Can you read me at the back?

I spend a lot of time and effort while training people in the fine art of presentation skills trying to discourage the use of PowerPoint and such, or at least to limit it to some sexy images or pithy quotes to support the speaker.

However, I do know that some people will always want the screen behind them full of 'stuff', and sometimes - very occasionally in my experience - it is actually important that some data be shown on-screen, so I felt it was time to offer a little gentle steering on the topic of graphs.

In general terms there are two kinds of graph folk use in presentations:

1. The Data Rich Spiderweb
2. The Crapograph

The first of these is just too full of data to be clear to the audience, so becomes a useless decoration.

The second refers to a graph that doesn't have a scale or any parameters by which the audience can make sense of the data, so it's just a useless decoration.

If you MUST use a graph, identify the most relevant bit and blow it up nice and big, getting rid of all the unnecessary stuff, and label it VERY clearly.

If you are in any doubt about how to wean yourself off the invidious PowerPoint why not give me a call and I'll talk you out of it.