You spent hours perfecting your slides.
They look great. Here’s what matters more.
Slides might catch the eye.
But do they connect with your audience on an emotional level?
Hardly.
What pulls people in emotionally is when you as a speaker connect to them with a story that resonates strongly.
And yet …
… you don’t prepare a story, but slides.
… you don’t have a conversation, you make a preso.
… you don’t obsess over connection, but fonts.
Slides don’t create connection.
The most they usually do is take attention away from you as the speaker.
They limit connection. (When the audience should be focused on you and your story, they’re busy reading the screen.)
The only reason to use a slide is when they make your point way clearer than your words ever could. When the cost of losing connection is outweighed by the clarity it adds.
That’s not often the case.
The whole reason you’re gathering in a room (on- or offline) is that your presence adds something that slides never could.
Curious to hear your thoughts: How do you connect to an audience?
Keep lighting the path!
