How to do a good presentation? Kill the slides

I took David Milne's course on presentation skills (levels I and II) between 2008 and 2009 and I have to say that it is extremely useful. Not only it works but it is a life-changing experience. My first presentation soon after the course was probably the best one I have ever done up to date. It was like scoring a goal in the Maracana or Wembley in the final of a World Cup.

However, subsequent presentations were not as good because I was not doing my part.  I did not prepare as much as I did for that glorious day when I felt the full power that my words and ideas could have in people's hearts and minds. I also failed to use key principles and techniques that David had taught me.

One year later I had to present in an important event for my organisation. But this time I had to do the same presentation twice in the same day.  In the first presentation, I depended too much on the slides. I was stuck to my computer and looked most of the time to the slides. I hardly moved and had very little eye contact with the audience. When it ended, a colleague of mine who took David's course with me asked me "What is wrong on with you? That is not the presenter I know!". In that moment I knew what I was doing wrong: I had become a slave of the slides. I had given them too much power. I was protecting myself with them. I was using them as a shield.... from what? I have no idea.

The second time I presented, I still used some slides (mainly pictures, maps and diagrams) but dropped almost all the ones with text (I should have dropped them all). The difference was incredible. I was free to move around the room and make eye contact. I could also move my hands more and my mind could flow better through the ideas I had in my head without being restricted to the script on the wall.  Sure, I forgot to say some things, but I felt that my story got through to the audience better.

Facts are important to support the story but it is not facts what people remember the most; it is the feelings; the emotions they go through during the presentation. Cold facts seldom lead to action. It is emotion with the background of some sort of "factual certainty" that gets people to act.

Of course, the experiment was not perfect because the audience was different each time, but it made me realise the importance of the lessons I learned from David. The two lessons in this blog are:

1. Only use a slide when there is not other way to convey the idea to the audience. In general, do not use slides.
2. Take your audience in an emotional journey:
• from apathy to enthusiasm
• from confusion to understanding
• from despair to hope, etc...

(Note: "factual certainty" can be created by facts that are wrong or impossible for the audience to verify. By saying this I am not condoning the use of false evidence or data. It is very important to get the facts right and cite the sources).