Why are you using slides for your presentation? I believe many presenters have never paused to ask themselves for what purpose they are including slides as part of their public speaking performance. According to an audience report conducted by the Nielsen Company, Americans are staring at screens for over 10 hours a day. The case against projecting your message against a screen, then, appears to be quite compelling.
Advantages of Using Slides
You are able to represent certain ideas in a visual way.
The content creation process may proceed more quickly (but may not garner the results you hope to receive).
You have a crutch to lean on if you forget an item you wanted to cover.
Advantages of Skipping Slides
You won’t have to worry about technology issues.
Your audiences will only have you to focus on, rather than a screen to dilute their attention.
You will become more confident with your content since you won’t have the luxury of triggers from slide content.
Innovative Presentation Ideas That Don’t Require Slides
Rely on props
One Sunday morning, my family shuffled into our gray Suburban and travelled to church. On this particular Sunday, the regular reverend was out of town. So, his understudy stepped in for a sermon. The choir concluded their opening songs and sat down in unison. Then, the temporary reverend began walking towards the pulpit. In each of her hands, she grasped a suitcase. Both were full of items, and she hunched over the burden occupying the bags. Her speech focused on the baggage that people allow to weigh themselves down on a daily basis. Throughout her message, she took out an object – one by one – each with a personal tie to her own struggles. By the end of her sermon, the suitcases were empty. And she strolled off the stage confident and relieved.
I will never forget this woman’s sermon. Her reliance on props magnified her message beyond what a handout, slide deck, or video ever could. If at all possible, consider using props as the main act of your presentation.
Illustrate in the moment
For a presentation to a smaller audience in a more intimate setting, it may benefit a presenter to depict ideas and concepts on a whiteboard or flip chart. If you expect your presentation to include a large amount of audience interaction, ditch slides for an approach that will foster a meaningful dialogue.
Slides are certainly beneficial to the presenter who needs to visualize complex concepts or reveal an involved process. But, don’t immediately open PowerPoint if there are other visualization avenues you could attempt.
More from the Ethos3 Archives:
Using Props in a Presentation: A TED Talk Review
