Hell is other people’s slides

For some people hell is other people. For me, it’s other people’s PowerPoint slides.

We’ve all sat through bad presentations.

• Too many words.
• Tiny charts.
• The presenter reading every word out loud.
• Or looking at the screen, not at us.

They're boring. They're hard to follow. They feel like they last forever.

So why do so many people do the same thing when it’s their turn to be the presenter?

I think it’s because most people have never seen a really good presentation.
They don’t know what “good” looks like, so they just do what everyone else does.

But good presentations do exist—watch any Apple event or a TED Talk. Search for videos of the late Hans Rosling.

Here’s the key: don’t just do what everyone else does. Show your audience some respect and find out what makes a good presentation (clue: a clear narrative, images instead of text, and rehearsing). Then make a commitment to improve your performance.

And if you want real help to get better, I’d love to help.