considering the use of presentation software.

Often individuals equate composing a presentation with creating a PowerPoint file. They can’t conceive the thought of giving a presentation without the use of it. But if PowerPoint really is equivalent to a presentation then how did individuals present before PowerPoint existed? In some cases they used custom slides which contained the headings and illustrations, but most of the time they created a presentation that did not rely as heavily on props.

And that is just what PowerPoint is; a prop!

Props are devices used during presentations to help the audience comprehend and retain points of the presentation. Without them, a presentation should still make sense and be informative. Props are added to an instructive presentation in order to make it that much more effective. This takes place in three key ways:

1. It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. A well placed demonstration during a presentation with a prop can be equally valuable. It could be an image, a chart, a graph, or even a physical device. I often use magic illusions to illustrate points that I am making – but I need to make sure that I already know the point that I am making and ensure that the illusion I am using illustrates or supports it. That is not only true for illusions but for all props including PowerPoint.

2. There are three main ways in which people learn; auditory or those who learn by listening, visual or those who learn by seeing and tactile or those who learn by experiencing. Typically, any individual will have a dominant method – a style that they tend to learn quicker, comprehend more, and retain longer with. If a presentation is solely auditory, that is someone simply speaking before a group; it will cater to the auditory learners, but not to the visual and tactile learners. By effectively incorporating the use of props and imagery a presenter can draw these other audience members in and craft a presentation that meets the needs of the entire audience.

3. People comprehend and retain information more if it is presented in more than one format. For the auditory learner if you tell them something they have a 50% chance of retaining it. If you tell them and then show them the probability of retention increases to 70%. Finally if you include them within the presentation the probability increases again to an astounding 90%. Thus a presentation’s effectiveness can be almost doubled by simply using multiple formats – auditory, visual, and tactile. Props are one effective method of increasing the visual and tactile components of a presentation. PowerPoint can be used particularly well to increase the visual component, but as we will discuss it can also cater to the tactile learners.

So, PowerPoint is simply a prop that can be used during a presentation to help make points through the use of graphics, text, or illustrations. It is not the presentation itself; it is just one optional component of the presentation. In fact, in some situations where PowerPoint has become the standard it might be more effective to not use it during a presentation just to shock and grab your audience’s attention.

So now that we know what PowerPoint is, here are some powerful techniques that we might use:
1. Create a presentation that can stand on its own without any props. In order to do this make sure that it is well structured and relevant for the audience. Once you have created such a presentation you can look for points that can be emphasized by providing a visual component (perhaps a chart, graph, or image).

2. Draw your audience in by asking questions on the PowerPoint but not providing the answers there. In your oral component you can ask the questions and then provide the answers. This will provide not only an oral component for the auditory learner but also a visual component and even a tactile component. The tactile learner will be drawn in by the questions and feel that they are involved in drawing out the answer.

3. Use the PowerPoint to identify the structure of the presentation and where you are as you work through the points of the presentation. This can be particularly Powerful if an individual is comfortable talking in front of the group and knows their subject extremely well. At this point they can develop a natural style of talking about or explaining the slides while following their structure. Note, this is very different from simply reading the slides verbatim.

One crucial point is to make sure that your audience can read whatever you put on the screen. Test it out from different vantage points. Remember, if the audience can’t read it, then it isn’t supporting your presentation and it shouldn’t be there.

By keeping in mind that PowerPoint and other presentation software is a prop that supports your presentation and not the presentation itself you will be able to create talks and demonstrations that are for more effective than those who equate presentation software with the presentation itself. Structure you presentation and make it relevant and you will craft PowerPoint presentations that truly motivate.

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