Don’t misinterpret Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

In a blog post at http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html, Guy Kawasaki says:
“Before there is an epidemic of Ménière’s in the venture capital community, I am trying to evangelize the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint. It’s quite simple: a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points. While I’m in the venture capital business, this rule is applicable for any presentation to reach agreement: for example, raising capital, making a sale, forming a partnership, etc.”

Ever since this blog post, commentators have used it to justify a call to reduce the number of slides in all types of presentations. But I think most of these commentators are misguided. Let’s look at what Kawasaki actually said. He said the rule applies to venture capital presentations and “any presentation to reach agreement”. OK, hands up, how many of you are almost always doing presentations where you expect to reach an agreement in that meeting? What, almost no hands up!?! Exactly my point.

Most of the presentations that are done are not ones in which you expect to reach agreement in that presentation – even if they are sales presentations. I’d say less than 10% (and I’m being generous at that) of presentations fall into the category that Kawasaki talks about. So why do so many commentators apply it to other types of presentations? Beats me! But I think it may have to do with the search for a simple way to solve the problem of poor presentations. We are all annoyed at the awful presentations we have to sit through, but we don’t know what to do about them.

The effectiveness of the presentation has less to do with the number of slides you use as it does with the connection you make with the audience. If you actually read the blog post – go do it now, I’ll wait for you – OK, you’re back and I’ll continue – Kawasaki talks about the barrier that slides create between the presenter and the audience when not used well. There are many ways to solve this problem, one being his 10/20/30 rule.

My suggestion, captured in my book The Visual Slide Revolution, is to transform the wall of text that Kawasaki describes, into persuasive visuals. This allows you to have a conversation with the audience, connecting with them and more effectively delivering your message – whether it is a message updating financial figures, HR policy training or a sales pitch. It actually can lead to more slides being used, but they are more effective and the audience is not bored stiff.

Before you buy in to the latest commentator who quotes Kawasaki’s rule, step back and think for yourself. There is no easy answer to this issue. But there is a better way to use slides if you are willing to invest in the success of your presentation.

1-minute survey: What version of PowerPoint do you use?

I want to make sure that in the future I focus my tips and ideas to the versions of PowerPoint that you, my readers, rely on. Please take one minute to fill out a three question survey at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pP7inVt8CBkA-xaZvns-7QA

Thanks

Dave

PowerPoint Tip - Using Motion Paths

One of the features of PowerPoint that has the potential to annoy the most is the animation feature, where you can make elements of the slide move. It is annoying when the animation does not add to the message being delivered. Having every bullet fly in may look "cool" as a presenter, but audiences find it annoying.

Probably the worst use of animation I have seen was on a slide from a salesperson. They were showing the prospect the inside sales team that would be supporting the prospect after the sale. The slide had the four people in the group, with their picture, name and areas of expertise. To build the slide, the salesperson had each of the head shot pictures bounce in to place. It made the staff look totally unprofessional! I asked the salesperson if they had ever shown those four people how he presented them to prospective clients. After a long pause, he changed the subject.

So why would you want to use movement animation? Because sometimes it explains something better than you could with words. You are probably familiar with simple entrance animation, where you make each element on the slide appear on a click so you can talk about one point at a time. Today I want to suggest you consider a more advanced animation technique when you need it. Motion paths allow you to move an object from one specific spot to another on the slide. How can this help? Let me give you two examples that will hopefully stir your creativity.

A couple of years ago I was speaking to accounting professors and a motion path allowed me to show a number moving from one spot in the general ledger to the appropriate spot in the T-account. Now I know that may be too much accounting speak for some of you, but the point is that showing the number move was exactly what their students needed to see in order to be able to use the knowledge later on. Using a laser pointer or simple appear animation would not have worked as well.

In showing a manufacturing process, you could show a product moving from one stage in the process to another. This can be far more effective than just showing the steps or trying to describe them. If the process involves transportation of the product to a different facility, you can also have the train or truck moving between facilities. In this way, you almost create a movie, but without the expense and hassle usually associated with video production.

