Destroy PowerPoint Zombies! by @EricPesik Have you ever felt trapped in a bad PowerPoint presentation? Ever listen to a speaker drone on like a zombie? Do boring uninspiring slides leave you feeling like the walking dead? Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie! Here are 6 tips to avoid Death by PowerPoint!

Have you ever felt trapped in a bad PowerPoint presentation?

What makes PowerPoint so unpleasant?

Audience Complaints: (1) reading the slide, (2) text too small, (3) too many words, (4) overly complex diagrams, (5) poor color choice, (6) no clear purpose, (7) no flow of ideas; Data source: www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

The experience is so common there is a word for it “Death by Powerpoint”

Are you a PowerPoint Zombie?

Braaains!

Are you a PowerPoint Zombie? (1) unclear purpose, (2) mind numbing wall of text and bullets, (3) ugly design, (4) unintelligible charts and graphs, (5) boring clipart and stock photos, (6) mindless rambling

Are you a PowerPoint Zombie? (1) unclear purpose, (2) mind numbing wall of text and bullets, (3) ugly design, (4) unintelligible charts and graphs, (5) boring clipart and stock photos, (6) mindless rambling

Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie!

6 tips to cure bad PowerPoint

Zombie PowerPoint Symptom #1: Unclear purpose

The Disease: Zombies have no purpose

The Cure: Know your purpose - your presentation should have a clear flow and purpose

Your purpose is not what you want to say

Focus on your audience: (1) what do the want to hear? (2) what do they need to hear? (3) what is entertaining

What is your one key takeaway point? Prepare you call to action!

Audiences really want you to craft a clear message that has a flow and purpose. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

If you can’t clearly state what you want to accomplish, you are not ready. Postpone or cancel

Once you know your purpose and key points, start planning in analog

Turn off the computer. Don’t plan in PowerPoint

Working in analog helps keep you focused and on point

Why are audiences bored? Because they don’t understand the message and feel they are wasting their time. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

Anti-Zombie Tip No. 1 : Your presentation should have a clear flow and purpose

Zombie PowerPoint Symptom #2: Mind numbing wall of text and bullets

The Disease: Zombies vomit text and bullet points

Bad PowerPoint slide example

Bad PowerPoint slide example

Bad PowerPoint slide example

The Cure: B.L.U.F. - Bottom Line Up Front

Place communications and recommendations at the beginning of each slide

Then delete everything else on the slide

Example: Bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla, . . . therefore, we should vaccinate against zombies

Don’t do this

Bottom line up front

Vaccinate or Die!

1 BLUF per slide - 1 short line summarizing each conclusion or recommendations

Think of you slides as a series of billboards

One message per sign

Make it big enough to be read from the back of the room

Save the wordy details for your spoken delivery

Or put it in backup slides

If you ever hear yourself say, “I know you can’t read this,” just turn off the projector. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

Anti-Zombie Tip No. 2: BLUF Bottom Line Up Front

Zombie PowerPoint Symptom No. 3: Ugly Design

The Disease: Zombies don’t care about design

The Cure: Blend text and images to illustrate your point - put creative thought into your design

Look at other presentations for inspiration: Source: http://www.slideshare.net/featured/category/presentations-public-speaking

Use “blank” page layout to create your own pages

Use text creatively

95% of design is typography. Source: https://ia.net/know-how/the-web-is-all-about-typography-period

This is Calibri; This is Times Roman; This is Arial; This is Comic Sans

This is Face Your Fears; This is Troika; This is Berlin Sans

This is also Troika

This is also Troika

This is also Face Your Fears

Typical typeface, but color and size variation adds interest. From Asia’s Increased Competitive Landscape - HR Implications on Talent Attraction and Retention http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/asias-increased-competitive-landscape-hr-implications-on-talent-attraction-and-retention

More typical typefaces with color and weight variation. From Effective Internal Controls by @EricPesikhttp://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/effective-internal-controls-14459584

Multiple typefaces. From Fighting Global Corruption by @EricPesikhttp://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/fighting-global-corruption

Multiple typefaces. From J.P. Morgan and the Princelings of China by @ericpesik http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/jp-morgan-and-the-princelings-of-china-by-ericpesik

Unusual typefaces plus variation. From this presentation Zombie Powerpoint http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/zombie-powerpoint-by-ericpesik

But don’t over-do it with too much variation. Stick to 2-3 fonts and colors

According to Microsoft... at least 30 million PowerPoint presentations are made each day. Source: Alexei Kapterev, Death by PowerPoint http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint/

Most use the same default templates, fonts, and colors

Anti Zombie Tip No. 3: Use textual variation to enhance your message

Zombie PowerPoint Symptom #3: Unintelligible charts and graphs

The Disease: Zombies can’t communicate data

Bad PowerPoint slide example

Bad PowerPoint slide example

Bad PowerPoint slide example

The Cure: It’s not the numbers - it’s what the numbers mean - your data should support your message

Use data to support your message. (1) Actual slide from a presentation, (2) The real message of all those numbers. Source: http://www.slideshare.net/thinkoutsidetheslide/the-state-of-financial-presentations-2014-survey-results

Don’t read the numbers on the slide. Explain why the numbers are important. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

Case Study No. 1

How often is executive management involved in bribery?

