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what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of PowerPoint

Explore the Advantages and Disadvantages of PowerPoint in our latest blog. Discover how this popular presentation tool can enhance communication and engagement while also exploring potential pitfalls. Gain insights on harnessing its power for effective presentations and navigating its limitations for more impactful business and educational content.

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The average salary of a PowerPoint expert in the UK is £40,000 GBP per year, according to Talent.com . In this blog, you will get to know about the Advantages and Disadvantages of PowerPoint. Let's dive in deeper to learn how it can impact your presentations!  

Table of Contents        

1) Advantages of PowerPoint  

2) Visual appeal and aesthetic design  

    a) Easy to use and accessible  

    b) Efficient information organisation  

    c) Disadvantages of PowerPoint  

3) Conclusion       

Advantages of PowerPoint   

PowerPoint is a powerful software tool developed by Microsoft that enables users to create visually appealing and engaging presentations. It offers various functionalities and features that make it a popular choice for individuals and professionals who want to convey information effectively. Here, we will explore the Advantages of PowerPoint and how it can enhance your presentations. Let's dive into the benefits it offers:  

Advantages of PowerPoint  

Visual appeal and aesthetic design   

One of the primary Advantages of PowerPoint is its ability to create visually appealing presentations. With a vast array of design templates, colour schemes, and graphical elements, PowerPoint allows you to add visual appeal to your slides. This visual enhancement can captivate your audience's attention and make your presentation more engaging.

Easy to use and accessible   

PowerPoint is known for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users of any level. Its intuitive design and straightforward navigation enable users to create presentations quickly and efficiently. Moreover, PowerPoint is compatible with various operating systems, ensuring broad accessibility across different devices.  

Efficient information organisation   

One of the significant Advantages of PowerPoint is its capability to organise information effectively. With features like bullet points, numbered lists, and hierarchical structures, you can present your ideas in a logical and organised manner. This helps your audience understand and retain the information more easily. 

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Enhanced audience engagement   

PowerPoint offers various features to enhance audience engagement during presentations. Animations, transitions, and multimedia elements can make your slides dynamic and captivating. Additionally, interactive features like hyperlinks and embedded videos can encourage audience participation, making your presentation more memorable.  

Time-saving and convenience   

Time-saving and convenience  

These templates offer professionally designed layouts and graphics, allowing you to focus on the content rather than spending hours on design. Furthermore, PowerPoint's autosave feature automatically saves your work, providing convenience and peace of mind. 

Versatility and compatibility   

PowerPoint's versatility is another key advantage that sets it apart as a presentation tool. It offers broad features and compatibility options that make it highly adaptable to different content formats and sharing platforms.  

a) Support for various media formats:  

PowerPoint provides support for a diverse range of media formats, allowing you to incorporate different types of content into your presentations. You can seamlessly integrate images, videos, audio clips, and charts, enhancing your slides' visual appeal and interactivity. You can create engaging and immersive presentations that resonate with your audience by leveraging these multimedia elements.   

The ability to incorporate various media formats in PowerPoint allows you to leverage different modes of communication. Visual elements, such as images and charts, can help illustrate complex concepts or data, making them more understandable and memorable. Videos and audio clips, on the other hand, can add a dynamic and interactive element to your presentation, allowing you to deliver information in a more engaging and captivating way.  

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b) File conversion and sharing options:  

Powerpoint Presentations can be easily converted to different file formats, offering flexibility in sharing and distribution. Whether you need to share your presentation with colleagues, clients, or a wider audience, PowerPoint enables you to save your slides in formats such as PDFs, video files, or even images. This versatility ensures that your presentation can be accessed and viewed on various devices and platforms, making it convenient for your audience to engage with your content.  

Converting your presentation to PDF format can be particularly useful when you want to share a finalised version of your slides while preserving the formatting and layout. PDF files are widely compatible, allowing anyone to view them using a PDF reader without the need for specific presentation software.  

In addition to PDF, Powerpoint Presentations can also be saved as video files. This format is ideal for situations where you want to share your presentation online, embed it on a website, or upload it to video-sharing platforms. By converting your presentation to a video, you can ensure a consistent playback experience across different devices and platforms.  

Furthermore, Powerpoint Presentations can be easily shared through various online platforms and cloud storage services. Whether you choose to use email, file-sharing platforms, or cloud storage solutions like OneDrive or Google Drive, PowerPoint's compatibility allows you to collaborate with others and share your presentations effortlessly.  

Collaboration and sharing options   

Collaboration is made easy with PowerPoint's sharing and collaboration features. Multiple users can work on a presentation at the same time, making it ideal for team projects or group presentations. With cloud storage and sharing platforms, such as OneDrive or SharePoint, you can share your Powerpoint Presentations with others, enabling seamless collaboration and feedback exchange.  

Professionalism and credibility   

PowerPoint's professional look and vibes contribute to the overall credibility of your presentation. The polished design and layout options help create a sense of professionalism, which can enhance your message's impact. By using PowerPoint, you can convey your ideas with authority and leave a lasting impression on your audience.  

Multimedia integration   

Incorporating multimedia elements is a breeze with PowerPoint. You can easily insert images, videos, audio clips, and animations into your slides, making your presentation more dynamic and engaging. Visual and auditory aids can significantly enhance the audience's understanding and retention of information.  

Presenter support and notes   

PowerPoint offers several features to support presenters during their delivery. The presenter view provides a helpful tool for managing your presentation, displaying speaker notes, and previewing upcoming slides. You can also add speaker notes to individual slides, ensuring that you don't miss any crucial points during your presentation.  

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Disadvantages of PowerPoint   

Disadvantages of PowerPoint  

Overreliance on visuals   

While visuals can enhance a presentation, overreliance on them can be a disadvantage. When too much emphasis is placed on visuals, the audience may become distracted or miss essential information. It's crucial to strike a balance between visuals and textual content to ensure the message is effectively conveyed.  

Potential for information overload   

Powerpoint Presentations have the potential to overwhelm the audience with excessive information. Presenters may feel compelled to include every detail on the slides, leading to information overload. It's important to prioritise key points and keep the content concise and focused to prevent overwhelming the audience.  

Lack of interactivity   

PowerPoint is primarily a one-way communication tool, limiting interactivity during presentations. While you can incorporate interactive elements, such as hyperlinks or quizzes, the level of interaction is often limited. This can hinder audience engagement and participation, particularly in scenarios that require active involvement.  

Limited customisation options   

While PowerPoint provides various design templates, the customisation options may be limited compared to dedicated design software. Presenters seeking highly customised and unique designs may find PowerPoint's options somewhat restrictive. However, for most presentations, the available templates and customisation features are sufficient.  

Technical glitches and compatibility issues   

Technical glitches and compatibility issues can occasionally occur when using PowerPoint. File corruption, formatting inconsistencies, or software compatibility problems can disrupt the smooth delivery of your presentation. It's crucial to test your presentation on the actual equipment or platform to minimise the risk of technical difficulties.  

Dependency on the presenter   

Powerpoint Presentations often rely heavily on the presenter's ability to deliver the content effectively. A presenter who lacks public speaking skills or fails to engage the audience may negatively impact the overall effectiveness of the presentation. Developing strong presentation skills and practising delivering your presentation is important to ensure a successful outcome.    

Not suitable for all presentation types   

While PowerPoint is a versatile tool, it may not be the best choice for all presentation types. For instance, highly technical or data-heavy presentations may require more specialised software or tools that offer advanced data visualisation capabilities. It's important to assess the specific requirements of your presentation and choose the appropriate tool accordingly.  

Accessibility challenges   

Powerpoint Presentations may pose accessibility challenges for individuals with disabilities. Issues such as small font sizes, lack of alt text for images, or inadequate colour contrast can make it difficult for visually impaired or hearing-impaired individuals to fully engage with the content. It's important to follow accessibility guidelines and make accommodations to ensure inclusivity.  

