Monday Morning PSA: Slideshows in meetings

[Figment]

It seems that a lot of people need to hear this, perhaps some of those people are here on WBF.

When participating in a professional meeting of any kind (zoom, teams, in-person, etc) please assume that your audience is literate.

DO NOT read-aloud the text on your slides.
We know the information is important to you, that's why you bothered to include it in the presentation. Reading the slides aloud does not add emphasis, it simply wastes time and is the very definition of "This Meeting Should Have Been an Email".
Just don't do it.

That is all.

[Paul Pless]

lmfao

i have been working remotely since moving to detroit 13 years ago
i have never once participated in a 'zoom' meeting

phew

[CWSmith]

The hardest thing to do is to not use your slides as your notes. 40+ years and I still do it.

[Bill Fisher]

The hardest thing to do is to not use your slides as your notes. 40+ years and I still do it.

Yup me too.

There's a real art to talking to a slide deck without just repeating the slide deck (that I didn't want to make in the first place!).

Bill

[Breakaway]

In a video chat or in person, I usually use my slides like chapter titles; jumping off points for the info I'd like to convey.

[Ron Williamson]

I've only zoomed for paddling trips or family crap.
Work meetings are always in person and often involve waiting for someone to get off his phone.
R

[Nicholas Carey]

It seems that a lot of people need to hear this, perhaps some of those people are here on WBF.

When participating in a professional meeting of any kind (zoom, teams, in-person, etc) please assume that your audience is literate.

DO NOT read-aloud the text on your slides.

We know the information is important to you, that's why you bothered to include it in the presentation. Reading the slides aloud does not add emphasis, it simply wastes time and is the very definition of "This Meeting Should Have Been an Email".
Just don't do it.

That is all.

So. Many. PowerPoint. Decks. Where the entire presentation was just regurgitating what was on each slide, word for word.

SWMBO is a stage director. I keep telling her that she should set up a consulting business coaching people as to how to do presentations right and make it tell a story.

[gypsie]

I try to use only pictures in my slides.
Maybe a heading to keep me on course.

You need to rehearse. Standing up, talking out loud.



Now minutes! How the F does that work?

[Beowolf]

Building presentations is a large part of my job.

Whenever people ask me why my presentations are so good I answer, “Simple. I f**kin’ hate PowerPoints.”

As soon as you embrace that notion, your slide decks become instantly better.

[Ian McColgin]

When I was working, I did not use slides or hand-outs with 'bullet points'. I used a mix of lecture and audience participation.

[Bill Fisher]

When I was working, I did not use slides or hand-outs with 'bullet points'. I used a mix of lecture and audience participation.

Sounds good to me Ian but in today's (large) business world PowerPoint slide decks are practically mandatory. I can't figure why as everybody universally detests them but it's expected.

Bill

[rbgarr]

I was a corporate trainer in a past life. Over ten years I spent a week to two weeks with each member of management in our company during off-site programs, some 3000 people. The ineffectiveness of sharing information through Powerpoints and video became evident by a questionnaire at the end of week-long training programs: "Do you remember X Powerpoint or X video? What information did they contain? What did you learn by readings or talks for which you took your own notes?" Deeper questioning revealed that when shown Powerpoints and videos many trainees simply turned off their brains and reverted to a mode of passivity not unlike watching television.They just didn't retain much, if anything. Learning that had a huge impact on how we conducted training sessions and taught others how to conduct their own meetings.

[Figment]

Architecture school programmed in me a curious dichotomy.

Maxim #1: You're going to become a good public-speaker, or you're going to wash-out. One's ability to stand before a well-informed audience and communicate often harebrained or otherwise esoteric design ideas is tested harshly and often. (Need to talk The Talk.)

Maxim #2: The drawings on the wall should speak for themselves. (The Talk is just talk)

Every image you present should remove a thousand words from your schpiel.

[Canoez]

Harvard Presentation Graphics - anyone remember that?

But yes, you shouldn't be reading your slides. They're the headings for what you're talking about so that the audience can follow your presentation and know where they are.

[David W Pratt]

I usually put a few bullet points on a slide as an aide memoire of what I went to say.
If teaching, I email the slide deck to the class in advance, that way they can print it out and take notes on the slides.
If doing a deck for someone else, I put the verbiage I want in the "speaker's notes" only visible to the speaker.

[WszystekPoTrochu]

The hardest thing to do is to not use your slides as your notes. 40+ years and I still do it.

Why wouldn't you use powerpoint as your notes? It's a really great place to have them!



on remote meetings: https://youtu.be/Bi3t7qqaVUQ

[dutchpp]

I built a presentation about early retirement based on just 1 photo of an old Frisian fisherman named "Saeke Visser" nickname Saeke the Russian ( he was a communist and a very stubborn person).
It worked.
saeke.jpg

[Garret]

Those here who use them as guides/launch points have the right idea & the OP is 100% correct that simply reading the slides is a waste of everyone's time.

A a member of a regional planning commission, I get to see all sorts of PP presentations. Maybe 20% are well done, and properly used they can be a great tool - for example presenting 5 alternative road change options where the images show the different configurations & the presenter explains them. Displaying columns & rows of data & talking over them - not so much.

[Canoez]

Those here who use them as guides/launch points have the right idea & the OP is 100% correct that simply reading the slides is a waste of everyone's time.

A a member of a regional planning commission, I get to see all sorts of PP presentations. Maybe 20% are well done, and properly used they can be a great tool - for example presenting 5 alternative road change options where the images show the different configurations & the presenter explains them. Displaying columns & rows of data & talking over them - not so much.

For any presented data, the Keith Wilson approach is required. Use charts or graphs that tell the story clearly.

[Beowolf]

If your looking for ideas on effective slide design and creation, BrightCarbon puts a lot of material out there for free.

BrightCarbon

[wizbang 13]

if you are ever engaged with me at a bar and there is beer involved, please do not pull out yer fuggin phone and show me a pic of your dog/bote/work/girl/breakfast.
just don't

[David W Pratt]

if you are ever engaged with me at a bar and there is beer involved, please do not pull out yer fuggin phone and show me a pic of your dog/bote/work/girl/breakfast.
just don't

A good reason to always order a pint; the glass, or mug, is large enough to hold a phone.

[MushCreek]

I don't think I've ever been to a meeting where they didn't read every stinkin' word.