Powerpoint can be a terrible thing. We refer to it as “the enemy” in our presentation masterclasses and lunch and learn sessions. We don’t mean PowerPoint itself, of course, just the way some people use it. Have you ever been in one of those conferences in which someone starts by saying “I hope you can see this text at the back”? Or worse, they start by announcing they’re going to “talk to a presentation” and they turn their back on you and literally talk to it?
People who have attended our courses more than once over the last few years will have noticed our own approach to PowerPoint evolving. This is at least partly because of reading a book and doing an online course, both of which come from expert (and friend) David Henson. We’re therefore delighted to be able to offer this course alongside our face to face sessions. More on that in a second.
Powerpoint and overkill
David has a few mantras for his use of PowerPoint. We urge everyone to adopt them whether you’re buying the course or not. First he urges everyone to keep things to a minimum; if something would work on a handout, it’s not suitable for a slide. Second, you might not need slides at all. If they don’t support your message (or if you’re using them as notes) it might be worth dropping them all together. There are refinements as well.
David’s course offers input on the use of images and fonts. He looks into the different sorts of image files in use and why some of them won’t work. He offers some shortcuts in animations and the judicious use of 3D images in those. Colour palettes, image composition and a great deal else come in for scrutiny.
We’d be delighted to help you with your stage or screen presence. We can coach, train and critique with our roster of actors and TV presenters. If you just want to transform your approach to PowerPoint, however, we can recommend Dave’s course and you’ll have change from £300 even after paying VAT.