Powerful Presentations with PowerPoint – Slide Design & Delivery

Should I use slides? The debate on using slides for your presentation has been ongoing for a while now, with credible arguments for both positions. Those who firmly believe in the utility of slides emphasise the value-adding role they can give to your presentations. On the other hand, those who abhor slides simply find them a potential deadweight holding your presentation down, preventing you from securing your audience’s attention. Our answer? The key is always in balance.

We have explored general techniques on how you can deliver a high-impact or business presentation effectively (check out our article here – “Present with Pizzazz!”). This presentation mode, however, continues to vex most of our students, especially those who find themselves having to use PowerPoint slides regularly. Specifically, most of the distress stem from the specific question of how you should interact with your slides when you are presenting. For us, this question requires a response from two important elements – Slide Design and Slide Delivery. The former looks at how you structure your slides itself, from general format to even specific fonts. The latter then consider how your presentation should be delivered, covering elements such as body language or your substantive script. Balancing both aspects is that strong, first step that you need to bring your presentation to the next level!

With this in mind, let us delve deeper into this specific area and share two quick tips you can incorporate in your next presentation!

Tip #1: Pack Your Script, Not Your Slides

Slide Design is more than just choosing a colour palette that is pleasing to your eye (though that is still an important factor to manage). In fact, there are various schools of thought on the best ways to arrange or design your slides. For example, you may have read about the Takahashi Method, made famous by its accidental creator, Masayoshi Takahashi. As the account goes, Takahashi, a programmer, had to deliver a presentation at a conference. Being unfamiliar with the use of PowerPoint, Takahashi decided to design each of his slides to only contain large, relevant words (in black), over a white background. The main concept worth noting from the Takahashi Method was to use the slides in the most pragmatic, economical and efficient method to bring across the points.

Of course, we are not saying that you need to adopt the extreme design style under all the various methods. Rather, the common thread underlying all these methods is the concept of simplicity. The key question to ask yourself when designing your slides is: “How can I present this point with the fewest words possible?”. The answer to that often entails using images to your advantage or ensuring that only a summary is on your slide (instead of a wall of text!).

Your slides can also be reference points for your audience members to keep them in the loop, hence keeping them engaged!

For instance, you can keep the slide *below* (using some images, and as few words as possible) on the screen as you verbally delve into the 3 main points on “What Mindfulness is all about”

If you prefer having that text on your slide to guide you, try shifting the content to your script instead or the “Notes” area for your PowerPoint slides. The audience should receive the bulk of the information from you instead of the slides.

Tip #2: Stay in Control while Interacting with Your Slides

We have previously covered the use of transition phrases or even check-in slides to show that you are the control centre for your presentation (instead of your slides). Another method you can use to establish that same focus is to adopt purposeful stage positionings. Think about where you are standing on the presentation stage, relative to your slides. For example, to bring the attention back to you, you can combine a relevant transition phrase (e.g. “Let me share a story at this point …”) and an overt act of physically stepping away from your slides.

Our caveat is obvious – your use of stage positionings depend on the context of your presentation. A large-scale presentation with a gigantic digital set-up for your slides may benefit more from stage positioning than a small, informal or intimate presentation. Tailor your planned movement based on the size of the audience or the presentation hall. For example, using your hands to indicate movement from the slide may be sufficient for a small-scale presentation. You can start experimenting with various stage positioning or body language cues to draw the attention (and control) back to you!

*** …but not SO overt ***

Final Thought:

Your Slides can be Your Best Friend

Presenting with slides can be daunting, especially if this is not something you are entirely comfortable with (or worse still, someone has forced this task upon you!). The solution does not require you to conduct a complete overhaul of your delivery style or content. Instead, think about the straightforward, implementable and efficient steps you can take to improve both elements of Slide Design and Slide Delivery. Find a safe, low-stakes scenario to incorporate one of our tips here today and share with us how your slides became your best friend in your presentation!

If you’re keen to take your public speaking & presentation skills (either business/corporate presentation or kids in-class presentation) to the next level so that you may public speak and present with flair and charisma, feel free to check out our offerings below!

For more about our Public Speaking Course for Adults :

https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/courses-and-programs/group-classes-for-adults/

For more about our Public Speaking Course for Kids / Children:

https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/group-classes-students-age-9-18/