Copyright and intellectual property concerns   

When using images, videos, or other media in Powerpoint Presentations, it's essential to respect copyright and intellectual property rights. Failure to obtain proper permissions or give proper attribution can lead to legal issues. It's crucial to use licensed or royalty-free media or obtain explicit permission from copyright holders before including them in your presentations.  

Risk of boring and monotonous presentations   

Powerpoint Presentations have earned a reputation for being boring and monotonous if not designed and delivered effectively. The reliance on bullet points and text-heavy slides can result in a lack of variety and engagement. It's important to employ storytelling techniques, incorporate multimedia elements, and vary the presentation format to keep the audience interested and attentive.  

Conclusion       

We hope you read this blog and understand the Advantages and Disadvantages of PowerPoint. PowerPoint's versatility and compatibility make it a powerful presentation tool. With support for various media formats and easy file conversion, it allows users to create engaging presentations and share them seamlessly. PowerPoint is a valuable resource for effective communication and impactful presentations.  

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Frequently Asked Questions

PowerPoint offers twelve common types of slides, including Title, Picture, Text, Agenda, and more, each designed for specific content and presentation purposes. 

The three main views in PowerPoint are Normal View for editing, Slide Sorter View for organising slides, and Slide Show View for presenting. 

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Disadvantages & Advantages of a Powerpoint Presentation

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Part of the Microsoft Office suite, PowerPoint is used to create presentations for personal, professional and educational use. The software comes with numerous advantages when it comes to making engaging presentations, collaborating and sharing information. Even better, little training is needed to get started. Despite these advantages, you should consider concerns such as cost, possible technical problems, and the potential for ineffective presentations. Understanding all the PowerPoint presentation pros and cons can help you use this software more effectively.

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Basics of PowerPoint Presentations

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PowerPoint presentations feature slides where you can put text, images, videos, audio, tables of data and mathematical formulas. You have control over placing and formatting the content and can annotate slides, make custom drawings, and record narration that goes along with the presentation. The software comes with a variety of animations and transitions and gives users control over whether they want to use an automated slideshow or present the slides manually.

Advantages of PowerPoint Presentations

When considering making a PowerPoint presentation, consider the benefits that using the software can offer:

  • Flexible uses : Individuals, businesses and educators often use PowerPoint presentations to share information in slideshows, but the uses go far beyond that. For example, you can use PowerPoint to create graphics such as banners, brochures, charts and logos for a business. Other uses include calendars, photo albums and collages, invitations, screen recordings, brainstorming maps and resumes.
  • Engaging presentations : PowerPoint gives you the tools to make engaging presentations that go beyond only text and images to include videos, narration and animations. When used correctly, such presentations help teachers and trainers keep their learners interested and appeal to multiple learning styles.
  • Detailed customization : PowerPoint gives you full control over your slides' appearance so that you can align content, add annotations, use lists and highlight important information visually. You can also control the slide size to fit your needs.
  • Suitable for beginners : While training helps with using PowerPoint's advanced features, beginners can quickly get started thanks to the program's huge selection of templates. These templates come with a variety of backgrounds, layouts and themes. You can search by project types such as resumes, posters or charts.
  • Easy sharing and collaboration : Microsoft Office comes with tools that let you share your PowerPoint presentation to the cloud where others can view and work on it with you easily.

Disadvantages of PowerPoint Presentations

While PowerPoint can offer many benefits for personal, educational or professional use, keep in mind these disadvantages of PowerPoint presentations:

  • May not always engage users : Although you can make engaging PowerPoint presentations that use multimedia effectively, not all presentations end up that way. Sometimes, the presentations hinder learning when the slides contain distracting elements or contain only text and narration that viewers tune out.
  • Technical issues : Using PowerPoint can create some headaches when you face compatibility issues, corrupted files or internet problems. For example, Microsoft included a compatibility mode in the program to open older files, but some elements might not work correctly. You might also face hard drive problems that cause you to lose your presentation file if you haven't backed it up, and internet outages make it impossible for users to see your presentation when you share it online.
  • Potential cost : While Microsoft offers a free basic version of PowerPoint online, you likely need to pay for an annual subscription if you want to use the desktop and mobile apps and gain access to all features. The price depends on whether you need a home or office version of Microsoft Office and how many users you have.
  • Lack of flexibility during slideshow presentations : Once you start a slide show, you can't easily make changes or annotate any slides during the presentation. Instead, you control moving through slides or ending the presentation. So, you need to ensure your presentation is ready to go beforehand.
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20 Advantages And Disadvantages Of Google Slides

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

Google Slides is a powerful web-based presentation program that offers several distinguishable features compared to other presentation programs. However, like any other program, it also has a few disadvantages that users should be aware of. In this article, we will explore the 20 advantages and drawbacks of Google Slides so that you can decide if it’s the correct presentation program for you.

1. It’s Free

2. easy to use, 3. real-time collaboration, 4. web-based (no software required), 5. easy accessibility, 6. export/import in multiple formats, 7. works offline, 8. auto-save docs, 9. embeds different elements, 10. support add-ons, 11. cloud storage, 12. relatively secure, 13. easy to track the changes, 14. compatible with other google apps, 15. limited templates, 16. lack some features, 17. limited functionality while offline, 18. possible security risks, 19. formatting loss when importing, 20. no dedicated desktop app, advantages of google slides.

Let’s start with the benefits of Google Slides:

One big advantage of Google Slides is that it’s free. There are no fees, and you can access all features without paying. This makes it perfect for individuals and businesses needing professional presentations at no cost.

Few free presentation programs match Google Slides for features and quality.

Google Slides is very easy to use, even for beginners. The interface is straightforward, intuitive, and uncluttered. You can access features with just a few clicks. The learning curve is short, and a wealth of tutorials and resources are available if you need help.

Google Slides offers real-time collaboration , allowing multiple users to work on the same presentation at once. Unlike many other programs, it lets you see changes immediately, making team projects more efficient.

Most presentation programs require you to download and install software. Google Slides, on the other hand, is web-based. You only need a web browser and an internet connection. This eliminates compatibility problems and allows use on any computer, regardless of the operating system.

As Google Slides is web-based, you can access it from anywhere. Just go to the website and log in with your Google account. There’s no device restriction, so you can view your presentations even from smart TVs. This is very convenient , especially if you need to make changes or present slides while on the go.

Google Slides lets you export your presentations in various formats like PDF, PPTX, and JPG, making it easy to share with others using different software. You can also import presentations from other programs. This feature is handy for editing existing slides or converting them to other formats.

Use Google Slides offline on Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome by installing an extension . You can keep working on your presentation without an internet connection. Some features will be disabled, but you can still add slides and edit text.

Google Slides saves your presentations automatically as you work, ensuring you don’t lose your progress if there’s a power outage or computer crash. Unlike other programs, Google Slides does this more efficiently with frequent autosaves.

You can easily embed content like images, videos, charts, and shapes from other sources into Google Slides. This feature is very useful for including multimedia in your slides without separate downloads or insertions.

Google Slides supports add-ons, which are small pieces of software that add new features to the program. You can find many useful add-ons like timers, stopwatches, icons, and additional fonts. These can be quite handy for various purposes.

Creating a presentation in Google Slides automatically saves it to your Google Drive. This ensures your work is safe even if your computer crashes or you accidentally delete the file. It also frees up the storage on your device. While alternatives like MS PowerPoint support cloud storage, you must enable it manually.

Google Slides offers strong security since your presentations are stored in Google Drive’s secure cloud. Google uses top-notch encryption and other measures to keep your data safe. However, your data’s security also relies on your usage habits.

Google Slides lets you easily track changes in your presentation. It records all modifications and shows who made each one and when. This feature is especially handy for group projects.

Google Slides works smoothly with Google Docs and Sheets. Easily insert content from these apps into your slides and vice versa. This feature is perfect for displaying data on your presentation from your spreadsheet or document.

