Speaking ahead...

Ever had to endure someone’s slide show of how they spent their summer vacation?

“(click) And here I am in front of Old Faithful… (click) And, oh, yes, here we are in front of the visitor’s center near Old Faithful… (click) And here we are with the park ranger… (click) And here’s a little deer that walked up to our car; isn’t she cute?… (click) And here I am putting a bandage on Frank’s hand from where the deer bit it… (click)”

It’s the stuff of nightmares: an endless rotation through the eternal slide carousel, with the happy traveler droning on in witless description of countless (boring) photos.

We laugh at the cliché it’s become, yet somehow we continue to tolerate it — indeed, perhaps perpetuate it — when the scene shifts from Aunt Molly’s living room to the corporate conference room or hotel meeting room.

Picture this: The presenter clicking through one image after another, waiting for the picture or diagram to appear on the screen, then describing it to the audience:

“(click) Here’s a graph that shows last month’s sales… (click) And here’s a photo of our latest product… (click) And here’s a table that lists the features of this product… (click) And, uh, um, here’s a graph that shows a projection for next month’s sales… Uh, you can’t read that from the back of the room, I know, so let me read it for you…”

Aaargh!

Here’s the question: Are you presenting information? Or simply narrating a slide show?

The images you use in a presentation have one job: to illustrate your remarks. They serve you, not the other way around.

Rather than tediously narrate your slide show (i.e, waiting for each slide to appear before describing it), let your slides support your narrative.

Set up your images with commentary, give them context, before you reveal them. Enable them to punctuate your narrative rather than dominate it. For example…

“Our sales last month were 22 percent above projections…” (click, show sales graph)

“We have good reason to be proud of our new product design. It’s really sweet…” (click, show product photo)

“Research tells us the customer is looking for five things in our product. With the new model, we deliver those and six more…” (click, show the table of features)

Lead into the images. Set them up. Speak to what they represent rather than describe what the audience can see for themselves.

Remain in charge of your presentation and let the images do their job — their only job — of illustrating your remarks.

Your audience isn’t there for a slide show, after all. They’re there to listen to what you have to say.