How to Tell if a PowerPoint Presentation is Boring

As PowerPoint and similar technologies take the world by storm, they provide great opportunities for less boring presentations. Rather than staring at a black-and-white table with lines of numbers indicating financial adjustments, the captive audience at meetings can see a variety of color and action.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Finish the presentation. Put everything in order. Dot the i's and cross the t's.

2. Take a last glance at the collected slides. Look for typos and screen errors.

3. Now go through the slides again slowly. Read the information to yourself as it would be presented. Think about aspects like timing and pivotal interest points.

4. Revise. Go back and cut out unnecessary information or anything you think should go.

5. Get an outside opinion. Subject nearby colleagues to a preview or send the slides to a friend far away.

6. Revise again, based on your audience feedback. But take care that the outside advice doesn't overpower your own goals for the presentation. Take everything with a grain of salt, and put together the PowerPoint presentation you want.

Tips & Warnings

• Think about the amount of time any slide will be on-screen. Part of moving along a presentation is not getting stuck on any one slide. A maximum-seconds guideline might help.
• Don't be afraid to add more graphics. They don't have to be cheesy, or even topical, in fact. Some say even simple colored bars work to create interest.
• Find ways to inject pre-made animations into your slide show. Again, the emphasis should be on good taste. Animated GIFs and possibly even Flash projects can be added to a PowerPoint presentation if you can find relevant animated content.
• Consider the vocals. Don't drone on. It doesn't mean you need to act like an MC either. Just make sure vocal levels are varied to meet the content of the presentation.

Resources

• Site includes index of PowerPoint tips.
• Advice for tech presentations.