When you are giving a Powerpoint presentation, it’s a good idea to remember that YOU are the presentation and not your slides. Your slides should just add valuable content to your presentation.
To instantly bring your audience back to yourself, a great technique is to put up a blank slide. Since there is nothing on the screen for your audience to see, their focus immediately goes back to you.
There are a few easy ways to pull off this feat of magic.
- Put a blank Powerpoint slide in your slide deck at a key location
- Press the B key on your keyboard while presenting for a Black screen
- Press the W key on your keyboard while presenting for a White screen
- Use the black screen button on most remote presentation controllers
These same hotkeys also work in Apple’s Keynote program. (Keynote Hotkeys)
This simple technique can have profound effects. With the focus on you, you can add emotion, humor, or close the deal. Give this a try and see how dramatically it shifts your audience’s eyes.
Here are some additional resources that may help…
- Design a Better Presentation
- Creating the Ultimate Powerpoint Device
- Free Evaluation Sheet for Powerpoint Presentations
- Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences
- Seven Rules for More Effective Slide Presentations Podcast by Michael Hyatt
Question: Have you used the B key in Powerpoint?
