Most people worldwide use PowerPoint to prepare presentations. Most people worldwide, however, also hates PowerPoint presentations.
"I’ve never met an audience - in any country - who enjoy watching PowerPoint presentations," says Carmine Gallo, an American speaker and coach who is the author of several international bestsellers on management and presentation skills. Two of his books - The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs - were also published in Czech.
Everybody makes the same mistake
In an article on Forbes.com, Carmine Gallo describes what happened when he asked his audiences in Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Malta, France, Norway, Italy and Thailand the same two questions. The first focused on how many of them were using PowerPoint. Most of them, especially salespeople and marketers, said they did. The second question asked who loved watching PowerPoint presentations and no more than one or two hands were raised.
It is clear that most leaders are not satisfied with how PowerPoint presentations look and are presented. On the other hand, all of them make the same terrible presentations that they dislike in others. The biggest problem is too much text. Carmine Gallo believes that individual points in the form of bullets, which are typical for most of presentations, are the least effective way to transmit information when a speaker wants to inspire or teach the audience.
Pictures instead of words
Try telling a story using pictures in your presentation. The human brain processes visual cues differently than text and words. Multiple brain parts get involved simultaneously and, therefore, communication based on images is much more memorable. While an average presentation includes 40 words in the first slide, the most successful presentations, in the world, do not reach 40 words until the tenth slide.
PowerPoint is a great tool for communicating ideas, but you must know how to use it properly. " Since it’s proven that pictures are more memorable and impactful than words alone, use more of them. Your audience will thank you, in any language," concludes Carmine Gallo.
Books
GALLO, CARMINE: The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2009. 256 p.
GALLO, CARMINE: The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2010. 256 p.
GALLO, CARMINE: Talk Like TED: The 9-Public Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2015. 288 p.
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