Want guaranteed event success? You’ll need to avoid death by PowerPoint

We’ve all been there. Sat in a long-winded seminar or workshop facing a PowerPoint presentation that’s dull enough to send anyone to sleep. 

If you’ve ever attended a training workshop or conference, we can guarantee that you’ve sat staring at a PowerPoint presentation. After all, it’s used in 92% of all presentations. And according to David J Phillips, “81% of these presentations were deemed “terrible” by the employees.”

As corporate event specialists, nothing frustrates us more than a poorly designed PowerPoint presentation. 

That’s because we work closely with businesses across Devon and the South West to create compelling corporate events that excite and motivate delegates. 

We will help with hiring interesting venues, arranging delicious catering, and we will even add gamification or entertainment to add some fun to the proceedings. 

But if the main USP of the event is based around a static PowerPoint presentation, we can almost feel the audience’s disappointment. 

So what can you do to avoid death by PowerPoint? 

Here are some of our top tips that we often share with clients to make sure that their corporate events are a success. 

If you are using PowerPoint, remember the 1-6-6 rule

PowerPoint can fail as a presentation tool because the speaker has included too much content on one single slide. Your audience might zone out if they spend more time reading the text or if the speaker merely repeats what the slides say. 

The 1-6-6 rule works because of its simplicity. 

When you arrange your next corporate presentation, try to limit each slide to one single idea with a maximum of six bullet points, each containing no more than six words per line. 

This presentation technique is guaranteed to keep your audience’s attention. 

There are alternatives to PowerPoint.

One reason why so many people choose PowerPoint for corporate events is because of its accessibility. But other presentation tools are available, such as Google Slides, Keynote, Prezi, Canva and Beautiful.ai.

Within each tool, there are various options to integrate video or animation and make the most of improved graphic design templates to align with your corporate brand. 

If you’ve got multiple guests speaking, each with their own branding and presentation, using an option such as Google Slides can help to prevent any technical issues from occurring which could detail your corporate event.

Corporate events rely on audience participation

One of the reasons the phrase Death by PowerPoint was coined was because it clearly sums up an audience bored by the subject matter. In our experience, the most successful corporate events and conferences are those where the audience is continually involved in the discussions. 

We love options like Mentimeter, which allows your delegates to provide immediate, real-time feedback or share their opinions. During a training session or conference, you can bring your learning to life through interactive polls, questions and surveys. It helps to keep the audience involved in what you are talking about, which makes for a more memorable corporate event. 

Video footage adds interactivity and interest to your presentations

You might be nervous about adding video footage to your corporate presentations, fearing that the costs outweigh the benefits. 

Luckily, it’s now easier than ever to bring video to your presentations, thanks to tools such as Canva or Lumen5. You can use their stock video options to add movement to your presentations in the same way that you add images. These will naturally pique your audience’s interest and stop your presentation from feeling “static.” 

Adding multimedia formats will also help visual learners – but don’t forget to add closed captions if you’re using video footage of people talking. 

Of course, in a dream world with unlimited budgets, you’ll be able to hire a professional videographer to edit your video footage. 

But we don’t live in a dream world. 

If you’re a small business in Devon, you’ll likely only have a small budget. These tools offer accessible and affordable video capabilities that can improve the impact of your corporate event or internal training session.

We want your next corporate event to thrive

If you’re investing in a training workshop, a conference or other corporate event, you need to know that your delegates will be excited and motivated.

We want that too. 

After all, if you’re investing in a venue, catering, sponsorship, entertainment and marketing promotion, you want to know that your audience will appreciate your efforts. 

But too often, your speaker presentations can let the side down. 

If you want to avoid death by PowerPoint, why don’t you pick up the phone and give us a call? 

As well as providing extensive event management support for your corporate event, we can advise and support you on the content side of your next seminar. Our extensive experience means we know how to engage audiences, whether you’re looking for something small and informal or you want to host a full-blown conference. 

We can advise on all the logistical matters, such as venue choice, catering and seating arrangements. We can provide end-to-end event management or work as an additional resource for your in-house team. 

Please get in touch to learn more about our event management services in Devon and across the UK. 

Alternatively, if you need any inspiration, why not head over to our Instagram or Facebook page.