If you are not familiar with motion path animation, how can you get started? In my collection of "how-to" videos, there are three videos on animation, including one on the topic of creating and using motion paths. You see me build a motion path step by step and see how it is done. You can get this video at http://www.PPtHowToVideos.com . PowerPoint expert Geetesh Bajaj also has some good reference material on his site at http://www.indezine.com/mailers/sent/20081106.html .

January 20/09 Slide Makeover Video Podcast now available

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. On a monthly, quarterly or annual basis many people report their activity to the boss, a committee or stakeholders. This makeover shows a different way to look at an activity list slide. It shows how to transform it into a slide that tells a story and is more meaningful to the audience.

This slide was submitted by a subscriber to the newsletter- someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide

If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.



To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.

PowerPoint Tip: What’s in your Deleted Scenes special feature?

Recently I was watching a movie on DVD with my family. As with many DVDs today, it included a special feature with Deleted Scenes. As the director usually explains, these scenes were originally shot with the intention of being in the movie, but during the editing stage, they found that the scene did not move the story along or develop a character in the way that they thought it would. Since it wasn’t a strong enough scene, it was cut.

In your presentations, what would be in the Deleted Slides special feature? Too often, that special feature would be blank. I see many presentations where the presenter should have cut some slides and material that wasn’t strong enough in moving the audience to understand the message. But they left in every slide and the presentation has dips where the audience loses focus during a weak spot.

Not cutting out material also leads to presentations that are longer than they need to be. I rarely, if ever, hear a complaint that a presentation was too short. Most of the time the complaints are that the presenter went too long and their message could have been delivered in far less time.

Why don’t presenters do the editing that a movie director does and end up with a Deleted Slides special feature? I think it is due to two reasons. First, they don’t budget the time for editing. They are rushing to get the presentation done at the last minute and don’t leave any time to step back and see if what they have created is what the audience really needs. Take the time to edit your presentation, looking for slides or pieces of information that do not strongly move the audience to the conclusion you want them to reach. Then cut those weak parts.

The second reason that presenters don’t edit their presentations is that they are under the mistaken belief that the audience wants to see and hear every small detail. Most audiences, especially decision-makers, don’t want every detail. They want the conclusions that matter to them. If they want the detail, they will ask. But they trust that you are the expert and your work is good. Focus on presenting only the ideas that the audience needs to make decisions or to do their job better.

For your next presentation, budget the time for editing. It will make a tighter, more powerful presentation that will get noticed.

PowerPoint design in 2009

Olivia Mitchell has asked a number of experts in the PowerPoint community to comment on what we think 2009 will bring in the area of PowerPoint design. I think we will see a clear split into two camps. One group will be those who can afford and desire the highest end design. The other group will be the in-the-trenches presenters who need to get better to survive in the tough economy. Let me expand on each of these groups.

The first group are those for whom design is very important. They are looking for the latest design ideas and have the capacity to pay others to create their presentations. These presentations will incorporate high end graphics, be created by professional designers and may embrace some of the recent trends such as a rapid delivery of hundreds of slides containing just a word or two on them. I think that this group will continue to get the press but will actually consist of a very small minority of the presenters since most can’t afford the time or money. And many of the new trends in presenting simply won’t cut it in most corporate settings.

The much larger group will be those who are trying to sell ideas, products and services in a tough economy. In 2009, presenting effectively will impact your results and ultimately whether you get to keep your job or not. These presenters, who live in the corporate, government and non-profit worlds, make the vast majority of presentations that are delivered each day. They don’t have time for elaborate design. They need to become a little more effective every day. They will look for simple ways to make their message more visual without spending a lot of time and money. They don’t need to be miles better than their competition, one notch above will do just fine. They look at the design folks and conclude correctly that a design-focused approach just won’t work in their world.

I have come to realize this split just recently. In my business, I am happy to give the first group of design focused presenters to the talented designers that exist out there. I will focus on the vast majority of presenters for whom design is nice, but effectiveness rules. This much larger group of corporate, government and non-profit presenters need practical help they can use right away. I will serve them with the ideas for transforming overloaded text slides into persuasive presentations in my book The Visual Slide Revolution, the content templates that allow presenters to copy and customize slides instead of starting from scratch, my short how-to videos for those who want to learn new techniques, and my workshops that include showing the ideas applied to the slides already being used in an organization. And I’ll be sharing examples every two weeks in my slide makeover video podcasts so presenters can get new ideas for their presentations.

