Any school child knows the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Yet, when it comes to creating PowerPoint presentations, many of us can’t resist the temptation to pack slides full of bulleted text. This is a mistake for 2 reasons.
First, text-heavy slides lack the emotional impact and “entertainment value” required to hold an audience’s interest and bring plain facts to life. That’s a serious shortcoming, when you consider the growing body of evidence indicating that decisions, including buying decisions, are based at least as much on emotion as they are on intellect.
The second reason that slides shouldn’t be text heavy is that reading through the text can distract the audience from what the presenter is saying. The result is that 2 different messages compete for the audience’s attention, causing confusion and even frustration.
The trick is to reevaluate your presentation, regarding every slide as the opportunity to create a poster or advertisement for the message you are trying to deliver. You’ll find that a powerful headline with a clear, dynamic graphic image will arrest the audience’s attention, supporting, rather than competing with, the presenter. And, because there won’t be any bullets to read, presenters will be compelled to verbalize content in their own words—an approach that typically yields far more personality and conviction.
To learn more, contact Allan Trent at atrent@natrelusa.com or call 973-292-8400.
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