Disadvantages Of Google Slides

Here are some drawbacks of Google Slides:

Google Slides has fewer templates than alternatives like MS PowerPoint. Though there are some good ones, you might need another program for more variety. You can also download extra templates online, but finding quality ones can take time.

Google Slides lacks some features available in other programs, such as the ability to add many animations or transitions. While you can use add-ons or workarounds to get these features, it’s not as convenient as having them built in.

You can still use Google Slides offline, but some features like spelling and grammar check won’t work. You also can’t access your saved work. If the offline mode isn’t set up right, it might not work, which can be frustrating if you lose the connection while working on a presentation.

Google Slides is fairly safe, but your data could still be hacked or leaked if you’re careless. Pay attention to the information you include in your slides and be selective about who you share them with.

Importing a presentation from MS PowerPoint to Google Slides can mess up the formatting. This can be quite annoying, especially if you’ve put a lot of effort into the original slides.

Google Slides works online, so you can use it on any device with internet access. However, there’s no specific laptop app available. Some schools or workplaces may block access to Google services, making it hard to use Google Slides.

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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Google Docs

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What are the advantages and disadvatages of PowerPoint

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PowerPoint is one of the most popular software for presentations. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite and can be used for personal, business, and educational purposes. Most known for its templates and easiness of use, PowerPoint had conquered the presentations game. 

From beginners to professional speakers, this software allows you to build your own presentations using text, images, video, audios, tables of data. There are a variety of animations and transitions that can help in delivering the presentation the way you want. 

We’ve been working for five years in Presentation Design, and most of our work is done using PowerPoint.

Even though I’ve been using it over the past 5 years, I’m learning something new every once in a while. I’m always looking to improve my process, do things differently or executing the wrong command. Some mistakes are good too, eh? I feel like PowerPoint is a tool which is overlooked by many people in the design industry. When I switch to other software, I’m thinking <<oh, I could have done this a lot faster in PowerPoint>>. I like order and precision. Through PowerPoint’s  grid and guides features, I’m able to satisfy these cravings of mine and create consistent and neat presentations.

Bogdan, Visual Hackers Designer

Advantages of PowerPoint

1. It can be used virtually anywhere

Put your presentation on a USB flash drive or in any cloud storage app and you will have your PowerPoint presentation at hand anytime. It is also included in standard professional settings, so with your user license, you can access your presentation from anywhere.

2. It is a collaborative solution

Work from home is now a normal thing to do. Tools that provide solutions for working together with your team even if you are in different locations are in high demand. PowerPoint adapted to this situation and with its online cloud storage, you can now work on presentations at the same time, or work on the same presentation without sending it to each other. 

3. You can choose to create your own design or use existing ones

PowerPoint offers you full control over your slides’ appearances. You have the freedom to customize your presentation with your own design. As it is easy to modify and play with the elements given by this software, you can create the perfect presentation for yourself. 

There are also templates already integrated into the software for visually appealing presentations and for those who want a quick and nice design. Furthermore, PowerPoint will give you design ideas with the images and elements you chose to have on slides.

If you customize the slides you have the Master Slide, it will help you set the fonts, images (logos), and other preferences for all the slides. The master slide is the top slide in the thumbnail pane on the left side of the window.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

4. Multiple uses 

An adaptable and perceptive tool is how our founder described PowerPoint in a previous article. That is because this software is not only for presentations (even though it is most known for them), but also for other types of materials, such as flyers, marketing materials, gifs, videos, or CVs. We do PowerPoint infographics, our social media posts, and presentations for clients. 

89% of people use PowerPoint to create presentations.

Read more about how you can use PowerPoint:

PowerPoint is more than just a presentation tool

5. Export in different formats

With PowerPoint, you can export your materials in other formats than .pptx. We talked previously about all the types of materials you can create in this software and for them, it offers alternatives of saving you work. 

Presentations can be saved also in .pdf, this will reduce their size, videos can be exported as mp4 and for gifs, there is the specific option to save them as Animated gifs. Of course, there is also the option of saving a slide as .png or .jpg.

6. It facilitates an effective way of communication with the audience

Most of the time, PowerPoint is used for presenting to a larger audience (a few things have changed in 2020, but a zoom presentation looks just as good), as it is easier to be projected. Choose your communication style, do you want to rely more on images, text, or videos, all of them can be easily integrated into PowerPoint.

65% of the population are visual learners

7. You can insert multimedia formats

Visuals are the key in PowerPoint. Images and videos help you explain your idea better and in an engaging way in any presentation. There are some basic sounds that you can use or insert your own audio for the desired effect. 

Play with all the functionalities of this tool and use it to its maximum. 

8. Extremely efficient tool

Once you get familiar with the software, there are all kinds of features that you can use to become an expert in PowerPoint. We can even name 84 shortcuts that will change the way you use it and will also save you a lot of time.

Learn for yourself:

84 PowerPoint Shortcuts To Improve Your Presentation Game

9. It is accessible for all categories of users

Most of the time employees/staff have already the Microsoft license on their work computers, with PowerPoint included. Also, universities acquire the suite so students and teachers cand use reach out and use them.

Disadvantages of PowerPoint

1. High risk of technical issues

It can happen anytime, there are a lot of variables that intervene when you are about to use PowerPoint for presenting. Your computer can stop working, get an update right before you start, or lose power in the middle of the presentation. There is always the connectivity issue, do you use HDMI, VGA or do you have an adaptor. PowerPoint also has some specifics ada[ted for your computer, like fonts or videos, and if you don’t embed them or you don’t put them in a folder with the presentation they won’t work on somebody else’s computer.

2. Overuse of information 

After you accommodate with the software it becomes very easy to get lost in all the options you have. How much text is too much? Are there enough images? What font to use? How many fonts to use? By adding a lot of things you will lose sight of the purpose of the presentation. 

We know that there is a lot of important information you want to transmit, but leave some mystery for the delivery part. 

3. Predisposal to death by PowerPoint

PowerPoint presentations are very common in conferences, business meetings and universities, therefore your audience has seen quite a lot of presentations before yours. You need to catch your audience’s attention from the beginning with your presentation looks or with your way of presenting, otherwise, they will get bored and won’t listen to you present.  Make sure you put enough time into preparing your PowerPoint material, a good presentation with a fine speech will hit the target. 

Avoid templates as much as possible if you want to impress, or work on them and add your unique style to them. 

4. Presenters rely too much on slides 

Sometimes when you are too focused on preparing the slides you may forget to actually prepare to deliver the presentation and you will end up reading from the slides. The audience wants to hear more from the speaker than what is presented on the slides, otherwise they could have looked over the presentation themselves.

5. Overuse of presentations 

There are situations when you get so used to the tool that you will start making a presentation for everything. Every report or status will become easier to do in PowerPoint for you, but it won’t be that fun for your colleagues and will cost you time. 

We recommend using Powerpoint for all kinds of materials, not just presentations. This tool can give you freedom in design and also help you with predefined elements. 

If you want to make a presentation yourself, invest time, look for tutorials or just reach out to an agency to help you create the right presentation. 

Here’s When You Really Need A Presentation Design Specialist

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The advantages and disadvantages of powerpoint.

  • Disadvantages

1. PowerPoint— Advantage or Disadvantage for the Presenter?

PowerPoint is the most popular presentation software. It is regarded by many as the most useful and accessible way to create and present visual aids to the audience.

On the other hand, others believe it has created its own mind-set which forces presenters to spend countless hours thinking in PowerPoint and developing slides. A political party has even formed to ban PowerPoint in Switzerland. Depending on one's perspective, it seems that many advantages could easily be viewed as disadvantages.

When used correctly, PowerPoint is a helpful program for creating an engaging presentation.

Look over the list below to see where you stand— with or against PowerPoint.

term to know PowerPoint An electronic slide presentation created and presented using the program (verb) to communicate to (an audience) by electronic slides.

1a. Advantages

Quick and easy: The basic features are easy to master and can make you appear to be organized, even if you are not.