I think most of you reading this are in the large group that I intend to focus on. I look forward to serving you this year.

January 6/09 Slide Makeover Video Podcast now available

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. When you are talking about date based events or information, don't use a simple list of the dates with no visual. This makeover shows a slide with a list of dates transformed into a clear visual that people will be able to understand and act on after the presentation.

This slide was one I worked on when doing a slide makover consulting assignment for a client - someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide

If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.



To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.

A lesson from cracking peppercorns

On New Year’s Eve we had some friends over for dinner and we made a recipe that included cracking peppercorns. In the instructions, it said to use a mortar and pestle. We don’t have one, so it offered an alternative – put the peppercorns in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. I set it up and asked our 10 year old daughter to complete the task. She struggled for about 10 minutes and asked me to take over because it was so difficult. I started and found that it was indeed a hard task. Then a simpler idea dawned on me. I went down to the work room and got my hammer. In short order the job was finished.

What does this have to do with our presentation slides? Too often we think we need to use fancy techniques or tools. Using fancy graphics software and having a design degree would be equivalent to using a mortar and pestle in the peppercorn story. When we don’t have the tools or background, we try to use the tools we do have in PowerPoint, the rolling pin in the story, but sometimes that is hard as well. The lesson is that sometimes we need to step back and think of the simplest way to accomplish the task, whether that is getting our key point across or crushing the peppercorns with a hammer.

What are some simple ways to get our point across? Use a simple diagram or picture instead of trying to create a design masterpiece. Use a pre-designed vector graphic from a site like istockphoto instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a custom illustration. Or use a pre-made slide like those in my Content Templates (http://www.PPtContentTemplates.com). All ways that you can get your point across in a simple, effective way without needing fancy tools or knowledge.

You should certainly improve your knowledge of how to create visuals in PowerPoint if you want to take your slides to the next level (see http://www.PPtHowToVideos.com for some short training videos). But many times there are simple ways to include visuals that don’t involve complex work or specialized knowledge.

PowerPoint Tip: Where to get inspiration for slides

(From the December 23rd newsletter)

We are about to celebrate Christmas at our house and many of you are celebrating this or other special occasions at your home during the holidays. One of the best loved parts of this time of year for our family is the light and holiday displays seen at so many houses and parks. We make it a tradition to drive down one particular road Christmas Eve on our way back from my parents' house because of the great displays they have.

What do holiday lights have to do with your presentations? More than you may initially think. You see, holiday displays and your presentations both need to have visual appeal, and we can learn from some of what we observe at this time of year and, in fact, any time we see visual artists at work, whether it is outdoors, in the theatre or in a studio.

One idea from a holiday display we saw this weekend is how to simulate movement of an object on a slide. The light display was one where it used a series of lights to show a person moving from one spot to another. There are four different sets of lights and they turn on and off in sequence so it looks like the person is moving in a certain direction. You can adapt this idea to show movement of any object on a slide. You can draw the object once, then copy it and place it in a sequence of spots on the slide. Then, using appear and disappear animation effects with timing, you can make it look like the object is moving without a huge investment in creating a video. For example, you could use this technique to show a part moving from one spot in the production process to another spot for the next step in assembly.

I used an idea from the musical Wicked this summer to create a new slide in my presentation. There is a scene in the musical on Broadway that simulates rain by using small lights moving vertically on the background of the set. It gave me the idea that I could simulate rain by using white lines moving vertically on top of a darkened picture. So I spent about an hour creating a slide that looks like a movie, but demonstrates to my workshop audiences that you can use the built-in animation techniques in PowerPoint to create visuals that will connect powerfully with your audience. The initial investment of time has been leveraged by using that slide in many different presentations this year.

So during this holiday season and all year round, look at the work of lighting and visual artists in a new way. Let their talent and creativity inspire your ideas of how you can create powerful visuals for your audiences.