Raw data from http://www.oecd.org/corruption/oecd-foreign-bribery-report-9789264226616-en.htm

Typical default chart

Re-colored to emphasize relevant data

Do the math for the audience

Info-Graphic Style

Case Study No. 2

Is internet usage associated with bribery?

Raw data from http://www.acfe.com/rttn-archive.aspx

Typical default chart

Simplify

Remove unnecessary elements

Remove unnecessary elements

Make it bigger

Make it bolder

I prefer sorting large to small

Use color to emphasize relevant data

Do the math for the audience

Don’t tell the audience. Show the audience

PowerPoint slides crammed with data in tiny, unreadable font... The result? Slides from Hell. - Prof. Stanley Ridgley, Drexel University, LeBow College of Business

Anti Zombie Tip No. 4: It’s not the numbers. It’s what the numbers mean

Zombie PowerPoint Symptom No. 5: Boring clipart and stock photos

The Disease: Zombies don’t appreciate images

Bad PowerPoint slide example

Bad PowerPoint slide example

Bad PowerPoint slide example

Braaains!

The Cure: Look for unusual images from alternative sources - use images that support your message

https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/by-2.0/

http://www.morguefile.com/

http://picography.co/

http://getrefe.tumblr.com/

http://publicdomainarchive.com/

Fill your full screen with action!

...or leave blank space for drama

If you feel tempted to use a picture of two hands shaking in front of a globe, put the pencil down, step away from the desk, and think about taking a vacation... - Nancy Duarte, Source: Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Deliveryhttp://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Delivery-Edition/dp/0321811984

Anti Zombie Tip No. 5: Look for unusual images from alternative sources

Zombie PowerPoint Symptom No. 6: Mindless Rambling

Braaains!

The Disease: Zombies don’t plan or rehearse

The Cure: Plan and rehearse your presentation - audiences expect better delivery skills

Good presentations take time to prepare

86% of top executives say that communicating with clarity directly impacts their career and income. Yet only 25% spend more than 2 hours on ‘high-stakes’ presentations. - Jim Endicott, President of Distinction Communication, Inc. Source: http://www.distinction-services.com/dcoach/2012/02/23/insight-from-distinctions-2012-presentation-impact-survey/

55% of presenters spend little or no time practicing the delivery. - Jim Endicott, President of Distinction Communication, Inc. Source: http://www.distinction-services.com/dcoach/2012/02/23/insight-from-distinctions-2012-presentation-impact-survey/

Braaains!

The number one annoyance has not changed... The speaker read the slides to us. - Dave Paradi, ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com

Presentations are becoming more popular, but they aren’t getting much better

Be prepared

Edit your slides

Practice your speaking skills

Watch http://www.ted.com/talks

Send us people who can stand up and make a real presentation. We are tired of PowerPoint junkies... they need to also make great old fashioned presentations. - Prof. Farrokh Langdana, Rutgers Business School

Anti Zombie Tip No. 6: Plan and rehearse your presentation

Audiences deserve better

Audiences expect better

Escape the zombie horde!

Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie!

Review

Anti-Zombie Tip No. 1 : Your presentation should have a clear flow and purpose

Anti-Zombie Tip No. 2: BLUF Bottom Line Up Front

Anti Zombie Tip No. 3: Use textual variation to enhance your message

Anti Zombie Tip No. 4: It’s not the numbers. It’s what the numbers mean

Anti Zombie Tip No. 5: Look for unusual images from alternative sources

Anti Zombie Tip No. 6: Plan and rehearse your presentation

Don’t be a PowerPoint zombie!

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About the Author: Eric Pesik is the Associate General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Seagate Singapore International Headquarters Pte Ltd. He is also a former Adjunct Assistant Professor with the University at Buffalo School of Management, State University of New York, where he taught International Business Law, Politics, & Ethics in their international Executive MBA program at the SIM campus in Singapore. He has been a lawyer since 1997 and is admitted to the State Bar in California, the US Court of International Trade in New York, and the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC. He is a sought-after speaker on legal and compliance issues. You can find many of his recent presentations on http://www.slideshare.net/ericpesik/presentations/ Disclaimer: This work represents the opinions of the author alone, and is not the opinion his employer or clients.

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