Simple bullet points : It can reduce complicated messages to simple bullet points. Bullet points are a good basis for a presentation and remind the speaker of main points and the organization of the message.

Easy to create a colorful, attractive design: Using the standard templates and themes, you can create something visually appealing, even if you do not have much knowledge of basic graphic design principles.

Easy to modify: When compared to other visual aids such as charts, posters, or objects, it is easy to modify.

Easily re-order presentation: with a simple drag and drop or using key strokes, you can move slides to re-order the presentation.

Finally, PowerPoint is integrated with other products that allow you to include parts of documents, spread sheets, and graphics.

Audience size: PowerPoint slides are generally easier to see by a large audience when projected than other visual aids.

Easy to present: You can easily advance the slides in the presentation one after another with a simple key stroke while still maintaining eye contact with the audience.

No need for handouts: They look good visually and can be easily read if you have a projector and screen that is large enough for the entire room.

term to know Bullet Points Bulleted items – known as bullet points – may be short phrases, single sentences, or of paragraph length; used to introduce items in a list.

1b. Disadvantages

Design power pointless: Gives the illusion of content and coherence, when in fact there is really not much substance or connection between the different points on the slides.

PowerPoint excess: Some speakers create presentations so they have slides to present rather than outlining, organizing, and focusing on the message.

Replaces planning and preparation: PowerPoint is a convenient prop for poor speakers, as it can reduce complicated messages to simple bullet points and elevates style over substance.

Oversimplification of topic: The linear nature of PowerPoint forces the presenter to reduce complex subjects to a set of bullet items that are too weak to support decision-making or show the complexity of an issue.

Feature abundance: While the basic features are easy to use and apply, a speaker can get carried away and try to use all the features at once rather than simply supporting a message. Too many flying letters, animations, and sound effects without seeing much original thought or analysis can be a real issue. In many cases, the medium shoves the message aside.

Basic equipment required: You will need to have a computer and projection equipment in place to display the slides to the audience.

Focus on medium, not message: Too many people forget that they are making a presentation first and that PowerPoint is just a tool.

Source: Boundless. "The Advantages and Disadvantages of PowerPoint." Boundless Communications Boundless, 17 Mar. 2017. Retrieved 3 Jun. 2017 from https://www.boundless.com/communications/textbooks/boundless-communications-textbook/preparing-and-using-visual-aids-16/using-powerpoint-and-alternatives-successfully-85/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-powerpoint-323-5654/

Bulleted items – known as bullet points – may be short phrases, single sentences, or of paragraph length; used to introduce items in a list.

An electronic slide presentation created and presented using the program (verb) to communicate to (an audience) by electronic slides.

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Deciding the Presentation Method

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There is much to consider in deciding on an appropriate presentation method.

This page assumes that you have already prepared your presentation , or at least decided on the key messages that you wish to get across to your audience, and given at least some thought to how to organise your material .

On this page, then, we focus on the mechanics of your presentation method: how you will present.

This includes using sound systems, how to manage visual aids, how you stand, and how much interaction you want with your audience.

What Helps you to Decide your Presentation Method?

In making a decision about your presentation method, you have to take into account several key aspects. These include:

The facilities available to you by way of visual aids, sound systems, and lights. Obviously you cannot use facilities that are not available. If you are told that you will need to present without a projector, you’re going to need to decide on a method that works without slides.

The occasion. A formal conference of 200 people will require a very different approach from a presentation to your six-person team. And a speech at a wedding is totally different again. Consider the norms of the occasion. For example, at a wedding, you are not expected to use slides or other visual aids.

The audience, in terms of both size and familiarity with you, and the topic. If it’s a small, informal event, you will be able to use a less formal method. You might, for example, choose to give your audience a one-page handout, perhaps an infographic that summarises your key points, and talk them through it. A more formal event is likely to need slides.

Your experience in giving presentations. More experienced presenters will be more familiar with their own weak points, and able to tailor their preparation and style to suit. However, few people are able to give a presentation without notes. Even the most experienced speakers will usually have at least some form of notes to jog their memory and aid their presentation.

Your familiarity with the topic. As a general rule, the more you know about it, the less you will need to prepare in detail, and the more you can simply have an outline of what you want to say, with some brief reminders.

Your personal preferences. Some people prefer to ‘busk it’ (or ‘wing it’) and make up their presentation on the day, while others prefer detailed notes and outlines. You will need to know your own abilities and decide how best to make the presentation.  When you first start giving presentations you may feel more confident with more detailed notes. As you become more experienced you may find that you can deliver effectively with less.

Some Different Methods of Presentation

Presentation methods vary from the very formal to the very informal.

 
Large conference Smaller conference or group where you don’t know the audience Smallish group, probably internal, but not all known to you Small team meeting where you know the other participants
Provide information to a large number of people Provide information, but also get reaction Provide information, hear reaction, respond; possibly discuss Provide information, or generate discussion
Stand Stand Stand or sit Probably sit
A lectern The front of the room. Either within the group or from the front Your place at a table, or within the group
Yes, slides controlled from the lectern. Can also use video or other multimedia. Yes, slides, but kept fairly simple. Yes, but keep them to a minimum. Perhaps a one-page summary of your key points.
Yes Yes Probably not No
Large conference hall Conference room or meeting room Meeting room or office Meeting room or office
Copy of your slides Copy of your slides Handout of some sort Nothing expected
A formal question session afterwards is usual Formal questions, but you may get interruptions during your presentation Fairly interactive; up to you to handle questions or discussion during the session Likely to be very interactive if you allow.

What method you choose is largely dictated by the occasion and its formality: very formal tends to go with a larger audience, whose members you do not know well. Your role is likely to be much more providing information, and much less about having a discussion about the information.

Form Follows Function

It’s not going to be possible, for instance, to present to 200 people from a chair as part of the group, because most of your audience will not see or hear you. You need to apply common sense to your choice of presentation method.

Audience Participation

While much of your presentation method will be dictated by the event, there is one area where you have pretty much free rein: audience interaction with you and with each other.

It is perfectly feasible, even in a large conference, to get your audience talking to each other, and then feeding back to you.

In fact, this can work very well, especially in a low-energy session such as the one immediately after lunch, because it gets everyone chatting and wakes them up. It works particularly well in a room set out ‘café-style’, with round tables, but it can also work in a conference hall.

The key is to decide on one or two key questions on which you’d welcome audience views, or on which audience views could improve your session. These questions will depend on your session, but it’s always more helpful to invite views on:

  • Something that you haven’t yet decided; or
  • Something that the audience is going to do themselves.

For example, you might ask people to talk to their neighbour and identify one thing that they could do to put your speech into action when they return to work and/or home. You can then ask four or five people to tell you about their action points.

Handling your Notes

You also have a choice over how you manage your text, in terms of notes. For more about this, see our page on Managing Your Notes in a Presentation .

The Importance of Iteration

You will probably find that deciding on the presentation method means that you need to change or amend your presentation.

For example, if you want to include some audience participation, you will need to include that in your slides, otherwise, you might well forget in the heat of the moment.

Fortunately, revisiting your presentation in light of decisions about how you will present is probably a good idea anyway. It will enable you to be confident that it will work in practice.

