How to avoid ‘death by PowerPoint’

A classroom of students facing a screen at the front
Banner: Getty Images

Many of us have sat through slide presentations that are boring and lifeless, but with a bit more thought, you can save your audience from tedium

Dr Hugh Gundlach, University of Melbourne

Dr Hugh Gundlach

Published 28 October 2024

Slide presentations have become a staple in many workplaces and classrooms.

This is because they’re easy to create, modify, share and store, and they can be way more effective at communicating ideas than verbal explanations alone.

Young black woman presenting to an audience
Anyone presenting should approach slides as just one communication tool among many. Picture: Getty Images

For many people when they’re presenting, slides provide a sense of security – they can serve as prompts, or a tangible archive of the presentation.

But as many of us would know, slides are often used as a crutch rather than a complementary tool.

Our reliance on slideshows is because classrooms, lecture theatres and office meeting rooms are now designed with large screens as the focus of the space, with all the seating facing it.

This can end up sidelining more interactive teaching and communication methods – even inhibiting learning rather than enhancing it.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated issues of passive learning and cognitive overload. Some students even downloaded the transcripts of lectures or the slide content (without watching), or watched the recorded lectures at higher speeds to get through them faster.

The rectangular format of slides themselves encourages linear narratives with bullet points – leading to the dreaded ‘death by PowerPoint’ – excessively long, repetitive and uninspiring slide decks where every word written on screen is read out ad verbatim.

Overfilled slide decks can also make a presenter look unprofessional if they skip content, don’t get through all the slides, or go too far ‘off script’.

When slides are used to dump information rather than to tell a story or encourage engagement – this is when problems arise.

Three diverse people in a meeting room organising their slides
PechaKucha uses 20 slides for 20 seconds each, automatically timed. Picture: Getty Images

There are alternatives to slides

To avoid these pitfalls, anyone presenting should approach slides as just one tool among many for communicating their ideas.

Live surveys or the projection of a shared, editable document onto a screen (like OneNote or Google Docs), can be far more engaging and effective, especially in meetings and teaching environments.

In most cases, it’s possible to do or simulate the activity that the slides are merely telling the audience about. Think role-plays, case studies, concept mapping, brainstorming, debates, working meetings and graphic organisers (maybe Venn diagrams, pro and con columns, tree charts).

These can all use a screen or slide format, but without being constrained by the linear, presenter-focused slideshow format.

Sometimes presentations need slides if there’s a large audience or because of the nature of the content, but there are still ways to improve their use.

Slides and the human brain

Try to avoid scenarios where an audience reads content off slides while you’re speaking.

There are neuroscience studies that tell us reading a handout or slide while listening to a presenter actually activates the same part of the brain. This can lead to problems with retaining information or cognitively switching between the two things.

Another tip is don’t put everything you plan to say on the slides; they should not make complete sense without your narration. Instead, use slides as cues for the audience, not reminders for yourself.

Male teacher leading lesson at touch screen television in classroom
Think about music, props, activities, stories and videos to dynamically communicate your points. Picture: Getty Images

There’s a presentation style, known as PechaKucha, where 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each, automatically timed. This forces speakers to be concise, focused and dynamic. There’s even one style of PechaKucha that doesn’t permit any text on the slides.

Using design visuals can complement and prompt what you’re saying, not replace it. The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text – so large, striking images that complement the spoken content can make a presentation far more memorable. And remember, no stretched, pixelated or watermarked images.

If you do want to include more information, have some detailed handouts for after the presentation, and focus on optimising the slides for live delivery.

You can also think about music, props, activities, stories and videos to dynamically communicate your points. Depending on whether you want you or the content to be the focus, remember that transitions, animations, images and bullet points can divert attention away from you.

Some concepts are better explained using a non-linear approach, which slides can’t easily do. Consider non-linear or alternate formats like the zooming interface of Prezi, or smooth transitioning templates on Canva.

The storytelling techniques, often seen in TEDTalks, rarely rely on text-heavy slides and instead use visual elements that enhance, rather than detract from, the narrative.

When used creatively and thoughtfully, slides can support highly engaging presentations, something you can explore in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

Practice better slide design

There’s something known as the 10/20/30 rule. This means using no more than 10 slides, speaking for under 20 minutes, and using a font size of at least 30 points to ensure readability.

African American student presenting his classmates a lecture
Avoid reading every single word on the screen. Picture: Getty Images

Another common guideline is the 5/5/5 rule: no more than five words per line, five lines per slide, and no more than five slides filled with text-heavy content in a row.

Present one idea per slide – use bullet points, short phrases or keywords rather than long paragraphs. Display one line at a time.

Keep your slides simple and consistent. Use a sans-serif font like Helvetica or Arial in a large size (28–32 points for body text, 36–44 points for headings) to ensure readability from anywhere in the room.

Be aware of visibility.

Light text on dark backgrounds can be difficult for older people to see, or if you’re presentation is in a sunny, well-lit room. Dark text on light backgrounds in dark rooms can cause glare. Some colour combinations of text on background do not work well for people with colour blindness.

Slideshows can be valuable visual aids, but they should only complement and enhance what you’re saying.

By trying alternative formats, using slides in different ways and following design best practice, you can create dynamic, interactive and memorable presentations that resonate with your audience for your purpose. And one that doesn’t put them to sleep.

Dr Hugh Gundlach completed a scoping review on effective slide design and use. Look out for his similar research on effective meetings.

Find out more about research in this faculty

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