From “Ugh Factor” to “Aha Moment”

When you put together materials for a presentation slide deck, you should keep one overarching principle in mind. Avoid the “Ugh Factor.” When any given slide appears in front of an audience, to what degree is their reaction likely to be, “Ugh. This is going to be painful.” A number of elements contribute to the Ugh Factor. It’s actually pretty easy to avoid all of them. Avoiding the Ugh Factor encourages audiences to stay engaged, which helps them grasp your ideas and reach the “Aha Moment.”

Keep in mind, effective communication techniques aren’t about “right” and “wrong.” Think instead of a “spectrum of effectiveness.” The cumulative effect of your different behaviors creates your overall impact. For instance, it’s not “wrong” to say “um” when presenting, and if you say “um” or “ah” two or three times during a presentation, no one will even notice. But if you say “um” in between every sentence, it will seem as if you came to the meeting unprepared and you’ll slide down that scale of effectiveness. With that in mind, consider the following.

1. Use a decent font size. When you look at your slide on your laptop, are you squinting to see any of it? If so, use a bigger font. You can avoid this issue entirely if you follow #2 below.

2. Limit the volume of content. Follow the “6×6” rule. Keep your slides simple. No more than six bullets on a slide. No more than six words per bullet. If you stick to that rule, you won’t have to worry about cramming too much on the slide.

3. Avoid dual-use documents. If you create one document that’s intended to be both a “delivery tool” during your presentation, and a “leave-behind” for the audience, you’ll struggle being effective at one of your two objectives. The slide you use to delivery your information during the meeting or presentation should have simple bullet points that prompt your memory regarding the points you want to make, and that keep your audience focused. Remember – you look smart in front of the room based on everything you say that isn’t on the slide. Your value-add for each bullet makes you the expert.
   
   
   
   In contrast, the leave-behind should be sufficiently complete that it stands on its own without explanation. Instead of simple bullet points, you’ll write complete paragraphs that explain your ideas. That doesn’t mean you need to work twice as hard. If you need to provide your audience with a take-away, create the long-form document first, and then resave it as your delivery tool. Open that version and delete all of your details, leaving only the headings and key bullets you need to delivery your complex content.

4. Make every word count. When you practice your presentation, if there are bullets or phrases on your slide that you don’t reference, delete them. Your audience assumes you are being intentional about your presentation. When they see a bullet on the screen, they expect it’s there for a reason. If you don’t mention it, it creates confusion. They’re thinking, “Did he forget to cover that point?” or “Did she suddenly change her mind about telling us something?” or, “I wonder what they had intended to say about that last bullet?” Any amount of confusion you add to the audience’s experience detracts from your impact.

5. Craft bullet points that prompt your memory. Let the slide carry the burden of remembering your content. When you practice your presentation, if you keep stalling on one bullet point, wondering, “What did I mean by that?” you need to rewrite your bullet or add a sub-bullet. If you don’t add something to the bullet, you’ll sabotage yourself during your delivery. Your slide should have on it every word you need to remember what to say, and not a single word more.
   
   
   
   Adding the “leader notes” below your slides helps you formulate what you want to say, but you shouldn’t be using them during your delivery. Nor should you be using an additional set of notes. Your goal is to create the illusion of a conversation when you are delivering your material. The bullets prompt your memory and reinforce your message for your audience. Any additional notes you are using add a layer of formality to the experience and, again, detract from you looking like the expert.

6. Talk to the audience about the audience. If you drone on for too long on your content, you’ll start to lose your audience. They care less about your content and more about how your content impact them. The best presenters sound like they are having a conversation with the audience, even though most presentations are NOT conversations and aren’t intended to be. Using rhetorical questions can create the illusion of a conversation and remind you that your presentation is all about the audience rather than your content. Consider an occasional slide heading that reads, “And Why Should You Care?” or “What’s the Impact on You?” or “Why Does This Matter?” When you use a rhetorical question as a slide heading, you’ll automatically use a more conversational tone of voice in your delivery, which will make you sound more engaging. The question itself will prompt you to talk about your topic from the audience’s perspective. You’ll relate your content to your listeners. Audiences enjoy hearing about themselves more than hearing about your content. Making the talk about them, decreases any Ugh Factor that may have crept in, despite your best efforts.

In short, remember that YOU are the presentation. The slides are just there to support you and your delivery. No one came to your presentation to see your pretty slide deck. They came to hear the ideas and wisdom you have to share about your topic. Since your slides play a supporting role in the experience, they shouldn’t draw attention to themselves, and certainly not in a negative way. Adopting each of these ideas will help you inch further up that spectrum of effectiveness, away from the Ugh Factor and more toward the Aha Moment.

Originally published on Forbes.com.