Continue to: Managing your Presentation Notes Working with Visual Aids

See also: Preparing for a Presentation Organising the Presentation Material Dealing with Questions

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20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is a powerful presentation software developed by Microsoft. It is one of the essential tools in the Microsoft Office suite, widely used by professionals, educators, and students for creating presentations. PowerPoint allows users to create visually appealing slideshows that can include text, images, videos, animations, and more.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Microsoft PowerPoint

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Advantages of PowerPoint

  • Ease of Use : PowerPoint's user-friendly interface allows users to create professional-looking presentations quickly and easily, even with limited design skills.
  • Visual Appeal : PowerPoint enables the creation of visually appealing slides using various design templates, themes, animations, and multimedia elements (like images, videos, and audio), enhancing audience engagement.
  • Organization and Structure : It helps presenters organize their content logically through slide layouts, bullet points, and hierarchical structures, making complex information easier to understand.
  • Customization : Users can customize slides extensively by adjusting layouts, fonts, colors, and backgrounds to match branding or presentation requirements.
  • Integration : PowerPoint seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft Office products (such as Word and Excel), allowing easy import of data and content into presentations.
  • Presenter Tools : It offers built-in presenter tools like presenter view, notes section, and slide navigation, enhancing the delivery and control of presentations during live sessions.
  • Collaboration : PowerPoint supports collaboration by enabling multiple users to work on the same presentation simultaneously, whether through cloud-based platforms or shared network drives.
  • Accessibility Features : It includes accessibility features such as screen reader support, text resizing, and alternative text for images, ensuring presentations are accessible to diverse audiences.
  • Export and Sharing : Presentations can be easily exported to various formats (PDF, JPEG, etc.) for sharing or printing, facilitating distribution and archiving of content.
  • Educational and Training Use : PowerPoint is widely used in education and training settings for delivering lectures, conducting workshops, and creating interactive learning materials.

Disadvantages of Microsoft PowerPoint

  • Over-Reliance on Visuals : Presenters may rely too heavily on visuals, neglecting to provide sufficient context or explanation, which can lead to a superficial understanding of the content.
  • Cognitive Load : Excessive use of animations, transitions, and multimedia elements can overwhelm the audience, detracting from the message and causing cognitive overload.
  • Template Limitations : While templates can expedite slide creation, they may limit creativity and result in generic-looking presentations that fail to stand out.
  • Technical Issues : PowerPoint presentations may encounter technical issues such as formatting inconsistencies, font compatibility problems, or crashes, especially with large files or complex animations.
  • Text-Heavy Slides : Dense text on slides can be overwhelming and difficult to read, especially in large meeting rooms or virtual presentations, reducing audience engagement.
  • Copyright Concerns : Users must be cautious about copyright infringement when using images, videos, or other media in presentations, as unauthorized use can lead to legal issues.
  • Skill Requirements : Creating effective presentations requires skill in content organization, design principles, and effective communication, which not all users may possess.
  • Lack of Interactivity : PowerPoint presentations are typically linear and passive, lacking interactivity and real-time collaboration features found in other presentation tools.
  • Presentation Fatigue : Audiences may experience "PowerPoint fatigue" from repetitive use of the software, leading to disengagement and reduced retention of information.
  • Misuse or Miscommunication : Poorly designed or hastily prepared presentations can convey misinformation, confuse audiences, or fail to achieve intended communication objectives.

What is Microsoft PowerPoint and Why people use Powerpoint to Create Presentations?

Microsoft PowerPoint offers a range of features that make it a preferred choice for creating presentations. Users can choose from a variety of professional slide design templates to enhance the visual appeal of their slides. The software allows for easy integration of multimedia elements such as images, videos, and audio to make presentations more engaging. Additionally, PowerPoint enables users to add enhanced visual effects and animations to their slides to capture the audience’s attention.

Overview of Microsoft PowerPoint Features

Microsoft PowerPoint provides users with tools to create dynamic and interactive presentations. These features include slide creation, formatting options, animation effects, and slide transitions, making it easy for presenters to customize their slides according to their needs.

Benefits of Using Microsoft PowerPoint

The benefits of using Microsoft PowerPoint include its user-friendly interface, wide range of templates, and seamless integration with other Microsoft Office applications. PowerPoint makes it easy to create professional-looking presentations with minimal effort, saving time and effort for presenters.

Common Applications of Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is commonly used in business meetings, academic presentations, training sessions, and marketing campaigns. It serves as a versatile tool for conveying information effectively and engaging audiences through visually appealing slides.

Advantages of Using Microsoft PowerPoint for Presentations

One of the key advantages of using Microsoft PowerPoint is the availability of professional slide design templates. These templates help presenters create visually appealing slides that enhance the overall look of the presentation.

Professional Slide Design Templates

PowerPoint offers a wide range of pre-designed templates that users can customize to suit their presentation needs. These templates help maintain consistency in design and make it easier for users to create polished presentations.

Easy Integration of Multimedia Elements

Users can easily embed images, videos, audio files, and other multimedia elements into their PowerPoint presentations. This feature allows presenters to create dynamic and engaging slideshows that capture the audience’s attention.

Enhanced Visual Effects and Animations

PowerPoint provides a variety of visual effects and animations that users can apply to their slides to make them more dynamic and engaging. These effects help in emphasizing key points and transitions in the presentation.

Disadvantages of Using PowerPoint in Presentations

While Microsoft PowerPoint offers many advantages, there are also some disadvantages to using the software for presentations. These drawbacks include the potential for information overload for audiences, technical glitches in presentation delivery, and the dependency on technology for execution.

Potential Information Overload for Audience

Excessive text or cluttered slides can overwhelm the audience and distract them from the main points of the presentation. Presenters need to be mindful of the amount of information presented on each slide to avoid information overload.

Technical Glitches in Presentation Delivery

PowerPoint presentations are vulnerable to technical issues such as formatting errors, compatibility problems, and software crashes. These glitches can disrupt the flow of the presentation and affect the overall delivery.

Dependency on Technology for Execution

Presenters relying solely on PowerPoint for their presentations may face challenges if there are technical issues with the software or hardware. It is essential to have backup plans in place in case of technological failures during a presentation.

How to Maximize the Benefits of Microsoft PowerPoint

To make the most of Microsoft PowerPoint, users can optimize their presentations by utilizing custom templates and branding, using effective fonts and formatting, and incorporating infographics for data representation.

Utilizing Custom Templates and Branding

Creating custom templates that reflect the brand identity of the presenter or organization can help in creating visually consistent and professional-looking presentations. Branding elements such as logos, colors, and fonts can be incorporated into the slides to reinforce brand recognition.

Effective Use of Fonts and Formatting

Choosing appropriate fonts and formatting styles can greatly enhance the readability and visual appeal of the presentation. Consistent use of fonts, colors, and text formatting helps in creating a cohesive and polished look for the slides.

Incorporating Infographics for Data Representation

Infographics are a visual way to represent complex data and statistics in a clear and engaging manner. By incorporating infographics into PowerPoint presentations, presenters can make data-driven points more accessible and easily understandable for the audience.

Tips for Creating Engaging PowerPoint Presentations

Creating engaging PowerPoint presentations involves incorporating interactive elements, utilizing cloud storage for accessibility and collaboration, and captivating the audience with dynamic animations.

Engaging Your Audience with Interactive Elements

Adding interactive elements such as clickable buttons, hyperlinks, quizzes, or surveys can make the presentation more engaging and interactive for the audience. These elements encourage audience participation and enhance overall retention of information.

Utilizing Cloud Storage for Accessibility and Collaboration

Storing PowerPoint presentations on online cloud storage platforms allows for easy accessibility from any device with an internet connection. It also facilitates collaboration among team members who can edit, review, and share presentations in real-time.

Captivating Your Audience with Dynamic Animations

Using dynamic animations sparingly can help in highlighting key points, transitions, and visuals in the presentation. Carefully selected animations can make the content come alive and keep the audience engaged throughout the presentation.

Conclusion of Advantages and Disadvantages of Powerpoint

PowerPoint, as part of the Microsoft Office suite, offers numerous benefits and drawbacks for creating and delivering presentations. Its extensive range of design templates, animations, and transitions makes it a popular choice for crafting visually appealing presentations and marketing materials.

Users can integrate various types of media, including GIFs, images, and videos, to enhance engagement and convey information effectively. 

However, over-reliance on templates and multimedia can lead to presentations that prioritize aesthetics over content, potentially distracting audiences or causing information overload.

Despite these drawbacks, PowerPoint remains a powerful tool for creating professional presentations that can be shared easily via USB drives, cloud platforms, or online.

