Creating Great Presentations: Beyond the Rule of Thumb
Oct 23rd, 2008 by admin
Entrepreneur.com is currently featuring an article from Guy Kawasaki entitled Rule of Thumb. Mr. Kawasaki, who happens to be the co-founder of Alltop and a high profile venture capitalist, discusses the 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint presentations – a system, methodology, approach – for preparing good presentations. His simple rule is: a PowerPoint presentation should have 10 slides, last no more than 20 minutes and contain no font smaller than 30 points. I have to admit, I am totally, completely and 100 percent guilty of breaking each of these rules on a historical, current and, what appears to be, forward-going basis. Most days of the week I tend to be verbose, find harmony in the details and like making sure I’ve read the fine print – twice. But all joking aside, I respect Mr. Kawasaki and can appreciate how frustrating it must be to sit through bad presentation after bad presentation. That out of the way, I thoughtfully disagree with the 10/20/30 rule.
Here’s why:
- What can be accomplished on 10 slides with a font no smaller than 30? Very little – which is why many presentations fail. This is a screen shot of what Times New Roman looks like at 30 (font, that is):
- Mr. Kawasaki writes: “Ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because a normal human being cannot comprehend more than 10 concepts in a meeting. If it takes more than 10 slides to explain your business, you probably don’t have a business.” Ouch. Double ouch. Please define normal, because from what I’ve experienced normal is bringing a pen, something to write on and taking notes. Even the presidential candidates do this during televised debates. Also keep in mind that while computers can only process one instruction or concept at a time, the human brain can process thousands. I think the normal human being can handle more than 10 concepts. Now 50 might be going a little overboard, but a few more than 10 is certainly okay by any stretch of the imagination (or human brain).
- Twenty minutes is a lively span of time for the average individual, but a good presentation and making a persuasive case using PowerPoint often takes more than 20 minutes. I say cut the presenter some slack and let him or her have their half-hour or so with the projector, laptop, whatever.
- So the 10-point font Mr. Kawasaki mentions is indeed too small. But you can in fact get away with 24-point and sometimes 22 – and you can still use 30 throughout. Don’t be afraid to mix things up. The slightly smaller font allows for a few additional bullet points (if necessary) and the varying font sizes makes for a polished look. And I can guarantee that it won’t look like your six-year-old pulled out his crayons and wrote all over the screen. Nothing irks me more than oversized rainbow fonts. I just want to whip out the nearest super magnet and… well, you know.
- Something that is not mentioned in the piece is humor. Don’t be afraid to inject a little witty humor into your presentations. This tends to keep an audience focused and smiling, rather than miserable and shifting in their seats.
So call this my 10ish/30ish/22-30ish rule if you’d like. It’s a process that has worked for me successfully countless times over.
It really depends on how a PowerPoint presentation is actually used. I don’t think there is anything worse than a PowerPoint presentation that is distributed via email. Simply state the information you want to convey and ditch the antiquated clip art. When using PowerPoint in a live or video presentation, does the audience really need to see the actual text of the presentation? Save the PowerPoint “bullet points” and charts for a hand out after the presentation. During a presentation you have a very limited amount of time to engage and stimulate your audience. Keep in mind that you are using a visual media. Would anyone produce a television commercial or a print ad using bullet points?
Great “points” Keith! In fact, I would go so far as to say ditch traditional PowerPoint presentations altogether and opt for video with all the free and inexpensive video editing and screen recording software that is now available online. I use Camtasia Studio, but Debut also works well. It would be interesting to hear from others who have gone this route when presenting to investors.
Crystal
it all depends upon how you create your presentation
I actually avoid Powerpoint and use Keynote where possible. Most people know PowerPoint functionality so well that when they see something new then it adds a little fizz.
Agree about length.
In my line of work, text charts are a necessary evil. But when I see a text chart written in full sentences and then read by the presenter, I want to assault him. (Obviously, I have anger-management issues. )
Text charts should contain bullet lists, just reminders to the presenter of the points he (or she) wishes to make. It also gives the audience members something to write notes on, assuming there are handouts.
I use only two complementary fonts (or typefaces) and use font attributes — color, boldface, italics, and underline — judiciously. I’ve seen too many presentations and reports that look like ransom notes. I use a 24-point font size, which is one third of an inch on the printed page, for body text, and is quite readable when projected. And when you print two (or more) slides to the page for handouts, it’s still readable.
If a picture says a thousand words, be sure you have that much to say before using a graphic. Graphics added to spruce up the look of a slide do little to convey content, are a waste real estate on the page, and merely serve to distract the audience. Only include graphics and photos that give you something to talk to. If you’re not talking to the graphic on the page, lose it.