TL;DR 3: Presenting

Presenting is not PowerPoint. A good presentation might use it, but it is never made of it.

I have always been a presenter: I started in the classroom as a secondary school chemistry teacher. No child wants PowerPoint decks; they seek enthusiasm, clarity of explanation and relevant stories to reinforce. A decade later, my audiences at Microsoft, Google and corporations around the world were no different.

PowerPoint tempts you to let one deck do three different jobs: notes (for you), visuals (for them) and takeaways (for them). But putting your notes on a slide is crazy: the audience reads ahead of you, faster than you can speak. The smart ones will ask, why are we all in this room or on this call? This could have been sent in an email or delivered by an AI!

Plus, PowerPoint doesn’t do energy. And it will not ask for the decision at the end.

Losing PowerPoint liberates you. I have never used PowerPoint in training or consulting. My audiences love that, and, importantly, it allows me to be me. PowerPoint, if not used with care, removes the soul of your presentation.