Its features, such as presenter tools and customizable slide layouts, provide flexibility for presenters to adapt to different audiences and presentation environments. By leveraging PowerPoint’s capabilities wisely, presenters can ensure their presentations are impactful, informative, and visually compelling, leaving a lasting impression on viewers.

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Home » Pros and Cons » 10 Pros and Cons of Powerpoint Presentations

10 Pros and Cons of Powerpoint Presentations

If you need to make a formal presentation, one of the best supportive tools you can use to create visuals for those attending is Microsoft PowerPoint. It can be found in Office 365 subscriptions for both personal and business use.

The primary advantage of using PowerPoint is that visual representations can help to reinforce the key points you’re speaking about. Humans are visually orientated when learning new skills or ideas, so having a graphic representation of what you’re speaking about makes it easier to retain the information.

The primary disadvantage is that it takes time to learn how to use this software. For those unfamiliar with visual presentation software, the process can become difficult. It may even cause some to give up trying to learn it. Here are some of the other pros and cons of PowerPoint presentations that are worth thinking about as well.

What Are the Pros of PowerPoint Presentations?

1. It is easy to download and use virtually anywhere. PowerPoint is considered a standard product in many professional settings. This allows you to take your user license virtually anywhere to be able to create the graphics needed for your presentation. It is so expected, in fact, that you may create a negative first impression if you don’t have a PowerPoint presentation to offer.

2. It can make a presentation more interesting. Even interesting presentations can grow long and boring. With an animated presentation or interesting quotes or other fun slides, you can bring people back from their boredom.

3. It is easy to customize each slide to meet specific needs. Images on a slide can be decreased or increased in scale to fit your needs. It only takes a few clicks to insert, alter, and align images to create a needed visual representation. You can even use arrows, pointers, or other shapes to highlight key areas of information you want people to know about.

4. It is a simple process to create follow-along hand-outs. You can print each slide directly from PowerPoint. Then you can copy those slides to become a helpful hand-out that can be given to each presentation participant.

5. It is reasonably affordable for most professionals. Business plans for Office 365 start at just under $10 per month. This gives you 1 license to use on a computer of your choice. For $15 per month, you receive 5 computer licenses to use.

What Are the Cons of PowerPoint Presentations?

1. There’s always the chance of running into technical difficulties. Even tech-savvy individuals can run into presentation issues when the technology doesn’t work as intended. Maybe the computer stops working. Or you lose power to your outlet. Or the overhead display doesn’t work right. This can alter the positive first impression of a presentation very quickly.

2. Slides with too much information on them can become overwhelming. Because there are so many options that can be included on a PowerPoint presentation, it can be easy to go overboard on the number of colors, sounds, shapes, and other items that can be used. By adding to many things, you can detract from the information that needs to be shared.

3. It isn’t a substitute for what a presenter must do. Many who use PowerPoint tend to rely on the information on the slide instead of providing a learning narrative. It is easy to become too reliant on this software and forget that there is an actual presentation that needs to be completed.

4. Costs are always ongoing. Because it is part of the Office 365 package, you no longer receive a proprietary software license for one specific cost. You must pay a monthly or annual subscription cost, which over time can add up to more than what the proprietary license once offered. You must also download the software to each computer, which consumes data that may be capped for some small business owners.

5. Some participants may tune out your narrative. If your PowerPoint is very detailed, some participants in your presentation may focus on your handouts and slides more than your actual narrative. This may make it difficult to make the call to action that you want participants to follow at the end of the day.

The pros and cons of PowerPoint presentations show that with careful planning, any narrative can be enhanced for those who are participating in the event. Without that planning, the presentation may do more harm than good to the narrative.

Do you use Microsoft PowerPoint for your presentations? What helpful tips do you have to refine the presentation creation experience?

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What Are Some of the Benefits of Presentations in Business & Professional Settings?

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What Are Benefits of PowerPoint?

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Businesses and professional firms use presentations to inform, educate, motivate and persuade internal and external audiences. They build presentations into sales, training and internal communication programs, using the power of words and images to engage their audience and retain attention.

A well-crafted presentation also demonstrates professionalism and helps to reinforce an organization’s corporate image. Focusing on the importance of presentation in business can be the difference between nabbing the right employees, customers and investors and not.

Face-to-Face Significance

A presentation provides an opportunity to meet your customers and prospects in person. Using presentations as part of a sales campaign can improve results via many benefits, says Olivia Mitchell . These benefits include the power of reciprocation, the influence liking someone has on decision-making, social proof, and the tendency to believe and obey authority figures.

Engagement Is Important

Presentations make it easier to engage your audience. Striking images can hold an audience’s attention, while clear bullet points or summary text helps the audience follows the logic of a presentation. The theatrical nature of a presentation can create greater impact than an individual trying to make the same point by just talking, according to The Self Employed .

This level of engagement ensures that you get your message across to the audience. Engagement is partially dependent on your own persona, so stress the importance of presentation skills in the workplace to get the best results from your team.

Presentations Offer Flexibility

Flexibility is an important benefit of presentations. You can change content quickly and easily to incorporate new information or to modify a presentation for different audiences. If you are making a presentation on company capability to prospects in different market sectors, for example, you can incorporate sector-specific content for each client. Advantages of digital presentations include more flexible than a printed medium, such as a corporate brochure, which would be expensive to modify. You can also hold them fully online if the need arises.

Encouraging Consistency

Creating a standard presentation helps to ensure that different people in a company communicate information in a consistent way. A presentation provides a framework for communicating information about products, services or companies in a structured way. The presentation should include bullet points or prompts to remind the presenter to emphasize the most important points.

Versatility for Reaching the Audience

Presentations are a versatile communication tool. You can use them in one-to-one meetings, viewing the content on a laptop or tablet computer. The same presentation can feature as a core element in a large meeting, using a projector and screen. You can also make presentations available online for downloading from the Internet or viewing during a Web conference.

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Communication Skills - Advantages and Disadvantages of Presentations

Some managers hold the mistaken belief that routine progress reports to their team must be formally presented. In reality, it is best to ask yourself if sitting in a presentation is the most productive use of your team's time. If your answer is 'No' then send an email or intranet file to convey to your team the same information without interrupting or reducing your team's productivity.

If your answer is 'Yes' then you need to spend the time properly planning what actually needs to be presented and keeping a tight control on the scope of the presentation. It is usually a better idea to give a presentation only when you have something exceptional or urgent to report, or something that would benefit from being delivered face to face .

The principal advantage of any presentation is that you can interact with your audience. If you are presenting information in a document, on the other hand, you have to make certain assumptions about your audience. This means that you present your topics and arguments in such a way that meets the preconceived image you have of the audience. If your assumptions are incorrect, then the information that you send out may not have the effect you want it to.

The second advantage is that when presenting you are able to observe the reactions of the audience based on their body language and can thus revise certain elements of your delivery on the spot. For example:

If you notice a lot of blank looks when you are presenting a certain point then you can address this by going into more detail or providing context so that everyone understands what you are saying.

In addition to helping you immediately gauge your audience's degree of understanding, a presentation allows you to assess the level of acceptance of or resistance to what you are saying. For example:

Making a short presentation to your team about a proposed change in working practices can give you a good indication of whether the change is going to be readily accepted or not.

This facet of presentations should not be overlooked because it offers you an immediate insight into the prevailing mood. By picking up on nonverbal signals within your audience you can try to address any concerns that people might have.

The number of ways you can emphasize your key points is much greater in a presentation than a written report. In a document you can only repeat or place emphasis on a point once. In a presentation you can do both of these things, plus you can alter the style of your delivery to suit the needs of your audience and message, which is extremely useful.

Examples of ways to emphasize key points in a presentation include:

• Using pauses, speaking more loudly, becoming more animated, or moving closer to the audience.

