I have very strong views on how many slides for a 5 minute presentation. Using media in speeches and presentations must be done with care. When working with students through to executives, I advise avoiding PowerPoint and other media at all costs. This advice applies to giving a speech, not to tutorials or presentations. When teaching ideas and concepts, media can be vital and illuminating. However, extraneous media can create a barrier or 4th wall when attempting to contact an audience emotionally.
Knowing when to use media is an art form; it takes practice and perseverance to get it right. If in doubt, I would suggest leaving it out. This advice is particularly true if you are giving an emotional or motivating speech.
So how many slides for a 5 minute presentation?
There is no hard and fast rule. If a graphical representation is necessary, then you should use one. It is not simply a calculation based on time. You can achieve excellent presentations without media. But, the use of slides and photographs enhances others. It is, therefore, a judgement call.
Media is a partner, not a crutch
Good presentations use media as a colleague or partner. Your slides should work with you and not against you. Worse still, don’t let your PowerPoint dictate the pace. Your audience should not feel any media takes precedence. Good presenters create seamless transitions when presenting a slide. The speaker should appear in control at all times.
Only use a slide if it complements what you are saying.
Just putting up a slide that says we have had 10% growth this year does not complement what you are saying. Your audience can take on this information and remain focused on you without this added extra. On the other hand, if you were trying to show trends over time, you may feel that the slide or image will complement the concept and make it more accessible to your audience.
Words make a good speech
Can you imagine “I have a dream” with graphs depicting geographic breakdowns or JKF telling America they will go to the moon, with images or rockets behind him? The words make these speeches so accessible and emotional. The would not possibly have asked themselves, “How many slides for a 5 minute presentation”.
Ensure that the words you intend to speak are robust, emotional and accessible. If you can find these three qualities, you should be able to hold your audience with words alone.
Only one idea per slide
One idea per slide is an important concept. Your presentation must be accessible to your audience. A complicated slide will make it much harder for those you are addressing to understand. If audience members try to make sense of an image or graph, they will not hear what you have to say.
If presenting a series of points is better with an image or slide, break your ideas down. Making the jumps smaller will allow you to use one slide for each topic. This simplification will make your presentation clear.
Once you have broken down your ideas and created a slide for each, ask yourself if each particular slide is necessary. Be brutally honest and remove anything which is not needed.
Reading your Slides
Never put up a slide and read the contents. Reading veratrum is classic, “death by PowerPoint.” I go back to my earlier point. Media is your partner, not your dictator. If you find yourself reading words on a slide, ask yourself, have I made a good decision?
It may feel better to have your list of points on the screen. You may even believe that it serves your audience well. However, it will act as a distraction. Audience members will skip ahead. They will not read at your pace, and you will find the detail will confuse your audience.
Don’t include titles
The use of titles on slides is a contentious one. Often a presenter will move onto a graph and immediately read the title. Reading a slide should never happen. Including the title in a handout, your audience receives after your speech is perfectly reasonable. However, there is no need to include it on the slide when you present. Once the slide appears, you can explain what it is and what its significance is. Remember, they will automatically read this title when it appears and will not listen to what you say.
Using Analogies
One area where I have found slides can be helpful is with an analogy or anecdote. A skilled speaker can display an image on the screen to help the audience understand the concept. I still would not advise this in a formal speech, but in terms of a less formal address, this can be helpful and break up what might be a monotonous passage.
Conclusion
So, how many slides for a 5 minute presentation? Probably not as many as one would think.
Remember, before PowerPoint, great orators were giving great speeches. The speeches of Aristotle through Martin Luther King contained no media. Look to history if you feel it is impossible to create an address and present it well without media.
I understand why media may be helpful and essential on occasion. However, I am often surprised when consulting to find out how desperately individuals are to hold on to this crutch. It can take many hours of practice to convince even the best speakers that they are better off without external media.
It may help to look at your presentation as a piece of theatre. You are one of the actors in this play, and the media is the other. Together you will converse in front of your audience. Your lines must be vital to the meaning of the speech, and so must the media you are using. Try to see the combination of your words and the media as a dialogue. Make sure that you do not talk over each other.
There are many different ways in which to structure a speech. With everything creative, there is no right or wrong. As we all know, challenging the norm is one way to be seen as fresh and original.
Below is a speech by one of the great exponents of a multi-media presentation. Steve Jobs commanded the stage with video or images behind him. But note how simple and few these images were. Just enough to be exciting without pulling focus from the man or message.