Our Christmas was very relaxed this year. It hasn't always been that way.
In the past, opening presents (PRESENTS!!!) usually led to chaos, stress, and arguments.
Not because the kiddo was unhappy with her gifts. But she was overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed by gifts, music, tree, food, family, etc.
The same thing happens during business presentations.
Think of how much information and content is crammed into most presentations:
73 slides for a 60 minute meeting (assuming it starts & ends on time with no distractions)
An average of 5 bullet points per slide
Lots of complex charts
Lots of background history ("Since our founding in 1919, we have...")
How many presentations like this have you attended?
It's overwhelming for the audience.
Because it's overwhelming, the audience usually stops actively paying attention or becomes hostile. Once they stop listening they stop learning.
As a result, most of the time the presentation leads to... the need for yet another presentation. Because the audience made no decisions or took no action.
Don't overwhelm your audience. Help them make a decision. You can do that if you:
Keep your message simple (focus on what they need to know at this point in time)
Keep your evidence / proof points simple (one data point at a time)
Provide emotion and logic
Reduce or eliminate words on slides (it's better if you just tell them)
Don't fill your slides with images or fantastic formatting (unless it serves your message)
Let me know if you need help or want to learn a process.
Happy Holidays!
Kev