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Life by PowerPoint
December 02, 2009
By Lenn Millbower
A patient went to the doctor for an ailment. Below is a transcript of that visit.
Monday
"Doc, I’m having trouble sleeping," said the patient. "Counting sheep, drinking wine, taking a hot bath, taking a cold shower: None of it worked."
"I see," said the doctor. "Take two of these pills before bed and call me Wednesday."
Wednesday
"Doc, I still can't sleep. I’m exhausted. I need relief."
"Double the dosage. Take two of these pills before bed and call me Friday."
Friday
"Doc, it’s just not working. Can we increase the dose?"
"I have a better idea. Try this."
"What am I supposed to do with this machine?"
"Plug it in, turn it on, and aim it at the wall. You should be asleep in minutes."
"I don't understand. What is it?"
"It's a PowerPoint presentation. If that doesn't put you to sleep, nothing will."
PowerPoint Misapplied
The story is fictional. The sentiment is real. Many trainers know the phrase "death by PowerPoint." Many trainees know it, too.
The application of the tool is the problem, especially when compared with the needs of adult learners. Those entering the job market have grown up surrounded by information: with gaps between TV commercials shrinking, with music videos, television shows, and movies changing visuals every second, and with BlackBerries, iPods, and cell phones screaming for attention. These learners are used to, and expect, multisensory experiences.
In this environment, misused PowerPoint is a sleep aid. Fortunately, PowerPoint is capable of sound and in-the-moment multi-sensory communication. Here are some tips for resuscitating PowerPoint.
1. Delete Unnecessary Words
The human brain can remember up to seven items at a time, with groupings of four and three most common. PowerPoint slides often are cluttered with unnecessary words. This makes the text harder to see and more difficult to absorb. Chunk your information. Ruthlessly edit your PowerPoint. Cut text until all that is left is an essence of the main point.
Better yet, cut all the words. People comprehend visuals much faster than they can absorb words. Words must be read together and then processed by the brain. A visual already is. A well-selected visual communicates more information quickly—with greater comprehension.
2. Recolor Your Slides
Color may be the most important element in creating effective visuals. Color effectively communicates mood. Where green and brown remind of home and hearth, blue offers the calming effects of water, red the urgency of fire, and yellow the excitement of first look.
Research suggests the worst color combination for the human eye is black text on a white background. In contrast, white text on a dark background—especially dark blue—creates a dynamic look. Television graphics often use this look. The dark backgrounds give light text a 3D-ish dimension. Red—owing to its excitable aspects—should be used sparingly but is highly effective when used for accent.
Highlight critical information with yellow text. Yellow is the first color the eye notices and calls attention to important information. Showcase new bullets in yellow while previous bullets on the same slide transition to white. When using fill-in-the-blank workbooks, place the words participants must write down in yellow.
3. Add Audio Cues
Music communicates at a deep, emotional level. Repeat a specific auditory cue whenever you want your attendees to turn the page in their workbooks. Call attention to critical pieces of information with short, appropriate sounds. Use embedded classical or light jazz music as background for small group discussions and activities. Add game show themes to activity-related slides. Finally, energize your breaks by linking music into your break slides and then, to call the attendees back to order when the break is over, advancing the slide to turn the sound off.
4. Make It Move
It’s madness to expect modern learners—with hyperkinetic lives—to gratefully embrace static slides. After a few seconds, any slide looks like hardened concrete. Just as you must stir concrete to keep it from hardening, stir your slides. Use subtle movements to keep the visual alive.
When displaying bullets or visuals that build, use similar, or the same, entrance and exits. Showcase circular models one step at a time by sliding the elements in from the side adjacent to the appropriate step. Call attention to important points with eye-catching spirals. Sweep critical visuals in with urgency. Dissolve in information that doesn’t require eye-catching attention.
Don't allow PowerPoint to decide your transitions for you. Select transition effects that align with your meaning. Use grand sweep-ins to represent the replacement of old, worn procedures with new methodologies. Add subtle fade-ins to suggest continuity between slides. Apply fly-ins to suggest transitioning from one content area to the next.
5. Focus Attention Elsewhere
PowerPoint is too often the focal point. Use it instead in a support capacity whenever possible.
An auto-run PowerPoint can introduce principles at an appropriate moment in the presentation or as a loop throughout the event. Countdown clock presentations can call participants back from breaks and lunch. Provide attendees with quotes, puzzles, and cartoons that loop throughout the presentation. Or, display real-time photos of participants engaged in the learning.
6. Use Movement Strategically
As most music composers know, it's not the notes that make the music: It's the space between the notes. Without silence, there is only a drone.
The same dynamic applies to PowerPoint presentations. If you overuse the techniques listed here, your learners will be unable to focus on your message. Continuous movement negates itself. All your slide movements should have a purpose.
Heal Your PowerPoint
Many trainees have slept through slide presentations. Often, we deal with the offender by approaching directly or standing menacingly nearby. The sleepy learner is not in need of treatment. The presentation itself is. Use these techniques, and you can resituate your PowerPoint and your learners.
From Disney training leader to published author, from musician-magician to college professor, Lenn Millbower's lauded Learnertainment techniques have taught business leaders, trainers, educators and presenters how to keep their audience awake so their message can take. Email him at lennmillbower@offbeattraining.com.
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