As a primary school teacher, with over 26 years expereince with students of all ages, but predominantly with those in the 11-12 year old age group, I have sat through many long (and often boring) PowerPoint presentations. This actually led me to explicity teach my students how to use PowerePoint effectively.

The first point is always to begin with the speech/content, which covers consideration of purpose, audience, structure etc. Only once this has been developed, are the students allowed to begin work on their slides. Other than headings/subheadings, the students are not encouraged to use words (and certainly, not to copy their content onto their slides). Instead, they are encouraged to find pictures, charts, diagrams etc that support and match their content. I also set a limit to the number of slides they use – basically, the number of digits on their hand, or 5 slides.

Through the teaching and modelling process, we play around with animations and transitions, however by the end of it, they come away understanding that simple is best! They learn that in a PowerPoint presentation, the slide is their visual support, but their voice (and content) is the star of the show.

This has worked well for me in the classroom, and more importantly, it has given my students a structure that they are able to follow. Their PowerPoints have become tighter, more concise and much more interesting.

Cheers,
Martin

Yet I think it’s unfair to blame PowerPoint for its misuse – perhaps a more accurate piece of advice would be “don’t use bullet points”? Would you agree that using an acetate of bullet points is just as bad?

Jessica

But why so down on PowerPoint? Yes, it’s often misused. (Usually misused?) That said, when used properly it’s an incredibly powerful tool. Given the option, if visuals are used effectively, I’d almost always want a speaker to use visuals to accompany a presentation. Just take a look at some of the great TED talks with visuals.

I do understand where this is coming from. Most PowerPoint presentations are horrible. But I think it’s best to help teach others to learn how to use visuals more effectively, rather than throw out this powerful tool altogether.

I get the feeling you’d agree…! Steve