My dear friend Olivia Mitchell has invited me to participate in writing a post to discuss what I would like to see in PowerPoint design in 2009. Olivia drew inspiration for this group writing project from Laura Bergells‘ blog Maniactive. So my wish list for PowerPoint in 2009 is as follows:
10. The use of PPT slide template layout designs be reduced by 98%. Let the majority of people start creating with a clean white canvas. We are all artists so let us create! (Engineers are not included.)
9. Take the “Rule of Thumb” that states seven words per line, seven lines per slide and shove it with the “Rule of Thumb” that states six words per line, six lines per slide . . . . into the Microsoft garbage bin. Six or seven words, it really doesn’t matter - it all looks like crap.
8. Once you are old enough to drive an automobile (legally), using clip art should become a federal offence punished by 300 hours of community work.
7. Don’t colour fonts yellow on a white background. We really can’t see that in the back of the room especially since the majority of the population are reaching geriatric status.
6. Font size larger than 9 pt? Remember . . . geriatric nation!!!
5. Empty space on a slide has the same effect as a pause in a saxophone improvised jazz solo . . . golden.
4. If you have an important message to delivery, make sure it is only one message. We, the audience are too easily confused. Remember . . . geriatrics are taking over the world.
3. Tell stories. Yes we are geriatrics and we are getting old but we are young at heart and we still love stories. Learn to tell stories. At least with a story and a little passion in the delivery, we will stay awake until the story is finished.
2. Stop using bullets. If you have to use a bullet or two, disguise them into a flower petal arrangement or something!
1. Will everyone take a pill and realize that PowerPoint is not Darth Vader from the evil empire. PowerPoint is a tool so stop all of this “Death by PowerPoint” stuff. Take responsibility for your poor presentation skills. Plan properly, keep you message simple, use creative visuals and rehearse, rehearse and rehearse. Please stop using PPT as a prompter, stop looking at your slides and reading them. The geriatric audience is in the other direction. Talk to us.
May everyone have a very happy and prosperous 2009.
Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.
M.J. (fast approaching geriatric status)
Tags: "Death by PowerPoint", PowerPoint, presentations, story telling
Tags: "Death by PowerPoint", PowerPoint, presentations, story telling
December 30th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Bravo!
A terrific list. Love it!
I’m not yet a member of the geriatric nation, but am firmly planted in middle age.
And yet, I have the same beef with the tiny, light text on light backgrounds that seem to be rather fashionable at the moment.
It’s not just PowerPoint: it’s all over the web, too!
Design is supposed to have a purpose. I fail to understand the purpose of alienating the audience with unreadable text!
Well done!
December 30th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Love it - I’ve not yet got around to writing my list but I bet I’ll overlap with yours a bit when I do!
Can I add something to Number 6? Can we actually ask Microsoft to put some code into PowerPoint so that when someone tries and use a font size smaller than (say) 36pt two things happen. Firstly, PowerPoint refuses - secondly, we get email messages of the user’s address so we can go around and explain their mistake to them with a baseball bat……
Simon
January 19th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
[...] from the visual impact of a slide. Here are just 3 suggestions representative of those made: M J Plebon: Let the majority of people start creating with a clean white canvas. Jeromy Timmer: All of the [...]
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