Presentation Skills That Will Take You to the Top (Collection), 2/e

32. “I Can Read It Myself!”: Three Simple Steps to Avoid Reading Slides Verbatim

During the past 20 years, I have posed the same question to every one of the thousands of participants who have taken the Power Presentations program:

“How do you feel about presenters who read the words on their slides verbatim?”

I have also posed the same question to the countless businessmen and -women who have sat in the audiences of other people’s presentations. Not a single one of them has said that he or she likes the practice. Their responses, usually accompanied by facial expressions ranging from disdain to anger, usually take one of these variations:

“Why don’t you just email it to me?”

“Why bother?”

“I might as well do my email!”

“I’m not a child!”