Don’t Look at Your Slides When You Give a Presentation

Whenever you hear about an Iron Law or Iron Rule, there's typically an exception. It's a built-in exception. Usually we train and coach people with a set of preferences, not laws or rules. But one preference that was shattered this summer was the one that says "Don't Look at Your Slides".

Yes, a very public case study hit the news worldwide and it totally shattered any pretence of an Iron Law.

The case study involved President Trump's narrow escape from an assassin's bullet in Pennsylvania whilst campaigning before the Republican nomination convention.

Don't Look at Your Slides When You Present

And the presentation skills Iron Law or preference? Well, we always suggest that presenters or speakers don't get in the habit of looking at their own PowerPoint slides on the big screen. That's because it's habit forming. And you also lose eye contact with your presentation audience. So far, so good.

But at the Butler Farm show grounds in Pennsylvania, a sideways cock of the head when President Trump decided to look at the big presentation screen saved his life. He wanted to admire the last Administration's border security statistics that he'd asked to be presented on the screen. And, once they were on the screen, he wanted to admire them himself. As you do.

And that sideways glance at the big screen proved enough to dodge a bullet. Amazing.

Now, we're all in favour of ducking when the bullets fly. It's normal! However, we'd urge everyone else not to admire their own PowerPoint, or Keynote, slides during their presentation. Point at your slides, turn to your audience and talk.

You can discover plenty of presentation tips and hints for speakers with more than 100 top tips available. And, when you want to take you own presentation skills that bit further, then you're always welcome to enroll on an online course.