Another advantage of presentations is that you can use visual aids to explain and describe your points, and thus help your audience to fully comprehend your message. For example,

• Visual Aids enable the presenter to: • Use interactive illustrations • Build up an image to aid understanding of concepts • Show a sample or prototype • Draw attention to or emphasize key elements • Use pictures or diagrams instead of words.

As a presenter you can also include demonstrations. This can be particularly useful for things like software or physical products. This enables you to tell a story in a more engaging way than you can in a formal document.

Finally, when you make a presentation you know exactly who has attended and you are able to assess their degree of comprehension through questioning and observation. This is impossible with a written report because you have no way of gauging the level of understanding your recipients have gained. Some people may have only scanned it and others may have not read it at all.

Whilst there are many advantages to presenting your message, these must be weighed against the limitations of this form of communication. Most notable is the fact that your audience only has this one opportunity to hear and understand your message. In many working environments it is impractical to have everyone attend a single meeting so you will have to rely on those who attended passing on the information, or you will have to present your message more than once.

If your presentation does not have a handout then attendees will have no formal point of reference to use in the future. So a presentation does not always mean that you can avoid preparing a document; in some instances you will have to do both. Some of the audience may have taken notes but how do you know if these notes are an accurate reflection of your message? They also have no way of rereading or passing on your message as they would if it was written in a document.

Audiences often like to have access to background information to help them understand issues and problems. You simply do not have the time to provide all this during your presentation, but you can provide references and a glossary within a handout to support this need. Such tools will help you to overcome the problem of presenting to an audience where the individuals have differing levels of understanding and expertise.

An obvious limitation of presentations is that their effectiveness relies on the ability of the speaker to deliver the message. The speaker also may not be able to set a pace appropriate to the audience's level of understanding.

Many good speakers lose their audience's attention because their preferred style is to have questions only at the end. Whilst allowing questions at the end is often recommended, it runs the risk that your audience will switch off from what you are saying or forget a valuable question or query by the time you have finished your presentation. As an effective presenter there are several simple techniques you can use to avoid this. For example:

You can prompt for questions at the end of each point or section of your presentation. You can note questions as they arise on a flip chart so nothing is lost.

After making a judgment on whether or not a presentation is the most effective and productive way for you to convey your message you need to carefully plan it. You need to clearly define its aim and key message. You also need to make sure that you understand your audience and ensure your presentation overcomes as many of the limitations as possible.

By working through the stages of planning a presentation outlined in the next section you can ensure that your presentation achieves its aim.

You may also be interested in: Planning a Management Presentation | Everyday Management Presentations | Four-Stage Presentation Planning Process | Audience Profiling | Presentation Environment | Define Your Key Message Statement | Outline the Scope of Your Presentation | Management Presentation Planning Guidelines .

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Prezi vs PowerPoint: Which One Should You Use? (In 2022)

Prezi vs PowerPoint: Which One Should You Use? (In 2022)

Written by: Orana Velarde

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

Last Updated: 12/16/2020

The main difference between Prezi and PowerPoint is that Prezi is a cloud-based tool for creating non-linear presentations while PowerPoint is an offline tool for creating standard presentations.

In this comparison guide, you'll learn what tool is best for your presentations in 2022.

Choose the element that you’re interested in from the navigation below and find out what option is the best for your presentation needs.

Let’s get into it.

Jump to the Section You Want

What is prezi, what is microsoft powerpoint, prezi: advantages & disadvantages, powerpoint: advantages & disadvantages.

  • Comparison Point #1: Features
  • Comparison Point #2: Templates
  • Comparison Point #3: Cost
  • Comparison Point #5: Online vs Offline Performance
  • Comparison Point #6: Teamwork & Collaboration
  • Comparison Point #7: Storage & Backup
  • Comparison Point #8: Embedding

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

Prezi is a presentation app known mostly for its style of zoom navigation and a “slideless” design. The core concept of creating a presentation with Prezi is that all sections are connected and the presenter can zoom and navigate between them seamlessly.

This style of presentation is unique to Prezi and it’s their way of standing out above PowerPoint. Even though the zooming feature sounds complex as an idea, its ease of use is impressive, especially when following a template.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

Microsoft PowerPoint is the presentation software in the Microsoft Office Suite.

It has long been the most sought out software for creating presentations in both business and education. So much so that its overuse led to the term “Death by PowerPoint”.

The downloadable desktop app for Microsoft PowerPoint works seamlessly on both Mac OS and PC with Windows.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of the Prezi presentation software.

Advantage #1: Non-Linear Navigation

The first advantage of Prezi is the zoom and overview feature.

The signature navigation in Prezi offers a unique perspective for creating and viewing a presentation. Instead of adding one slide after another, a project is created in sections.

There is the main menu slide and the presenter or viewer can navigate back to it at any time. This Prezi advantage is particularly useful for presentation creators that are tired of the usual way.

Advantage #2: Integration Support

The second advantage of Prezi is the long list of integrations. Prezi can be connected to other apps like Slack, Zoom, and Google Meet. These integrations make it easier to share and present Prezi projects with teams and collaborators.

Advantage #3: Low Cost

The third advantage of the Prezi software is its low cost.

The free version is great for students that need the bare necessities for their projects without too much fanfare. The paid plans start as low as $3/month.

Disadvantage #1: Confusing Layout

Interestingly enough, Prezi’s first advantage is also a disadvantage. The frequent zooming in and out movement can be a bit overwhelming for some. Also, a Prezi presentation shared on its own can be confusing if the viewer doesn’t know how to navigate the functions.

Likewise, for the creator, it can be easy to go overboard with zooming navigation. If the slides and sections aren’t organized and easy to follow, it can be difficult to present cohesively.

Disadvantage #2: Paid Offline Access

The second disadvantage to Prezi is that if using the free or lower-tier versions, presentations depend on the internet to be viewed.

Slow internet speeds can make a Prezi almost impossible to navigate. Offline access is only available in the paid subscriptions.

Disadvantage #3: Limited Data Visualization

Even though there are some charts and graphs options in Prezi, they aren’t fully customizable or editable for a personalized look and feel.

Prezi did add a new feature called Prezi Design to improve the customization of data visualizations, but it's still limited compared to other tools.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of PowerPoint.

Advantage #1: Popularity

The first advantage of PowerPoint is its widespread use. Pretty much everyone knows how to open, use, view and edit a PowerPoint presentation. That makes it easy to distribute and share with team members and collaborators.

Advantage #2: Rich Multimedia Features

The second advantage of PowerPoint is the rich features for using multimedia in presentations. Users can add video, audio, voice-over and animations to keep viewers interested and engaged. These features help add a good dose of visual impact to presentations.

Advantage #3: Plenty of Templates

The third advantage of PowerPoint is a large number of available templates. Not exactly within the software itself but mostly through third party sites and marketplaces. Since PowerPoint has been the long-standing favorite in presentation makers, there are templates for every style and purpose.

It's similar to how there are thousands of Apple Keynote templates available on sites like Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Disadvantage #1: Death by PowerPoint

The main disadvantage of PowerPoint is the coined term “Death By PowerPoint” and the meaning the term carries along with it. It’s not uncommon to hear people say things like “not another PowerPoint!”, or “I fell asleep during the PowerPoint”.

This reputation was the catalyst for many presentation makers to offer different and more creative solutions.

Disadvantage #2: High Cost

The second disadvantage of PowerPoint is the ongoing cost of the Microsoft 365 Office Suite. Users can obtain PowerPoint on their own but the cost is high.

As part of the full package with Microsoft 365, it has a monthly fee. Buying the Software on its own doesn’t come with storage like with the Suite.

Disadvantage #3: Compatibility Issues

The third disadvantage has to do with how long PowerPoint has been around. It can happen that the software used is from an old computer and then it’s not compatible with newer media. Or the newer version of PowerPoint won’t open on older computers.

For example, if you want to collaborate on a PowerPoint and need to upload it to their cloud, a PPT file won't work. It needs to be a newer version like PPTX.

