CRA Inc

22 Oct 08 @ 11:12 am

Making Your Presentation Stick

After sitting through one too many PowerPoint presentations, I began thinking about different presentation techniques and the most effective methods for making information memorable, or sticky. During my research, I came across the Cognitive Load Theory, which highlights the importance of how people process information and the implications for presentation design.

Dr. John Sweller, Professor of Education at the University New South Wales, Australia, developed this relatively straightforward theory that suggests people learn, process, and remember information better when it’s presented in a simple manner that doesn’t require considerable memory load–the amount of memory necessary to process and remember information.

In today’s boardrooms many people use PowerPoint as the way to present information, regardless of the content. This is a problem because people tend to include too much information on each slide and, as a result, end up reading the information directly off the projector screen. According to Sweller’s Theory, this presentation method is redundant and reduces the audience’s ability to remember what you’ve said.

So, the next time you’re putting together a business presentation, remember that every person has a different capacity for processing information and PowerPoint is not always the right tool for the job. Try to resist the temptation of putting everything on the slides, and improve your likelihood of presentation success by remembering two key things:

Focus on Simplicity: Make your messages clear and simple, and avoid using complex data. This will reduce memory load and increase audience recall.

Avoid Redundancy: If you’re going to use PowerPoint, do not read the information directly off the slide. PowerPoint presentations are more effective when they’re used to highlight key points from your presentation, not to repeat it.

To learn more about Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory click here.

posted in category(s): Miscellaneous