14.7 Using Visual Media

A book like this is not the best way to learn how to use presentation software (PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, and others), but I can at least cover some basic principles and traps to avoid.

Before you even start your slideshow, it’s worth checking whether the audience can see the rest of your desktop, and if so, is there anything there you don’t want them to see? Even if it’s not as embarrassing as a website tab that you don’t want people to know you visit, it can still be a distraction or send an unintended message (such as that you’re a messy person).

I remember a presentation from a high-level university executive who was urging us to get in touch with her if we ran into any problems. She hooked her computer to a projector, then opened up her email account to access the slideshow she wanted to present. The problem was that the brief glimpse into her email account revealed over 12,000 unread emails in her inbox, which sent the unintended message “If you email me, I will never see it.”

Don’t compete against your slides. You might be tempted to include all the words you want to say on your slides. As I mentioned, this can be overwhelming for the audience, and raises the question: if they can read the whole speech from your slides, what are you there for? There’s also the speed question: people generally read faster than speakers speak, and as soon as you put a slide up, they will start reading it. They might reach your final point by the time you’re just getting to the second line, and you’re just noise in the background making it more difficult to concentrate on what they’re reading. There are different animation options that allow you to control what they read when, but that doesn’t address the duplication issue: are the words on the screen helping, or getting in the way of them listening to you? Another possibility is that you’re not just reading what’s on screen, but saying something different, which brings up the question: where does your audience’s attention go? Brain research shows that it can’t go in two places at once, so they have to pick between reading or listening.

You might try using only a few slides, and stay on each one for a long time before moving to the next. This can, however, be visually frustrating for the audience, and create the sense that the speech is going on forever. It may be better to just go to black, so they look at you instead of staring at a screen that is not giving them anything.

You can also think of the slides differently: if the main points come from your voice, what job can the slides have instead? If you replace words with images, they can perform a different function than the text of the speech: illustrating and enriching your points, and engaging your audience in a different way.

Don’t overload the slides. Some presenters believe in the 6×6 rule: no more than six words on each line, and six lines on the slide — a maximum of 36 words per slide. I find this too restrictive, but I do try to keep the font size at least at 32 points, which allows for maybe eight lines, with eight words per line.

High contrast. I try hard to avoid anything that strains the eyes, which includes not only small font sizes but low-contrast colors: a pale pastel font color against a pale pastel background, or a dark blue font against a black background. I generally aim for a dark font against a lightly colored but not distracting background.

Not too much dazzle. Do you like to use fancy wipes, zooms, and fades? Is that to appeal to the visual learners, especially if you think the points in your speech aren’t very interesting? Animation can keep your audience’s attention, but can also easily distract or annoy, especially if it has no apparent purpose. Look at each element on your slides and ask, does it help your audience grasp the points of your speech, or does it get in the way?

Don’t turn around to read off of the screen. The worst thing you can do during a slideshow is to turn your back on the audience so you can see the slides; the audience won’t be able to hear your voice clearly, and won’t see your face. And if you sound surprised at what pops up on the screen (“Oh, I guess next we’re going to be talking about…”), that’s a dead giveaway that you don’t know your own speech well. Most presentation apps have a mode where you can see the upcoming slide.

Don’t forget to stop screen sharing as soon as you can. I have seen too many Zoom presentations in recent years where the speaker is just one tiny box because they are sharing their slides. That’s fine while the slides are being used, but once the slide show is over, I want to go back to seeing the person (and maybe other meeting participants) at a reasonable size, which means stopping the screen sharing function instead of keeping us all looking at the “Thank you! Email me at ____” final slide.

Sometimes posters serve your purpose better than slide shows, such as in court or the Senate floor, where you want the audience to be able to see an exhibit for an extended time. There are times when physical props can be very effective, too. Just keep in mind the potential risks of dropping something or knocking it over.