Early in my career, we didn’t have PowerPoint. Instead, we used overhead projectors.
The basic tools of the overhead projector were transparencies, sometimes called foils. If we got really fancy, we might even use a 35mm slide.
It seems like a long time ago now, but two of the most useful presentation lessons I ever learned came from those overhead projectors. In fact, I still use them every time I build a PowerPoint presentation.
The 6×6 Rule
The first idea was the 6×6 Rule.
The rule is simple: no slide should contain more than six lines of text, and no line should contain more than six words.
The purpose was never to create an arbitrary rule. The purpose was to prevent the audience from reading paragraphs of text while the presenter was trying to speak. A slide should support the presentation, not become the presentation.
Over the years, I’ve found that the 6×6 Rule is still a useful guideline. When a slide becomes crowded, it’s often a sign that I’m trying to communicate too much information at once.
The Art of the Reveal
The second idea was what I think of as the art of the reveal.
When using overhead projectors, we would often place a sheet of paper under the transparency and slowly pull it downward. This allowed us to reveal one point at a time rather than showing everything at once.
Today’s equivalent is animation in PowerPoint.
The technology has changed, but the reason for using it has not. If the audience can see every point on the slide before you begin speaking, they are likely to start reading ahead. Revealing information one point at a time helps keep the audience focused on the discussion.
There Are No PowerPoint Police
When teaching PowerPoint classes, I would often tell my students, “There are no PowerPoint police. There is no PowerPoint jail.”
The 6×6 Rule and the art of the reveal are not laws. They are guidelines.
Can you break the rules? Absolutely.
In fact, I believe it’s perfectly acceptable to break a rule when you understand the rule and have a good reason for breaking it.
The key is understanding why the guideline exists in the first place.
I’ve found that following these principles helps me create presentations that are clearer, easier to follow, and more engaging for the audience. When I choose to break one of those guidelines, I try to do so intentionally rather than accidentally.
Whether I’m using PowerPoint, an overhead projector, or some future technology that hasn’t been invented yet, I try to remember one simple principle:
The audience came to hear me, not read my slides.
PowerPoint is far more sophisticated than the overhead projectors I used early in my career, but the lessons remain the same.
The tools have changed. The principles have not.