One Thing at a Time

Historically, I was never a fan of the PowerPoint presentation.

I mean...I don't recall many times I thought, "Yes, this is awesome, a PowerPoint slide to enhance the presentation!!"

Looking back, I think there were a few reasons.

Some people would try to insert a joke animation every slide. And, like the fried Twinkie, one too many of those starts to hurt.

And then, some people would put way too much information on one slide and leave it up for half the presentation.

And then, others would have the PowerPoint only display the words they were saying. Like we were reading their script along with them.

I remember thinking...why bother having the PowerPoint...?

But, as I've gotten a bit into course creation, I've learned that PowerPoint presentations (I prefer Google Slides, but it's all the same) can in fact make a presentation come alive.

But only so long as two rules are followed.

1. Keep it moving.

2. One idea, one slide.

When you follow these principles, you have the best chance at keeping the audience's attention.

It's like the trays of food you had in the high school lunchroom. One compartment for each food item. Imagine by comparison if all the food were heaped into one pile for you to sort through.

Keep it moving. One idea at a time.

Rules for teaching, learning, creativity, productivity, and life.