Challenge Your Organization's Culture of Text-Heavy Slides

Embedded deep into the culture of many organizations is the bullet-heavy approach for technical presentations that so many practitioners know is boring at best. This chapter provides arguments to propel people out of their dependence on bullets. These include addressing the origin of old practices, dispelling the assumption that the audience needs all of the information, avoiding bullet-heavy slides and stopping the usage of slides as teleprompters. There is no magic formula for the number of slides to be used for a presentation; in truth, it takes as many slides as it takes to effectively reach the audience for maximum information retention. In the spirit and practice of continuous improvement, many organizations could use a directed, organized, and focused reevaluation of the effectiveness of current presentation practices. Additionally, rethinking the purpose of the slides for a team effort is essential.