PowerPoint Tip – Do I reveal points one at a time, or should I put the whole slide on at once?
Half the people in your audience will like points to be revealed one at a time. The rest will prefer you flash all the points up at the same time and then go through them one by one. There is no strict rule. My rule is to make sure you’re doing what’s best for your audience, not what’s best for you!
Here are some tips
In my experience the reveal option can work because it creates what’s known as ‘response potential’ (that’s when the audience is thinking ‘what’s coming next?’) and it also prevents people from racing ahead of you. The reveal option only works with three points per slide because otherwise the constant ushering-in of a new point will become monotonous and could trance your audience.
Another idea for you to try if you’ve got a number of bullet points is to turn each bullet point into a slide with the bullet as the heading and fabulous, evocative image taking up the rest of the space on the slide, just like I’ve done here. It means you have a lot more slides but the good thing about this approach is that each slide is working for you, not against you. And an added benefit of this approach is you don’t need to move out of the way, because they can see it behind you. This is how keynote speakers do it. It works.
If you have no idea how to structure your message and then create amazing slides that truly ‘aid’ your business presentation, then please come and work with me either one-on-one or in my Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass.
Happy presenting!
© Michelle Bowden CSP is the best-selling author of How to Present (Wiley) and she’s delivered her Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass more than 900 times over the past 20 years. Michelle helps professional speakers and businesspeople alike. Please join us at our next ‘live’ Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass.