SHOCK. FEAR. DISBELIEF. Typical reactions from speakers when they hear their bullet points have to go. Speakers hate to give up these comfortable crutches. But, as a coach, I’m willing to be the bearer of bad news. Because to be effective, speakers must present “brain-friendly” ideas. Stories are brain friendly and so are strong visual images. Bullet points are not. Even a slide with one word or a phrase is more powerful than bullet points.
In my experience speakers use bullet points because:
1) They want to fit more data / content into the talk than it can hold.
2) They rely on bullet points for the content of their talk.
3) Bullet points are required / endorsed by the speaker’s work culture.
Recently Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that “since stories are best told with pictures, bullet points and text-heavy slides are increasingly avoided at Google.”The company is making the bold move of swapping out its traditional presentation style for a more story-driven narrative.
I have helped top TED speakers, executives, authors, experts, and celebrities retire their bullet points. Together we replaced them with creative, compelling images and content. If you are ready to give your bullet points the boot, please contact me.
Here’s the full article citing Sundar Pichai’s brain-friendly presentations.