PowerPoint Progress

June 24, 2005 | Filed Under Technology, Organization 

CEO/Blogger Michael Hyatt gives some excellent suggestions for making PowerPoint presentations more effective. Who among us hasn’t sat in a darkened room while an erstwhile “presenter” has read screen after screen of tiny text? It’s almost like watching a Teleprompter.

My favorite from Mr. Hyatt:

Rule #4: Remember, less is more. Fancy slide transitions and fly-ins get old quickly. I strongly recommend that you keep things simple. A basic dissolve from one slide to another is sufficient. Have all your bullets appear at once rather than one at a time.

A handy list of resources appears at the end of the article.

This cleverly-named publication offers a more sinister take on PowerPoint by noted information visionary Edward Tufte.

I try to use PowerPoint mostly for graphical information, since it can drive discussion. As for text, if I can’t bother taking the time to be familiar with my presentation, why should my audience bother to listen?