Text that works on slides

The most common presentation mistake in the world is too much text on slides — and fixing it is the most important thing you can do to become a good presenter. Slides are visual aids for a speaker, not documents to be read. Text that works on slides is minimal, large, and scannable. This lesson could single-handedly transform your presentations. Let's write for slides, not for reading. Let's cut the text.

Slides support the speaker — they aren't the script

THE GOLDEN RULE: A SLIDE IS A VISUAL AID FOR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING — NOT A
DOCUMENT FOR THE AUDIENCE TO READ.

If your slide has your whole script, the audience READS it (ahead of you),
stops LISTENING, and you become a narrator of text. Death by PowerPoint.

WHAT WORKS INSTEAD:
- FEW WORDS — keywords + short phrases, NOT sentences/paragraphs. The audience
  absorbs a few words in a second, then LISTENS to you expand.
- ONE IDEA PER SLIDE — if a slide has three points, it's probably three slides.
  Slides are free; cluttered slides are costly.
- BIG TEXT — large enough to read from the BACK of the room (often 28pt+ for
  body, bigger for titles). If you'd squint at a thumbnail, it's too small.
- YOU SPEAK THE DETAIL — the slide shows the headline/keyword; YOU provide the
  explanation, story, and detail out loud. The slide ≠ your notes.

THE TEST: if you'd read a slide aloud WORD-FOR-WORD, it has too much text. Cut
it to the key words + say the rest.

The golden rule: a slide is a visual aid for what you're saying — not a document for the audience to read. If your slide has your whole script, the audience reads it (ahead of you), stops listening, and you become a narrator of text — "death by PowerPoint". What works instead: few words (keywords and short phrases, not sentences — the audience absorbs a few words in a second, then listens), one idea per slide (if a slide has three points, it's probably three slides — slides are free), big text (readable from the back of the room — often 28pt+; if you'd squint at a thumbnail, it's too small), and you speak the detail (the slide shows the headline/keyword; you provide the explanation and story out loud — the slide is not your notes). The test: if you'd read a slide aloud word-for-word, it has too much text — cut it to the key words and say the rest.

Making slide text work

MAKING TEXT WORK ON SLIDES

- CUT RUTHLESSLY — turn sentences into phrases, phrases into keywords. "Our
  quarterly revenue grew by 40% compared to last year" -> "Revenue +40%".

- USE VISUALS OVER TEXT where possible — an image, chart, or icon often
  communicates faster + sticks better than words. Show, don't just tell (later
  lessons). A single big number or a chart beats a paragraph.

- HEADLINE-STYLE TITLES — make the slide's title state the POINT/takeaway ("Sales
  Grew 40%") not just a topic ("Sales"). The audience gets the message even at
  a glance.

- LIMIT BULLETS — a few short bullets max, not a dense list. Better still,
  often NO bullets — one idea, big. (Endless bullet lists are the classic dull
  slide.)

- HIERARCHY + READABILITY — clear title, minimal body; big, high-contrast,
  readable text (next lessons on colour/contrast).

- BUILD/REVEAL points one at a time (animation, later) if a slide has a few
  points, so the audience focuses on each — but keep the total minimal.

REMEMBER: the audience should GLANCE at the slide + LISTEN to you. Design every
slide to be absorbed in seconds.

To make slide text work: cut ruthlessly (sentences → phrases → keywords: "Our quarterly revenue grew by 40% compared to last year" → "Revenue +40%"), use visuals over text where possible (an image, chart, or icon communicates faster and sticks better — a single big number or chart beats a paragraph), write headline-style titles (state the point/takeaway — "Sales Grew 40%" — not just a topic), limit bullets (a few short ones max, or often none — one idea, big; endless bullet lists are the classic dull slide), and keep hierarchy and readability (clear title, minimal body, big high-contrast text). If a slide has a few points, reveal them one at a time (animation, later) so the audience focuses on each — but keep the total minimal. The audience should glance at the slide and listen to you — design every slide to be absorbed in seconds.

The mistake beginners make

The universal, presentation-ruining mistake is cramming slides with text and reading them aloud — packing paragraphs and dense bullet lists onto slides, then reading them to the audience. This bores people, splits their attention (reading vs listening), and makes you (the speaker) redundant. Cut the text ruthlessly: keywords, one idea per slide, speak the detail. This single change transforms your presentations. The second mistake is text too small to read — designing on a big monitor where 14pt looks fine, then unreadable from the back of the room. Use big text (28pt+ body); preview at a distance (or thumbnail size). The third mistake is using slides as your speaker notes — putting your whole script on the slide so you can read it (which forces the audience to read it too), instead of putting brief cues on the slide and your detail in the speaker notes (a later lesson). The slide is for the audience, not you. Cut text to keywords (one idea per slide, speak the detail), make it big and readable, and put your script in speaker notes not on the slide.

Your turn

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Your turn

1. Cut a text-heavy slide: take a slide full of sentences/paragraphs and reduce it to a few keywords or one idea — e.g. turn 'Our quarterly revenue grew by 40%...' into 'Revenue +40%'. Practise saying the detail out loud instead.
2. One idea per slide: find a slide with three points and split it into three slides (or reveal the points one at a time), so each is absorbed in seconds.
3. Make text big: set body text to 28pt+ and titles bigger, then zoom the slide to thumbnail size (or step back from the screen) — if you can't read it, it's too small.
4. Write a headline title: change a topic title ('Sales') to a takeaway ('Sales Grew 40%') so the audience gets the point at a glance.
5. Apply the test: for each slide, ask 'would I read this aloud word-for-word?' If yes, it has too much text — cut it to keywords and put the full detail in your speaker notes (later) instead of on the slide.

Key points

• The golden rule: a slide is a VISUAL AID for what you're saying, not a document to be read — text-packed slides read aloud bore the audience, split their attention, and make the speaker redundant ('death by PowerPoint').
• Text that works: FEW words (keywords/short phrases, not sentences), ONE idea per slide (split or reveal points), BIG text (readable from the back — 28pt+ body), and YOU speak the detail (the slide shows the headline; you explain out loud).
• Make it work: cut ruthlessly (sentences -> phrases -> keywords), use visuals over text where possible (a big number/chart/image beats a paragraph), write headline-style takeaway titles, limit bullets (a few or none), and keep it big + high-contrast.
• The test: if you'd read a slide aloud word-for-word, it has too much text — cut to key words and say the rest; the audience should glance at the slide and listen to you.
• The mistakes: cramming slides with text and reading them aloud (the universal mistake), text too small to read from the back, and using slides as your speaker notes (put brief cues on the slide, your script in the speaker notes — the slide is for the audience, not you).