“Gavin, should I use slides for my presentation?”
I get asked this question a lot.
Sometimes they’re a good idea.
Sometimes they’re not.
Let me share an example I observed recently that supports using slides.
It was an evening event, with seven speeches.
That’s a lot of speeches for one evening.
About half of the audience spoke English as a first language. The rest spoke English as a second or third language.
The standard of speakers was reasonably across the board.
But one speaker stood out.
Why?
Because she used slides.
The slides were light on text and used a lot of images.
This combination of visual and verbal made it easier in theory for her message to land.
And that’s exactly what happened.
They worked a treat in this case.
So, back to the original question.
The key factor is simple:
Do slides add value to your presentation?
If yes – use slides.
If no – don’t.
Use slides because they help, not because they’re there.
Looking for more helpful presentation tips – why not check out the following article on simple steps to re-energise your delivery when the content no longer excites you…
