Today our Safety Training Tips editor shares some suggestions for making your PowerPoint® presentations as compelling as they can be.
Think carefully about scope and training points. Before you sit down to create a PowerPoint, give some thought to how much of the chosen topic you want to cover. In most cases you won’t have time to say everything you might like to say in one presentation. So make a prioritized list of the key points and then pare it down or beef it up, as necessary, to fit the time you have for the session.
Next, rough out an outline of your training points in the order you want to present them. Then, working from your outline, come up with a few well-chosen objectives for the training session. Three or four are usually enough. If your presentation looks like it’s going to run to too many slides, but you can’t eliminate any training points, consider breaking the session into two parts and presenting them on consecutive days or at two weekly safety meetings.
Spend some time making the slides look good. Less is definitely best for PowerPoint slides. Trainees must be able to read and decipher slides in just a few seconds. You don’t want them focusing on reading while you’re trying to talk. You want their attention on you. Along with being uncluttered and easy to read, slides also have to be visually attractive. That is, they have to have impact and attract attention. They don’t have to be fancy or glitzy, although PowerPoint certainly offers lots of features for making really great looking slides.
The main thing about slides is that they need to tell the story in just a few key words or—even better—in a picture or illustration. Remember the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” If you can find a picture or illustration that says it all for the training point, just use the visual without words, or with just a brief caption or label. Here are some other suggestions for creating stimulating slides:
- Mix it up and use a variety of formats (checklists, definitions, charts, graphs, etc.) rather than just all bullet points.
- Keep the number of slides to a minimum.
- Include a review slide about midway through the presentation to summarize key points made up to that point and to provide the opportunity to answer any questions trainees have.
- Include one or more interactive slides-for example, a short quiz or problem-solving exercise designed to assess whether trainees are absorbing the information presented.
Prepare your notes meticulously, and practice, practice, practice! When you sit down to write, remember the “Three C’s” of effective presentations, and be:
- Clear—Avoid ambiguity and be precise.
- Concise—Choose your words for maximum impact and keep to the point.
- Coherent—Express your thoughts in a logical order.
Here are some other tips for writing effective PowerPoint notes:
- Eliminate unnecessary information; stick to the essentials.
- Introduce some relevant stories about the topic from your own experience.
- Don’t read points on the screen; trainees can read them quicker than you can say them.
- Be enthusiastic; let trainees see that you care about what you’re saying and think it’s important.
- Involve employees in the presentation as much as you have time to. For example: ask questions; have a brief discussion about the training point; ask trainees to talk briefly about their own experiences.
- Practice your presentation several times to make sure you’re well- prepared and can speak freely and naturally, referring to your notes rather than reading word for word.
- Time your practice runs to make sure you don’t run too long.
- Prepare a handout to give trainees at the beginning of the session that lists objectives and key points to help them follow your presentation and to give something on which to take notes.
Why It Matters…
- Training is essential for the safety of employees, so you can’t afford to lose them or confuse them.
- Because of their visual impact, PowerPoint training sessions can be especially effective.
- Training experts say that employees remember more of what they hear and see than they do of what they only hear.
- What employees don’t learn about safety in training sessions, they can’t apply on the job—and that’s dangerous.