Five Ways to Avoid PowerPoint Failure: How to Make You Presentation Connect and Win!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, suggesting that through imagery we can better articulate our ideas.

While this may be true in some cases, when it comes to the majority of presentation business graphs and images, clarity is often times replaced by confusion.

As illustrated by the following graphic from a New York Times article, it is usually easier to discern the meaning of a hieroglyphic sequence than it is to glean the meaning from a PowerPoint visual.

I mean if we are all being really honest with one another, we would likely admit that more times than not, we have no real clue as to what a PowerPoint image is trying to tell us.

However, and despite the obvious disconnect, very few of us will openly stand up and in an "Emperor has no clothes" fashion say "I just don't get it!"

Perhaps our reluctance to speak up regarding this visual distortion of insight is due to the fact that we are afraid to look dumb - especially within a sea of bobbing heads that imply your are the only one in the audience who doesn't get it.

Nothing of course could be further from the truth as it is a known fact that similar to blinking, head bobbing is usually an innocuous reflex reaction reflecting either boredom or appeasement. In short, we are not alone.

The reasons for the proliferation of meaninglessly complex business graphs and nondescript images are many. I for one believe it is a sign that the presenter lacks both the knowledge and expertise to explain the merits of their position on a particular topic.

I am not suggesting that they do not know what they are talking about.

What I am saying is that their problem could be as simple as choosing either the wrong image or, attempting to show too much within a single frame or slide.

As one expert once put it, you want to "lessen the cognitive load" to "make your content more memorable." And by memorable I am talking about effective in clarifying the idea being presented.

That said, and rather than focus on the whys, I thought it would be more productive to offer intrepid presenters with pratical advice relative to simplifying their imagery so that we as the audience, can actually get the picture.

However, before presenting the "guiding rules" for the effective utilization of graphs and images in your presentation, let's confirm the following:

1. To start, images do indeed allow you to expand on an idea or concept that is difficult if not impossible to achieve with text alone.
2. Despite the potential for added clarity, if not used properly, business graphs and images can actually make it more difficult for your audience to gain the desired insight or understanding.

Within the above context, here are the aforementioned guidelines:

• Keep your pictures relevant to the topic being presented. In short, don't use images to simply "pretty up" your presentation.
• Make sure that your images in and of themselves tell a story that can be quickly and easily grasped by your audience without being a distraction. For example, earlier this year at Coupa Inspire, graffiti artist, painter, author and speaker Erik Wahl ingeniously painted pictures onstage while speaking to his audience. As the picture began to take shape on his canvas, the meaning of Wahl's presentation became even clearer. It was a powerful combination.
• Use images to engage your audience emotionally. In an article written for Microsoft, Robert Lane and Dr. Stephen Kosslyn talked about the importance of "shaping your audience's emotions." Citing a presentation on the dangers of tobacco, Lane and Kosslyn indicated that showing pictures of yellow teeth and blackened lungs were powerful motivators that enabled the presenter to "tap directly into the audience's emotions, at the deepest levels."
• Whenever possible be sure to use High Definition or High Quality images in your presentation. Like unpolished shoes can make the entire suit look bad, so too can poor quality images make the presentation look sloppy and disorganized.
• As is the case with using text in your PowerPoint, less is more when it comes to incorporating visuals into your presentation, be it pictures, graphs or videos. Or to put it another way, don't get bitten by the creative bug when you discover all the neat multimedia capabilities in the software. This also goes for slide transitions.

In the end graphs and images, like text points, are designed to help you to tell your story as opposed to telling the story for you.

Think of them as supporting cast members in a play in which your are the star. When used properly presentation graphs and images will make you shine.

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