Too Much Text!

This is probably the most common mistake made -- people treat PowerPoint slides as though they are meant to be read. Yes, that's right. Nobody should actually have to read your slides. If I come to listen to a presentation (perhaps even with the proceedings in front of me), I don't expect to be faced with a novel-per-slide as well. Slides are there to supplement and to illustrate, and attendees shouldn't have to do more than glance at them. Slides are not there to present data. Ever.

The bottom line is that the content should be delivered by the speaker, not the screen. I suspect the problem of putting in too much text spawns from people who don't take time to prepare the presentation properly. You should have the presentation at least roughly planned before touching PowerPoint, otherwise it becomes a crutch instead of a tool.

Reading from the slides

This is one of my great pet-hates, and it goes hand-in-hand with the point above: presenters who stand there and read out what's on the PowerPoint slide, word-for-word. There is bound to be some overlap of course, and if you are talking about something totally different than what's on the slide, then that's a bit silly too. This is really just another symptom of somebody preparing their presentation in PowerPoint, instead of planning it in advance. (I know, we're all busy... but if you don't have time to do a presentation properly, then there really isn't any point giving it.)

It's not so bad if you refer to a computer screen in front of you, or if you occasionally turn to point something out on the screen... but for goodness sake, don't keep your shoulder or back to the audience the whole time as you crane your neck to read something being projected behind you. If nothing else, it's just plain rude!

Reciting a script

I fully appreciate that some people prefer to prepare everything word-by-word, delivering an exactly calculated presentation, and others simply don't have the confidence (either personally or in a particular language) to work without a script. That is OK, so long as you make periodic eye contact with your audience, and actually sound interested in what you're saying. The main culprits of this are people who haven't learned to deal with their insecurity, and end up making a recitation so dull it would act like a post-mortem sedative.

A word of advice for insecure presenters: working from a script only makes your insecurity worse. Trust me. Notes are fine, but with a script, you will spend the whole time worrying about getting every word in the right order, and the slightest interruption can completely shatter your concentration. Learn to ad lib, at least a little. You won't learn how to be good until you first learn how to make mistakes, so deal with it!

Too much stuff

This was a particular problem as VS Games: presentations which were too long for the allotted time. It is very difficult to plan exactly to time, particularly if you're not an experienced public speaker. (I can hardly claim to be a veteran in this area, but I've been round the block a few times now.) You don't need to cover every point. It's OK to skip things, because you are not trying to convey every drop of information all at once. I find the best approach is to put in some key areas which will let you waffle a bit... you can optionally talk at greater or lesser length about something which is not desperately important. That allows you to expand or contract the time as necessary.

Practice is important too. Do several run-throughs of your material, so you know roughly how long it will last, and you can make adjustments if necessary. In regard to PowerPoint slides, also consider the size of your presentation. If you have 60 slides for a 15 minute presentation, then you are going to be changing slides every 15 seconds. If you manage that, you are probably talking too fast.

Faster than a speeding bullet

Slow down!

This once again goes along with having a script to recite, and just having too much stuff... people feel the need to rattle on at a million miles per hour. There is absolutely no point in talking at all if nobody can keep up with what you are saying, so it is better to slow down, even if you manage to convey less.

Having said that, you can convey more material with fewer words quite easily... if you choose your words correctly.

Death by PowerPoint

Thankfully, none of this happened at VS Games. It is the cardinal sin of PowerPoint, and it used to happen all the time. Slide after slide of spinning, whizzing, whooshing, flashing, sliding text and clipart.

Nice simple slide transitions = good.

Sensory pantomime on every slide = bad.

Conclusion

Here's the summary of lessons:

1. Plan your presentation before using PowerPoint


2. Be familiar with your material


3. Do not include data on your slides (except maybe some nice visual graphs)


4. Keep your text minimal.


5. Practice. Practice. Practice.