The problem is that decision makers no longer are getting the background material they need and so the slides become the material. There are two reasons for this:1) Most decisions in today’s military are made 2 or 3 levels higher than they should be-requiring briefings of the decision maker. And 2) Presentations have a “gucci factor” that means they are going to have to be as slick as they can be.

PPT and the VTC are the two worst inventions of the 20th century…..........

Powerpoint is no more a substitute for an informed and insightful presenter than a toolbox can substitute for a good carpenter.

If useful handouts are wanted, the slides can be printed up with additional notations – the important part of the slide is creating visuals that hook the audience and cognitively reinforce the points being made. If they clash or are irrelevant to the key points of the message then they are a distraction. Best are transformative slides that create “Aha!” questions in the audience that the briefer is prepared to discuss or answer.

“6×6” and “CCC”

“6×6” is “no more than six words per line, no more than six lines per screen.” You’re making a slide for people to see, not an eye chart to test their vision.

“CCC” is “contrast, then color, then cool.” Make sure your text and background have high contrast, then fiddle with the colors a bit to give it some life (while keeping contrast up), then put a little cool stuff on the slide (one or two animations, MAYBE, with movies or the like). Dark blue background with light yellow text is a solid choice.

One simple way to test your slides is to stand back six or seven times the screen width (not diagonal). If you have a 21” monitor, stand back about nine or ten feet and see if it’s readable without straining.

Oh, yeah – never use sound effects. They suck unless they’re PERFECT. And even then, usually.