This book is different from what I normally read, but I found it to be helpful and practical. Anyone who makes presentations, whether to one person or to a full room, should read it. Tim Pollard is the founder and CEO of Oratium, a leading messaging and design firm. He helps people make great sales presentations.
I recently gave a PowerPoint presentation in front of a group of businesspeople. Afterward, someone told me he loved my presentation but asked if I had heard about this book. I had never read a book or manual on making PowerPoint presentations, but I realized I should. Pollard leads seminars that I have heard are outstanding, but the book contains many of his most important ideas.
He purports that we tend to rate a presentation by how much we enjoyed it. Was everyone laughing? Did the audience cry? Did the speaker’s statements resonate with people? If so, we determine the presenter is a good speaker and gave a great presentation. Pollard disagrees. He suggests that a presentation is good only if it is memorable and leads people to take the desired action.
Throughout the book, Pollard offers lots of practical advice on giving presentations. He also lays out a systematic plan for assembling them. I won’t outline all of that here. Rather, I’ll highlight some points I found interesting.
He says a typical PowerPoint presentation contains between 40-60 slides, which he believes is too many (11). He also argues that two-thirds of presentations are mediocre or worse (16). His fundamental point is that each presentation should strive to “powerfully land a small number of ideas” (36). He argues that most presenters include far too much unnecessary information, a mistake he calls “Death by PowerPoint” (13).
Pollard states, “Don’t prove what doesn’t need proving. Time is the most precious resource in most presentations, yet presenters routinely burn that time hammering a point that the audience is already sold on” (7). He calls this phenomenon “too much club” (7).
Pollard notes several things about PowerPoints I have always believed. He argues that communication is highly personal and should be between people, not between people and a screen (34). He does not like excessive bullet points, which he suggests makes people anticipate what’s coming next rather than engage in the current point (33). He says presenters should strive to make memorable statements. He cites the famous line Johnny Cochrane uttered during the O.J. Simpson trial when Simpson tried on the glove that had been found at the crime scene: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” (37). Pollard suggests the brain is drawn to antitheses (49). Cochrane’s statement provides a classic example that people still remember many years later. Pollard states that, to be memorable, new information must be tied to something the audience already understands. Pollard notes that audiences remember only 20% of PowerPoint presentations soon after they are made (47).
Pollard makes an interesting point that most instruction on communication centers on delivery—voice, eye contact, and body language. However, Pollard argues that content is what captivates people (57). Therefore, he developed a plan for creating presentations that contain powerful and memorable content. He believes that 70% of what is included in the average presentation is unnecessary (66). He suggests that bombarding people with too much information is one of the most serious and common violations presenters make (67).
Pollard advises that every presentation should be anchored in a problem (77). Often, presentations begin with the presenter’s credentials or experience, but people don’t care about that. They care about having their problems solved. Good presentations focus immediately on a problem the audience is experiencing and then unpacks the solution.
Pollard recommends that presenters stick to three or fewer major insights so the audience can remember and respond to them (116). He notes that presenters ought to strive for the bestargument, not the biggest (118). He uses the term “fire hosing” to describe PowerPoint presentations that overwhelm audiences with far more information than they can absorb (130). He also discourages presenters from repeating themselves (145).
Pollard points out that the brain typically stores information as stories, and he suggests that presentations should be put into a narrative form (214). He encourages presenters to use their “big” stories for their “big” ideas (220). He notes that numbering points is not the same as providing a narrative (161). He says the presentation’s logic must match the audience’s logic, not the presenter’s (164). He recommends putting the strongest points at the end of the presentation, just as the biggest fireworks shoot off during the grand finale (174).
Pollard also notes that the left brain focuses on details, while the right brain focuses on the whole. Yet he argues that most presenters use left brain tools to achieve right brain outcomes (209). He discourages the use of fill in the blanks during presentations (246). I was glad to read that point, because I’ve always hated those! He says they give the illusion of engagement without actually engaging the audience. They also insult an adult audience’s intelligence and limit the presenter’s ability to adjust the presentation.
Pollard offers several practical presentation tips at the end of the book. He urges presenters to choose their words carefully, because some words pack more punch than others (254). He also encourages presenters to rehearse their presentations in order to eliminate many common problems.
This is a “how to” book. I don’t read those often, as I don’t like reading instructions! But I make roughly 250 presentations every year and often use PowerPoint. Pollard is correct that many presenters have embraced PowerPoint so fervently that they feel naked if their audience isn’t looking at a screen. Yet presenters have often never thought through why they are doing what they are doing. This book offers an easy and thoughtful way to assemble presentations that can save time and keep the presenter focused. Pollard does not present this book as openly “Christian,” but it seems apparent that he is a Christian. He also notes that his approach works well in developing sermons.
If you feel as though you have been buried in endless PowerPoint slides while enduring boring, unending presentations, or if you have inflicted such presentations on others, you should read this book! It will undoubtedly make your presentations much better.
Rating: 3
