Life After Death by PowerPoint presented by Chris Shade
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Incorporate social media into a presentation. Some studies claim that posting during
a presentation increases engagement from the audience.
If you want to try it, create a hashtag for the presentation and ask people to use it
before the start of your talk.
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The brain doesn’t pay attention to boring things, and I am as sick of boring
presentations as you are. Brain Rules (BR)92
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Do not read the text word for word off the slide. Audiences can read, so why do
presenters insist on reading long lines of text from slides? Also, it is very difficult — if
not impossible — to read a slide and listen to someone talk at the same time. So
again, why all the text on slides these days? One reason may be that it is convenient
for the speaker when organizing the presentation to write out his/her thoughts one
bullet point at a time. But as Yale professor and visual communications specialist,
Edward Tufte points out in a September Wired Magazine article “…convenience for
the speaker can be punishing to both content and audience.” Speakers also may be
thinking that their wordy slides will make for better handouts, a common “handout”
technique. However, the confining, horizontal orientation of a slide (one slide after
another) makes for difficult writing and reading. Which brings us to the next point
below.
Presentation Zen: How to Design & Deliver Presentations Like a Pro
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Do not use PowerPoint slides as your note cards. If you need note cards, make note
cards.
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Some classic examples of Death by PowerPoint…
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If you are doing this…
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Before the first quarter-hour is over in a typical presentation, people usually have
checked out. BR74
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Provided by Education Service Center Region
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We’ve simply got into a bad habit of misusing PowerPoint.

Backgrounds are intended as a surface on which to place elements. They are not in
themselves a work of art. PZ118
Avoid using Microsoft templates. Most of the templates included in PowerPoint have
already been seen by your audience countless times (and besides, the templates are
not all that great to begin with).
Presentation Zen: How to Design & Deliver Presentations Like a Pro
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https://www.inc.com/carmine-gallo/how-googles-ceo-creates-brain-friendly-
presentations.html
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https://www.inc.com/carmine-gallo/jeff-bezos-bans-powerpoint-in-meetings-his-
replacement-is-brilliant.html
Bullet points are the least effective way of sharing ideas. Bullets don't inspire. Stories
do. Simply put, the brain is not built to retain information that's structured as bullet
points on a slide. It's well-known among neuroscientists that we recall things much
better when when we see pictures of the object or topic than when we read text on a
slide. Visuals are much, much more powerful than text alone. That's why, if you
choose to use slides, use more pictures than words--and don't use bullet points. Ever.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbSPPFYxx3o
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Reduce the text on your slides to an absolute minimum. The best slides may have no
text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but the
best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless with out the narration (that is
you). Remember, the slides are suppose to support/supplement the narration of the
speaker, not make the speaker superfluous. Yes, it is true that many people often say
something like this: “Sorry I missed your presentation, Steve. I hear it was great. Can
you just send me your PowerPoint slides?” Well, you could. But if they are good
slides, they may be of little use without you.
Presentation Zen: How to Design & Deliver Presentations Like a Pro
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Written documents (research papers, handouts, executive summaries, etc.) are for
the expanded details. Audiences will be much better served receiving a detailed,
written handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of
your PowerPoint slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience
to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint
slides with a great deal of text.
Presentation Zen: How to Design & Deliver Presentations Like a Pro
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10-minute rule
Given the tendency of an audience to check out 20% of the way into a presentation, I
knew I initially had only about 600 seconds to earn the right to be heard—or the next
hour would be useless. I needed something after the 601st second to “buy” another
10 minutes.
After 9 minutes and 59 seconds, the audience’s attention is getting ready to plummet
to near zero. They need something so compelling that they blast through the 10-
minute barrier and move on to new ground—something that triggers an orienting
response toward the speaker and captures executive functions, allowing efficient
learning. BR91
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3 second rule
Presentations are a “glance media”—more closely related to billboards than other
media. The audience should be able to quickly ascertain the meaning before turning
their attention back to the presenter. Slide:ology(S:O)140
Pretend you are riding in your parents car on the way home from school. I want you
notice the billboards on your way home. When we get home, I want you to tell me
what the billboards are selling. Ready?
