Break the Rules!

Have you heard any rules about slide creation? How about these?

1. Slides should contain no more than 7 lines with 7 or fewer words per line (or 6 lines/6 words, 5 lines/5 words - depending on who you listen to)

2. 3+1+1: 3 different elements on your slide plus one kind of background plus one flash (animation, sound, video etc)

3. 10/20/30: No more than 10 slides, no longer than a 20 minute presentation, no font smaller than 30 (Guy Kawasaki)

If you follow first rule, whether you use 7, 6 or 5, you can still end up with A LOT of words on your slide and your audience will still end up reading your slides instead of listening to you. It should take a few SECONDS for your audience to read your slide and then get back to listening to you.

I'm not sure if I even understand the second rule. You could spend too much time trying to figure out what defines an element and if you really need something that is called 'flash'.

And, if you read deeper into Kawasaki's 10/20/30 rule, he is only talking about a very specific kind of presentation - the fast-paced pitch to venture capitalists. While I agree that you should use big, readable fonts, there are many kinds of presentations that have to be longer than 20 minutes and that should use a lot more than 10 slides. If you feel you have to limit the number of slides you use, you will end up putting too many ideas on one slide just to make the cut.

Knowing that your slides are just a tool to support your message, the fewer words, the better (you want them to listen to you, not read your slide). And, make sure you have only one idea per slide, no matter how many slides you have to use (think about how many slides Steve Jobs or Seth Godin use with only one word or a photo).

When you are creating your slides, ask yourself what the key words are and only use those (I'm talking about only one to three words!). You will fill in the information for the audience by speaking. If your audience needs detailed information, make documents for them and let them know they will have all the details after your presentation. And, don't limit yourself to words! Maybe an image will attract their attention and spark their curiosity about your message much better than words.

Forget rules, use your creativity and don't depend on your slides to tell your message! Use your slides to grab their attention and make them listen to you. You will have a much better chance of making your audience remember your message and getting the results you want!

© 2009 Jeanne Trojan. All rights reserved