This year 2014, the England Football Team finished in their worst position of any World Cup since records began and has become synonymous with failure at national events.
Oh dear.
The same fate awaits PowerPoint. However well we use it, PowerPoint is now tantamount with boring, bullet driven snooze time.
Now, of course it’s not always like that, some are excellent, but most business PowerPoint presentations fit that England Football team bill.
Here’s some suggestions to be different, to cast away the anchor that is PowerPoint:
- Prezi. Try this new piece of software. Essentially it’s no different to PowerPoint when you get down to it but it does encourage movement, visual, imagination and that’s a good thing. My advice is to purchase the desktop version rather than the cloud version as this gives you more flexibility whilst in boardrooms.
- Whiteboards. I love whiteboards. I think they’re terrific at building a picture, a diagram, a graphic representation of your presentation. They also make you out to be more of an expert in people’s minds because you’re creating an image in front of your audience. There’s a new genre called “Whiteboard Sales” where salespeople use the whiteboard rather than PowerPoint to back up their presentation.
- Use visually powerful language instead of any visual aids. Plenty of stories, metaphors and language which encourage your audience to visualise the points you’re making. Don’t be afraid to use stories even in the stuffiest boardrooms, you’ll be surprised even C Suite Executives appreciate them.
PowerPoint or the alternative Keynote have lost their way, not because you can’t make them visually involving and engaging because you can. The word PowerPoint has been anchored and can’t be changed. Instead introduce your Prezi or Whiteboard and you’ll have your audience sit up and watch.
