Death by PowerPoint: A Coroner's Report

Let’s face it—most business presentations are a crime scene. Deals are killed, careers are maimed, and audiences are left for dead. The culprit? PowerPoint. Or, more accurately, the misuse of PowerPoint.

It’s not the tool itself—it’s how people wield it like a blunt instrument instead of a precision scalpel. So, let’s perform an autopsy and figure out why so many presentations fail miserably.

Glance Goodness

First, let’s talk about the most common cause of death: information overload. You’ve seen it—slides crammed with text, bullet points, and charts that look like they were designed by someone who hates humanity. The audience spends more time squinting at the screen than listening to the speaker.

Here’s the truth: if your slide has more than twenty words, you’re doing it wrong. Nancy Duarte has what’s called the Glance Test. That is, people only need to glance at your slide, and then they can return their attention to you.

People have difficulty reading and listening at the same time. Your slides should complement your message, not compete with it. Think of them as visual aids, not visual distractions.

Font Fiasco

Next up: the font fiasco. Too small, too fancy, or just plain unreadable. I’ve seen slides with delicate eight-point fonts that require a magnifying glass to decipher.

Here’s a rule I live by: 30-point font minimum. If you can’t fit your message in that space, you’re saying too much. And for the love of Steve Jobs, stick to sans-serif fonts. They’re cleaner, easier to read, and don’t make you look like you’re stuck in 1998.

Design Disaster

Then there’s the design disaster. White backgrounds hurt the eyes to stare at. Think about it: Have you ever seen movie credits with black text on a white background? A dark background with bold, simple text adds gravitas and makes your presentation look polished.

And then there’s clip art and stock photos that scream “I’m trying to dazzle you with bullshit.” Your slides should have one focal point—a graphic, a picture, or God help you, a simple block of text. This focal point should scream, “This is what I want you to glance at!”

Let’s not forget the 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font. It’s not just a guideline—it’s a survival strategy for your audience’s attention span. Here’s an article I wrote about the 10/20/30 rule that goes more in depth: https://guykawasaki.com/the_102030_rule/

Reading Revolt

There’s one more real killer: reading your slides. If you’re standing in front of a room and reading word-for-word, you’ve already lost. At least if you have much less text, you’ll be reading less, but still…

Your audience doesn’t need a narrator—they need a storyteller. Know your material so well that your slides are just a backdrop, not a crutch. If you’re reading, you’re signaling that you don’t know your stuff. And your audience will quickly figure out that you’re a bozo after the first slide.

So, how do you avoid becoming a PowerPoint serial offender?

Simplify. Use visuals that enhance your message. Speak with passion and clarity. And remember, the goal of a presentation isn’t to show off your (lack of) PowerPoint skills—it’s to communicate, persuade, and inspire.

Anything less is a crime against your audience. Let’s stop the carnage and start presenting like a pro.

Mahalo!

Guy