How to improve your Training Presentations
Posted on Sun, Nov 28, 2010
Death by PowerPoint.
Many of us have experienced sitting in a presentation that involves lots and lots of PowerPoint slides that bore us rather than engage us.
The slides are usually crammed with text and the presenter reads them ad nauseum.
Yet, humans are visually oriented creatures. Educational researchers have found that 83% of human learning occurs visually. In fact, we process pictures much faster than we process words.
So while PowerPoint can be used as a weapon of destruction in persuasion, it also has the ability, used correctly, to be a powerful educator.
Have you ever sat in a presentation where a confident presenter will tell you that they don't like PowerPoint? So instead of referring to any slides, they tell you their presentation off by heart. You probably walked away impressed that they barely referred to their notes.
But how much did you remember? Research shows that an audience that hears a presentation will remember only 10-15% of the content three days later.
So after a month, or three months, any important information that was conveyed will all be forgotten.
Fortunately, social scientists have found a solution. An audience that both hears and sees a presentation will retain around 70-85% of what was presented. This is an increase in retention of around 60-70% just by showing words and pictures.
Say it with Pictures
So it's important to always add visuals to your training presentations. But before you get too carried away, just remember that not all visuals are created equal.
In the words of Coco Chanel: Less is more.
Avoid filling your presentation with too many colours, different fonts, lots of images and an overwhelming amount of information.
Good graphical information is visually clean and uncluttered. It should never upstage or overpower your messages.
As a rule of thumb, use one graphic to represent one particular message or idea. Limit the amount of text per page.
Use video where possible, to explain any complex information.
Use the "Ten Year Old Rule"
Karyn J Taylor, a former award winning producer of 60 Minutes says that broadcast journalists use the "Ten Year Old Rule" when writing for 60 Minutes or the Six O'clock News. That is, the language is so simple that a 10 year old can understand it. For them, they have no chance to clarify; when the broadcast ends, that's it.
As a pubic speaker or trainer you only get one chance, so make your presentation as easy to understand as possible in a visually engaging manner.
