Too much of a good thing is just that – too much! And then it’s not good at all. This is particularly true in the context of data used in presentations.
Read on to discover what content bloat is, why it’s so bad, how you might be an unwitting victim and what to do about it.
How to Prevent Content Bloat?
“No one ever complains about the speech being too small”
– Ira Hayes
Mmmm… Surely, you would agree to that.
What causes the audience’s attention to drift is too much of something, even if that something is truly good. In communication, as in life, what is good is often the biggest enemy of the best.
This is good advice to pay heed to, considering our audience lives in a world inundated with data and information. Also, all research seems to say that people’s attention spans are shrinking.
So, be ruthless
The key to presentation effectiveness then lies in ruthless editing of one’s content and slides.
And this is something that we had covered briefly in the first lesson: the key to a sharp, focused presentation is asking yourself a simple question: “in the context of the communication objectives set – assuming that you have clearly identified these – is this point/ this slide strictly necessary?”
It might be a great point, you might even be able to justify its inclusion, but if it is not strictly required to meet your communication objective, edit it out.
Your presentation will be the stronger for it.
Is this your strongest argument?
What compromises an otherwise persuasive argument is presenting that extra point to bolster one’s position, but which turns out to be a weaker point that the audience rips apart.
So, in you are presenting to persuade, ask yourself: Is this my strongest, or among my two or three strongest arguments? If not, then you can almost certainly guarantee that it will weaken your position.
If your audience can argue your weak point – whether they vocalise this argument or otherwise – then they will. In the bargain, your stronger points will lose their potency, and your argument will fall flat.
In Conclusion
To paraphrase pioneer aviator, writer, and poet, Antoine de Saint Exupery, “Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more left to add, but when there is nothing left to take out”.
Good advice for every presenter.
