A PowerPoint presentation can be an effective tool for delivering information to various audiences in various environments, to include educational and corporate settings. In a business environment, an individual will have to deliver a PowerPoint presentation at some point during his or her career (CSU-Global, 2015). Just as PowerPoint can be an effective method for delivering information, if not used appropriately - from formatting poorly, to merely incorporating too much text - presentations can sometime do more harm than good (Handout, n.d.). This paper will review PowerPoint bad habits often practiced when delivering presentations, reasons for incorrect usage, personal experiences when using PowerPoint …show more content…
Some individuals interpret PowerPoint presentations as a means of boring the audience to death; however, it is not the presentation that bores the audience, it is the presenter and his or her technique which is used to deliver the information (White, 2012). In other words, the expression refers to the presenter slowly killing - metaphorically speaking - the audience by presenting lackluster, lengthy, and /or unorganized information. From a personal perspective, in addition to the text book interpretation, the axiom - Death by PowerPoint - relates to the feeling the presenter experiences – as the individual senses that he or she is approaching death as a result of the stressful conditions and the need to do well in fear of being criticized. The intended audience and the purpose of the PowerPoint play a pivotal role in what the presenter may experience as the individual prepares to deliver a PowerPoint …show more content…
Inclusive to communicating effectively, set clear briefing objectives, get the audience involved by speaking their language, and solicit feedback. The feedback does not have to be limited to the quality of the information, but also how well the information was delivered (CGMA, 2015). A few additional tips for delivering a PowerPoint presentation entail understanding what not to do or things to avoid, such as distracting special effects, using too large or too small of a font size, and passing out handouts (White,