Keep your presentation slides simple because research proves that people learn more
effectively from multimedia messages when they’re stripped of extraneous words,
graphics, animation, and sounds. The extra artifacts actually take away meaning
because they become a distraction. They overtax the audience’s cognitive resources.
Each slide should pass the glance test: People should be able to comprehend your
slide in 3 seconds. Think of your slides as billboards. When people drive, they only
briefly take their eyes off their main focus, which is the road, to process a billboard of
information. Similarly, your audience should focus intently on what you’re saying,
looking only briefly at your slides when you display them.
https://www.duarte.com/create-presentation-slides-people-can-get-in-3-seconds/
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What caught your eye?
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The right hemisphere is the picture; the left hemisphere is the thousand words. A
Whole New Mind (AWNM)19
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Picture Superiority Effect
If information is presented orally, people remember about 10%, tested 72 hours after
exposure. That figure goes up to 65% if you add a picture. PZ234
The more visual the input becomes, the more likely it is to be recognized—and
recalled: the pictorial superiority effect.
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The brain continuously scans the sensory horizon, with events constantly assessed for
their potential interest or importance. BR76
This is biology and goes back to our origins on the savannah. Our ancestors had to
use visual stimuli to survive being eaten.
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Brain rules
Regardless of who you are, the brain pays a great deal of attention to these
questions:
Can I eat it? Will it eat me?
Can I mate with it? Will it mate with me?
Have I seen it before? BR81
There’s no bigger rule in biology than evolution through natural selection: Whoever
gets the food survives; whoever survives gets to have sex; and whoever has sex gets
to pass his traits on to the next generation. BR34
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If we are to do away with wordy slides and endless bullet points, what are we to do?
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Nonlinguistic Representation
Ironically, the one thing that combines creative thinking, analytics, data assimilation,
and the inherent ability to express oneself visually. S:O2
Nonlinguistic Representations is one of Robert Marzano’s nine essential high Level
instructional strategies found within Classroom Instruction That Works & The
Handbook for Classroom Instruction that Works. According to research, knowledge is
stored in two forms: linguistic and visual. The more students use both forms in the
classroom, the more opportunity they have to achieve. Recently, use of nonlinguistic
representation has proven to not only stimulate but also increase brain activity.
• Incorporate words and images using symbols to represent relationships.
• Use physical models and physical movement to represent information.
• Creating graphic representations.
• Generating mental pictures.
• Drawing pictures and pictographs.
• Engaging in kinesthetic activity.
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Use images to tell your story.
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Avoid using PowerPoint Clip Art or other cartoonish line art. Again, if it is included in
the software, your audience has seen it a million times before. It may have been
interesting in 1992, but today the inclusion of such clip art often undermines the
professionalism of the presenter. There are exceptions, of course, and not all
PowerPoint art is dreadful, but use carefully and judiciously.
Use high-quality graphics including photographs. You can take your own high-quality
photographs with your digital camera, purchase professional stock photography, or
use the plethora of high-quality images available on line (be cautious of copyright
issues, however). Never simply stretch a small, low resolution photo to make it fit
your layout — doing so will degrade the resolution even further.
Presentation Zen: How to Design & Deliver Presentations Like a Pro
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KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Keep it simple. PowerPoint was designed as a convenient way to display graphical
information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The
slides themselves were never meant to be the “star of the show.” People came to
hear you and be moved or informed (or both) by you and your message. Don't let
your message and your ability to tell a story get derailed by slides that are
unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward Tufte calls "chart junk."
Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever. Your slides should have plenty of
"white space" or "negative space." Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on your
slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not
contribute to better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more
powerful your visual message will become.
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Your artist’s pallet: Slide dimensions: 800x600 PZ142
When searching for images, the closer to 800x600, the better picture quality.
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For more information on copyright, read Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by
Educators and Librarians available online at
https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf.
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https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/29508?hl=en
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When searching for Google Images, choose
"Search tools" –
"Size" -
"Larger than" - "800x600"
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When searching for Google Images, choose
"Search tools" –
"Size" -
"Larger than" - "800x600"
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Rule of Thirds
A viewfinder or slide can be divided by lines—real or imagined—so that you have four
intersecting lines or crossing points and nine boxes that resemble a tic-tac-toe board.
These four crossing points are also called “power points” are areas you might place
your main subject, rather than in the center.
The rules is applied by dividing your photo into thirds both vertically and horizontally.
The rule of thirds…is a basic design technique that can help you add balance
(symmetrical or asymmetrical), beauty, and a higher aesthetic quality to your visuals.”
PZ151
A clean white background with plenty of active empty space…helps guide the
viewer’s eyes. When a new slide is revealed the eye will naturally draw to the image
first and then go to the text element.” PZ146
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Empty Space
Empty space implies clarity and allows for the appreciation of a single item. PZ145
It is not necessary to put all the words that are spoken by the presenter on the
screen. PZ146
Empty space guides the viewer’s eyes. The eye will be naturally drawn to the image
first then quickly go to the text. PZ146
Empty space can even bring motion to your design. PZ148
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Signal vs Noise Ratio (SNR)
SNR is the ratio of relevant to irrelevant elements or information in a slide (or other
display).
What creates noise? Inappropriate charts, ambiguous labels and icons, lines, shapes,
symbols, and logos. PZ122
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PowerPoint has a “Remove Background” feature that works much like Photoshop.
You can remove the background from an image to create empty space.
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Text within Images
Look for an image that supports your quote or text. The image should have plenty of
empty space so that your text can fit comfortably in the slide. PZ142
Use a graphic element that targets people’s emotions, ads more visual interest, and
enhances the effect of the slide. PZ142
The image should have plenty of empty space so that your text can fit comfortably in
the slide with good contrast. PZ142
Resize and/or fit the image to the slide size…
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DO NOT paste an image onto a slide and leave the background showing. Images lose
their power when left hanging (as seen above).
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When using images, make sure you use “full-bleed images.” What does it mean to
bleed the image? It simply means that the image takes up the entire slide.
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Serif fonts (i.e. Times New Roman) are designed for reading text from a book. Use
Sans Serif fonts for presentations.
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The brain sees words as lots of tiny pictures. PZ234
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Music
Songs capture emotions. Use music in presentations.
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Use video and audio when appropriate. You can use video clips within PowerPoint
without ever leaving the application or turning on a VCR. Using a video clip not only
will illustrate your point better, it will also serve as a change of pace thereby
increasing the interest of your audience. You can use audio clips (such as interviews)
as well. Something to avoid, however, is cheesy sound effects that are included in
PowerPoint (such as the sound of a horn or applause when transitioning slides). The
use of superfluous sound effects attached to animations is a sure way to lose
credibility with your audience.
Presentation Zen: How to Design & Deliver Presentations Like a Pro
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https://www.youtube.com/user/movieclips/
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LiveSlide Site
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-3W6kDRjcg&t=560s&disable_polymer=true
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Stickiness
What makes messages stick? Sticky ideas have 6 key principles in common: simplicity
(if everything is important, nothing is important), unexpectedness, concreteness,
credibility, emotions, and stories. PZ76 (See also Made to Stick (MtS) by Chip and Dan
Heath)
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https://www.inc.com/carmine-gallo/jeff-bezos-bans-powerpoint-in-meetings-his-
replacement-is-brilliant.html
PowerPoint is banned in executive meetings. Instead of reading bullet points on a
PowerPoint slide, everyone sits silently for about 30 minutes to read a "six-page
memo that's narratively structured with real sentences, topic sentences, verbs, and
nouns.”
Our brains are hardwired for narrative [story]. People recall and retain information
more effectively when it's presented in the form of a story, not bullet points.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbV3b-l1sZs
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https://www.cbsnews.com/video/slideology-by-nancy-duarte-book-brief/
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https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks
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Conclusion
You can get with this or you can get with that.
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Tell me two things you learned today.
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What surprised you?
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Name something that stuck.
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What is something that still feels difficult (like nailing Jell-O to the wall)?
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