by Beth McCormack, Esq.
Avoiding “Death by PowerPoint” and
Other Ways to Up Your Presentation Game
Introduction
For the last eighteen months, faculty
members from Vermont Law School’s Legal Writing Program have been writing articles for the Vermont Bar Journal, explaining techniques for Vermont lawyers to improve their written communication.1 Today’s
article is a little different; it provides tips on
improving oral communication, a skill arguably as important as written communication
for an attorney. Naturally, litigators are already seasoned presenters, routinely offering their arguments to a judge or a jury. But
attorneys are also called upon to present in
other contexts as well—to clients, potential
clients, colleagues, and opposing counsel
in mediation and settlement meetings. Today’s article will focus on tips for that type
of non-courtroom presentation.
An article on presentation skills must begin with a discussion of PowerPoint.2 In the
last decade or so, PowerPoint has become
the program of choice for presentations
in all types of meetings.3 Some estimates
suggest that at least thirty million PowerPoint presentations are made every day.4 I
read recently about a man who found himself using PowerPoint to present to his family on why they could not afford a vacation
that year!5 Unfortunately, many audiences
encounter bad PowerPoint presentations.
In fact, based on my experience as an audience member, most PowerPoint presentations are bad. So bad that an aggrieved
audience member once coined the phrase
“Death by PowerPoint” when referring to
an ineffective PowerPoint presentation. In
short, PowerPoint is overused and often
badly used. But PowerPoint remains an effective tool, and with a little tweaking, you
can make your PowerPoint presentations
more professional, effective and engaging.
This article will provide some simple tips for
upping your PowerPoint game, and will also
offer some general presentation tips, including tips for combating nerves.
PowerPoint Basics
Here are some common characteristics of
bad PowerPoint presentations:
• They contain word-for-word what the
presenter is saying; sometimes the presenter even reads directly from the
slides.
• There is too much information on the
slide.
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• There is excessive or inconsistent formatting or garish fonts.
• They have distracting or headache-inducing animation or transitions.
• They are hard to see, or the presenter
goes through them too fast.
• They are too long.
• They contain typos or other grammatical mistakes.6
All of these characteristics lead to one fundamental flaw in the presentation: the PowerPoint becomes the central focus instead
of you, the presenter. What we can learn
from this list is the key characteristic of a
good presentation is that the PowerPoint
plays only a back-up role, and the starring
role goes to you. Here’s how to tweak your
PowerPoint presentation so you have the
starring role.
Keep it Simple
The first step in making sure that you are
the star of the presentation is to keep your
PowerPoint simple. Make only one main
point per slide and convey that point in a
straightforward and professional way.
Use a simple “theme.” The theme of the
PowerPoint is what Microsoft calls the background of the presentation, and there are
numerous options to choose from, including
such intriguing possibilities as “Urban Pop”
and “Waveform.” My favorite is “White.”
That theme is clean, simple, professional,
and easy to see; it is reliable in most lighting situations. Sound too boring? Change
the font color. I usually make all my headings a different color7 to add a little variety,
but keep the bullets black. Stick to the same
color for all of the headings, and pick a dark
color. Dark green, blue, and purple work
well and keep the presentation professional
and easy to read. For more variety, change
the background color of the “White”
theme—there are a few options. Just click
on “Background” on the top menu under
“Theme Options.” Generally, stick to a dark
font and a light background. And stick to
one color and one font style. Minimize distracting features like underlining, bold, and
exclamation points.
Other themes like “Capital,” “Civic,” and
“Executive” are good too—but be careful in
bad lighting situations of the grey in “Executive.” Stay away from themes like “Blacktie,” “Inkwell,” and “Infusion,” which, as
their names suggest, can be fussy to work
with and hard to see. These overly detailed
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • WINTER 2015
themes unintentionally direct attention
away from the presentation lead—you.
Keep it Interesting
The best use of PowerPoint is for things
that you cannot comm չ