I’ve written before about how most powerpoint presentations are miserable and gave some specific suggestions on how to make them better if you are presenting to me (or any other VC). I read today on Cliff Atkinson’s blog that adding text to a screen in a powerpoint presentation that is identical to the narration harms the ability of the audience to understand the information. If you remove the text, information retention increases by 28% and information transfer increases by 79%. This is no huge surprise if you are a follower of Seth Godin’s methods to Avoid Really Bad Powerpoint – Seth’s actual article is here.
Historically, I’ve restrained myself when someone puts up a slide with bullet points on it and then proceeds to read the bullets. I always have the urge to shout “shut up – I’ll just read it”, especially since I process information much better by reading then by listening. It’s the same urge that I used to have as a kid when I sat in the synagogue during high holy days and wanted to jump up and shout “but I’m not sure god exists.”
I’m not going to restrain myself anymore.