How to avoid the biggest presentation frustration

Overcrowded, incomprehensible slides, it's one of the biggest presentation annoyances. But also a frustration that seems forgotten when we start presenting ourselves. Then we like to reach for PowerPoint and convince ourselves that all that information on 1 slide is really necessary.

Strange is not. Presenting is exciting, so we diligently use all the support we can get. PowerPoint thus functions more as a cheat sheet and lightning rod for the speaker than as a tool for the audience. With the opposite effect: the audience becomes frustrated or drops out, which only adds to the stress of speaking.

It can be done differently. Without completely jettisoning PowerPoint. Because there are countless examples where (a few) slides can help your audience and strengthen your message.

Therefore, here are 5 tips to put an end to slide frustration.


1.Define your purpose

Presenting is about choosing: what to tell, and most importantly, what not to tell. But choosing is also scary, because you can be judged on your choices. That's why many speakers choose to tell everything. Just in case. Spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks. And that is reflected in the slides: overflowing with information.

So ask yourself: what do I want to achieve with this part of my presentation? What has to stick? Choose one goal and underline it with your slide.

Watch here how Steve Jobs underlines his presentation parts with images and short texts.

. Complex?Make two versions

Many speakers reduce themselves to voice over an information memo. But then you might as well send the slide deck by mail and save yourself and your listeners a lot of time, stress and frustration.

If you want to convey complex material, create two PowerPoint versions. One stripped-down version, with only the most important points. This is the version you present and aims to cultivate the urgency to start studying that second version, the full memorandum or advisory report, which you send after the event.

3.Don't get started: read up (unless your name is James Veitch).

You probably recognize the following image: a presenter who stands with his back to the audience and reads out the slide. Your audience quickly feels left out and drops out. Besides: people can read faster than you can talk. So if you want them to read the slide, just give them some time to read it! There are exceptions, of course: James Veitch literally reads all of his slides during his TED Talk, but how delightful is this...

.Use icons instead of bullet points

What do you think when you see a slide full of bullets? Exactly: that can get boring and very long. Yet as a speaker, sometimes you want to share information via a slide. So how do you solve that?

Use icons instead of bullets. You help those who think visually and you support your spoken message with images. Text and images reinforce each other. Consider the turnaround that Mark Rutte and Hugo de Jonge made in mid-2021. Suddenly, basic advice for COVID was visually supported.

Source APN

5.Graph in moderation

Graphs, tables and charts can help visualize data in presentations. But the effect is often negated by 3 pitfalls:

• Multiple data visualizations on 1 slide: at 1 glance, your point should be clear
• Hard to understand and read data visualizations: at 1 glance your point must be clear
• Wrong scale: at 1 glance your point must be clear

What works well: draw the graph on paper first, which is often simple and easy to understand, just what you need.

Tim Urban must have thought the same thing when preparing his TED Talk on procrastination (or he had put off making his slides for too long...):

In short, let's make slides that make you shine as a speaker and help the audience follow your story and see its importance. And sometimes ... that can mean not using slides at all when giving a presentation.

Need help with an important presentation or want to learn how to get the most out of a presentation? Contact Janneke:

This was the last newsletter before summer. We will be back at the end of August.

Until then: wishing you a very nice summer, or if you would dedicate a slide to it...