Comments on: How to persuade other people to ditch the bullets

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:22:14 +0000

That’s what a paper and pen are for…taking notes…I guess no one does that anymore…since everyone distributes bullet point filled slides as handouts.

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:27:23 +0000

Hi John
Lovely way of putting it. I think Toastmasters is a wonderful organisation – I was a member for 10 years or so – and did a huge amount for me in building my confidence. But they don’t seem to have joined the PowerPoint visual revolution – judging by example slides I’ve see on the website. Olivia

By: John Richardson

John Richardson — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:02:07 +0000

Great post, Olivia!
The reason most people use bullets is so they can read the screen. Take the bullets away and they have to know their material. Heaven help them if they should accidentally hit the “B” key while presenting and a black screen comes up. Suddenly they are the center of attention. It would be like standing in front of the group in their underwear.

If we could only get these people to join Toastmasters for a year, so they can learn to be the center of attention, and actually enjoy presenting instead of fearing it.

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:27:18 +0000

Hi Kathy
Yes, it does seem that bullet-point slides are the accepted standard. Many people simply don’t know any different. But there is a movement underway to revolutionize the way people use PowerPoint. I’m optimistic that we’ll see a change! Olivia

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:24:30 +0000

Hi Mike
Thanks for your comments – you bring up a number of interesting points:
- You’re right that I don’t make a significant distinction between reading from bullet-point slides, and talking from them. Either way they are not the most effective way for the audience to take in information (though I agree that reading from bullet-point slides is worse!)
- Bullet-points are great as your outline and notes – however, I would suggest printing them out (as ‘handouts’ in the Print Dialog box, two to a page) and using them as your notes. There’s no need to show them to the audience.
- I also get that if the speaker is rambling all over the place, the bullet-points can help the audience. But my aim is to encourage best practice.
Olivia

By: Mike Van Horn

Mike Van Horn — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:20:36 +0000

A couple of comments from one who presents–and watches–many PowerPoint shows:

– You mix two things: having slides with bullets points, and reading the bullet points. I use bullet points as my outline, and talk from it without reading it. I use them as an overview, or to list items in a series, e.g., “Here are six reasons small business owners resist hiring the help they need. I’ll focus on the first two.”

– People who are lousy at bullet points may also be mediocre with graphics and illustrations. Too much info. Too intricate. Not left up long enough. Too much cutesy stuff. Tiny text. And they STILL read off the slide!

– I’m often grateful for bullet points to help me stay on track and follow a wandering speaker.

It’s not an either/or. Use each where they work. And don’t read them!

mvh

By: Kathy Reiffenstein

Kathy Reiffenstein — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:01:27 +0000

Hi Olivia,

I think another element in this discussion is an audience’s fairly high tolerance for bad PowerPoint presentations. Although when asked, audiences say that heavily bullet-pointed slides are very annoying, it seems rare that those same audiences reflect this feedback on presentation evaluations or smile sheets…thus contributing to perpetuating the problem!

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:40:23 +0000

Hi Art
There are two issues here:
1. Trust – they don’t trust people out in the field
2. Effectiveness of the design.

The trust issue is a biggie but outside of my field of expertise.

How can you persuade them to change their minds on the design issue? On the basis that you’ve put forward both logical and emotional reasons why the design won’t work, and they haven’t listened, you could suggest that they get external feedback. The external sources may give exactly the same advice as you, but because it comes from someone external, corporate may be more receptive. Unfair but realistic. Here are two options:

1. Suggest that given the importance of the presentation, they have a professional designer look it over and give feedback.
2. Suggest that they do a test tun of the presentation with a few clients/potential clients before rolling it out. Specifically ask those clients for feedback. This has the advantage of not costing anything, being eminently sensible, and also building engagement with clients.

Hope these ideas are helpful.
Olivia

By: Art Johnson

Art Johnson — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:12:27 +0000

We’re launching (re-positioning) a brand. Corporate wants a standarized presentation to assure consistent messaging. Of course, lots of bullets. Even worse – a black background with orange text that is barely visible without a high resolution projector in a darkened room. I’m doing what I can to fight it. Any ideas?
P.S They’re even trying to figure out a way to password protect so that it cannot be altered in the field (sigh). ;-(

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:28:21 +0000

Hi Martin

Nice point. I’ve also found that people are concerned about making things simple and clear – like showing a picture of a shovel. They think having a complicated jargon-rich sentence like the one you quoted above makes them look clever.

But clever people make complex things simple.

Olivia