Eric Edmeades argues that slides often weaken presentations. When Vishen Lakhiani lost his projector in Dubai, he delivered a better talk without his 90 slides. Speakers should use slides only when they add real value, not as a crutch for information.
I can tell you right now, if you have 10 speakers speaking at a conference and one of them really needs their slides, which speaker is the projector gonna die? That one. That's how it works. The more you need your slides, the higher the odds are that the projector is gonna die. How many of you guys know Vishen Vishen Lakhiani from Mindvalley? He was here in Dubai. He had 90 slides, and the slide projector died on him. And he goes, eric, I was on the stage, and then finally it was my turn to go up. And then they couldn't get the projector work, and I couldn't use any of my slides. And he uses slides all the time. And he goes, but. But instead, I just did what you do. And I think it might have been one of the best presentations I've ever done. And you know what I heard from friends of mine that were in the audience? It was because he wasn't restricted or constrained by the slides. I'm not saying you shouldn't use slides ever, but I'm saying you should only use slides when they add value. You can use slides when you're providing evidence of something. You've climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, and you want to show a picture of it. Evidence. Or you put a slide up because it creates a feeling for people. But if you're putting a slide up because it has information on it, then you're asking the slide to do your job. And so I'm not a big fan of that.
Eric Edmeades: The Speaker Your Audience Will Still Be Talking About Next Year
Eric Edmeades: The Speaker Your Audience Will Still Be Talking About Next Year
A free class on Stop Style Profiles, habit cessation and behavior change by Eric Edmeades.
