How many slides should you use?
Managing nervous energy when public speaking
Bullet points are the biggest killer of successful speeches. We often rely on them far too much as a safety net and a reminder of what we want to say.
The perfect speech, pitch or presentation is a delicate balance of both voice and visuals combined. Bullet points that are very text heavy, or worse, are a complete transcript of your speech, quickly destroy this balance.
Here’s why…
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When you flash up a slide with lots of bullet points and lots of text, your audience begin reading those bullet points.
Their focus is on reading and so their ability to listen is hugely reduced. It’s near impossible that your verbal message is going to reach them.
What really seals the deal is that your audience can read faster than you can speak.
So by the time they have finished reading, you are still speaking.
But your audience are not going to continue listening, as they believe that they have absorbed all the information that you have to give.
It was all written there on the slides, right?!
So what should you be doing with your bullets, to become a successful speaker?
Your visuals (slides) should always be complementing your voice, not replacing it. Use images or single words that can help to guide, direct and remind your audience of the topic that you are speaking about. (That’s if you need slides at all - check out our Presenting without PowerPoint course here!).
They shouldn’t replace you as a speaker.
If you need to convey lots of written information, then consider if your presentation should be an email, or perhaps should be supported by a handout (sent out before the presentation, to avoid it being read whilst you are speaking!).
If you want to be a successful speaker, make sure you always dodge the bullets.
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