Do you use Powerpoint for your visual presentations? It is still a very popular and efficient way to get your message across. Some people use it for sales presentations, corporate meetings and collaboration sessions, workshops, and many other reasons. No matter what you are creating presentations and Powerpoint slides for, it’s important to always make sure they are of the highest quality and engaging to your audience. The new Powerpoint has many great new features that help business owners get information across to their target audience.
The new Powerpoint has many great new features that help business owners get information across to their target audience. Many of which we have profiled below in our latest Powerpoint stats report.
5 PowerPoint Statistics to Think About and How to Make Powerpoint Presentation Attractive
The following statistics were reported by the BBC and other sources recently regarding PowerPoint users and statistics. They are important to be aware of when creating your presentations so that you won’t do what everyone else is doing and stay unique.
Statistic #1: There are more than 500 million PowerPoint users
The fact that there are so many millions of PowerPoint users reminds us that staying unique is a real challenge. Even using the most modern PowerPoint with new templates, your chances that others will use the same backgrounds and fonts is pretty high. If you are at a workshop or seminar presenting when others do, you are likely to see similar presentations. So this means that you will have to work harder to make yours stand out.
Statistic #2: Thirty million presentations are created daily.
The fact that so many people are using PowerPoint and creating presentations increases the likelihood that they are using similar templates and assets to what you had planned to do. How will you make yours get noticed in the crowd? Even if you present it online, what are the chances that it will bore your audience due to overkill from the use of PowerPoint?
Statistic #3: Over six million teachers use PowerPoint daily.
There’s no doubt that PowerPoint is a great tool to use in the modern classroom. The fact that teachers today are using it so often illustrates the value that teachers place on its ability to communicate information. However, it is up to the teachers to be creative enough to present a PowerPoint in ways that will engage students on a new level. Just presenting facts and bullet points is not going to capture the attention of today’s youth. You will put them to sleep just in the same way that teachers in public education put you to sleep with the chalkboard years ago.
Instead, you need to think of new ways to use it or find other methods to supplement the traditional PowerPoint.
Statistic #4: The average PowerPoint runs for 250 minutes.
This statistic is surprising. Even in a dedicated workshop, you should not have to sit through any presentation lasting this long. Something has to be done to change this habit. PowerPoint is great but think about how long 250 minutes is. How entertaining can you possibly be with this tool for a total of 250 minutes? That is almost 5 hours!
The only context I can imagine this in is perhaps a medical convention with miles and miles of facts or new medical information or perhaps a legal conference that lists every law ever made that set a precedent.
This is way too comprehensive in scope, and you should carefully consider breaking free from this norm if you are going to get and keep your audience’s attention.
Statistic #5: The average PowerPoint slide has around 40 words.
Think about this statistic carefully. Are forty words too much? It might not be too much on one slide unless you do it consistently. We did the math and based on the previous statistics about the average length being 250 minutes, and assuming that the average slide was up for around 5 minutes, that brings the total words to 2,000 words, on average. That’s a college thesis, folks! It’s too long.
People are not going to sit for that many words. If they do, they will tune out to a lot of them. It’s best to find another way to communicate this other than this prolific outpouring of words on the PowerPoint slides. Cut down your word length and find more creative ways to illustrate the facts, such as pictures and video.
Think outside the box.
These five interesting statistics about presentations illustrate the importance of thinking differently. PowerPoint 2016 is a better tool than its earlier predecessors and it holds some new features and options that you did not see from previous versions. PCWorld takes a look at the new version and gives some pointers on how to improve presentation techniques.
How to create a powerpoint presentation step by step
In addition to these tips, you may want to consider the following:
- Use photos more than words
- Speak to the visual learner in school settings
- Include video and infographics
- Make it interactive
- Include interactive quizzes
- Put less on the page.
- Limit the number of words per page
- Keep the slide number to around 20.
The Beauty of Infographics
PowerPoint has its highlights. It’s a great program. But it’s only as great as the person developing the presentation. When people create a presentation, they tend to overdo the words. They include all of the facts they want people to know and try to cram it into one page. Limit the number of words per page to retain attention and keep their interest. Whether it for a school setting, a business meeting, or a sales presentation, you have to remember your audience. You don’t want to overdo it with too many words as so many do.
Effective use of visual aids like infographics and pictures also helps.
Creating an infographic for your presentation is also a great idea. The beauty of infographics is that first, they are beautiful. They combine beautiful graphic art work with just a few facts and figures that resonate with the viewer so that they connect to the information you are trying to convey.
Also, they are versatile. You can use your infographic as a standalone item, or you can bring it into a PowerPoint and include it as part of your presentation. This may be a new thought for some people who are conditioned to think that you have to create a PowerPoint in a certain way. No one wrote the rules on how to create a perfect PowerPoint presentation. Even if Microsoft themselves offered a tutorial on how to create a PowerPoint, this doesn’t mean it is the only way to do it.
Using infographics and other assets to include in your presentation may just be the extra thing you need to draw attention to your presentation and keep the interest of your intended audience.
About Infographic Design Team
At Infographic Design Team, we focus on thinking outside the box. We are not conditioned to think like a PowerPoint (or any other kind) of presentation with bullet lists and photos. If it works, fine. But we believe in creating an original infographic that will capture the attention and imagination of your audience.
So whether you are a teacher, a business owner, or anyone else who wants to improve on your presentations or just have a great infographic created for your project, contact us.
Because a picture really is worth a thousand words, and it will give you better results.