Both Prezi and PowerPoint have many features on hand to help presenters create engaging slide decks. But in both cases, there are some features that stand above the rest. The one thing that makes the software a favorite among its users.

Prezi Feature #1: Zoom Navigation

The best and most notorious Prezi feature is Zooming navigation. Prezi created this feature as a differentiator from PowerPoint and other presentation makers.

Creators can design slides into groups or sections which are organized in the main menu on the first Prezi slide. The presenter can then navigate through a section and to the next or using the back button to return to the main slide.

When creating a Prezi presentation, this feature can’t be turned off. It’s ingrained in the program so creators must be sure that they want this style of presentation to begin with.

Prezi Feature #2: Prezi Video

Prezi recently added an integrated video feature to their software.

Prezi video is like a regular Prezi presentation with the difference that the background is the live video of the presenter. This feature is great for live webinars, meetings and courses.

To create a Prezi Video, users do have to use a different app in the Prezi Suite but can use already created Prezi presentations and simply integrate into Prezi Video.

Prezi Feature #3: Integrations with other Apps

Prezi has a number of practical integrations to share presentations in different ways.

For example, use Slack to share presentations with team members inside channels. Or, use Zoom or Google Meet with Prezi Video and create a presentation that you are a part of.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

PowerPoint Feature #1: Microsoft Toolbar

PowerPoint has many notable features in its editor, but the most notorious is the Microsoft Toolbar with all the editing features a creator will ever need.

Microsoft Office Suite software like Word and Excel have similar toolbars to PPT and this makes it easier for users of all three programs.

Having an understanding of the Microsoft Toolbar is a time saver and offers a large number of creative and practical features for any PowerPoint presentation.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

PowerPoint Feature #2: Layout Themes

Another notorious feature of PowerPoint is the starter layout slides. These are simple slides with a basic composition of images and text. These save time when creating new slides, as creators don’t have to insert new image and text boxes every time.

These are also pre-designed to look good and be effective. Using the layout themes helps create better-looking presentations every time, and customization is simple and to the point.

PowerPoint Feature #3: Export to Other Apps

Powerpoint presentations can be exported to use in other presentation makers.

Prezi is one of them. A PowerPoint presentation inside Prezi must be adapted to fit the zooming navigation by grouping slides into categories.

A PowerPoint presentation can easily be opened as a Google slides presentation with hardly any difference in editing features. This will work better on a Chrome browser.

cta presentations powerpoint import visme

Prezi and PowerPoint both have available templates to use in their software.

In both cases, templates exist in the editor, but there are also other template resources for both software. Let’s take a look at how the templates compare between the two presentation makers.

Prezi Templates

Prezi offers a variety of templates for their users. Recently they added templates for the Prezi Video feature and other engaging templates in the education and marketing niches.

As is to be expected, all Prezi templates are created taking advantage of the zooming feature.

For Prezi users, using a template is always the best choice. This way, the navigation has already been optimized and only the content needs to be updated.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

These are some of the available topics in the Prezi presentation gallery:

  • Business Review
  • Education and Nonprofit

Like many of its competitors, Prezi also has a large number of third-party templates to choose from. These are available on sites like prezibase.com and creatoz.eu.

On these sites, creators will find thousands of Prezi templates in many different styles and designs.

PowerPoint Templates

The templates available inside the PowerPoint software have been the same for years and feel a bit outdated. There are no more than 24 legacy templates that even though are a bit old, still help create presentations faster and easier.

Aside from Pre-designed presentation templates, PowerPoint also offers Theme layout options to pick and choose at the user’s discretion.

Additionally, when a presentation is created from scratch, the software offers “Design Ideas” with pre-designed slides in a scrollable bar to the right of the editor.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

PowerPoint templates are available on many sites online. On Envato alone, there are over 1000 ready-to-use templates in many different styles and for different industries.

Given how there are so many PowerPoint templates on third-party sites, it's easy to understand why Microsoft doesn’t create more templates to add to their PowerPoint program.

Many of the PowerPoint templates offer tutorials on how to best use them.

RELATED: Google Slides vs PowerPoint: Full Comparison Guide for 2024

Moving on to the cost of each presentation software. Let’s take a look at the different options for both presentation apps.

Prezi Pricing

The pricing on Prezi is much like any online app, there are options to choose from according to the industry or need of use.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

The monthly plans, apart from the Free basics, start at $3/month and can go as high as $59/month and prices for teams and enterprises are on demand.

Pricing groups are separated into basic, individual, education, and business.

PowerPoint Cost

PowerPoint usually comes as part of the Microsoft Office suite, now called Microsoft 365. The monthly fee starts at $6.99/per month and increases depending on users and team needs.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

Buying the software on its own costs $139 and doesn’t come with cloud storage.

Online vs Offline Performance

Presenting online and offline is a bit different between the two software. Let’s take a look at how they are different and how each software manages to present online and offline for their users.

In both cases, if the presentation is rich in interactive media and large photos, a slow connection will definitely slow down performance if viewed online.

In general, offline access is available on a limited basis.

Prezi Performance

Prezi works only online when using the basic free plan. On paid plans, users have the option of a downloadable desktop app to create and present their slide decks offline.

If they send the presentation as a link to be watched by someone else, the viewer will need a good internet connection to view it.

Additionally, there’s also the option of Portable Presentations, which can be downloaded to view offline and can be sent in an email and downloaded or through a memory stick.

Prezi users also have the option of using the Prezi Viewer Mobile app to present their projects with collaborators and team members.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

You get both online and with offline access once the app has been downloaded. Prezi Viewer is available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices.

PowerPoint Performance

As PowerPoint is downloadable software, presentations can be created offline without the need for an internet connection. They can then be shared online or via a memory stick and easily presented or viewed offline as well.

PowerPoint functionality is best when used offline but there is also an online version of PowerPoint in the cloud called PowerPoint Online.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

Additionally, PowerPoint presentations can be viewed on an iPad with iOS or an Android device. There's no mobile app functionality to create a presentation on an iPad or mobile device, but they're perfect for viewing.

Teamwork & Collaboration

Most Presentation software these days offer teamwork and collaboration features.

Working on presentations together is important for business and education. Let’s take a look at how Prezi and PowerPoint compare to each other in terms of collaboration.

For team members to work together on a Prezi Presentation, they all need to have their own account or be part of an Enterprise account with different user logins.

The owner of the presentation can share the project with no more than 10 people at once. They need to be granted editing rights via the same email they use to log in to Prezi.

Collaborative editing on Prezi can be seen in real-time. This means that one user can see what another is working on and vice versa. Content from any other Prezi can be added to a group Prezi easily as well.

Apart from being able to edit together, collaborators can also leave comments in small post-it type notes.

Collaboration on PowerPoint is possible but needs a bit of preparation.

For a PowerPoint presentation to be editable as a team, it first needs to be uploaded to OneDrive or SharePoint Online for Microsoft 365. From there, collaborators can be added via their email.

Users can see when team members log into the presentation to make changes and can see what they are working on. If changes were made while a user isn’t logged on, they get a notification that changes have been made while they were away.

Storage & Backup

Losing a presentation after you’ve worked on it for a long time is never fun. Thankfully, most presentation software has storage and backup features, either on your own computer (Mac or PC) or as cloud storage.

Both free and paid Prezi accounts have unlimited storage for created presentations.

Uploaded media storage is larger in bigger plans. For example, free and small plans can’t upload videos to their presentations. Larger plans offer that and the storage to keep the videos in the media library.

Since PowerPoint is desktop-based presentation software, all your presentations are media are stored on your computer. Alternatively, you can store all your PowerPoint files and presentations in Microsoft OneDrive.

A Microsoft 365 subscription comes with a 5GB cloud storage plan that can be easily upgraded via the subscription page.

Embedding features for presentations go both ways. In some cases, you can embed third-party content into a presentation and you can embed a finished presentation into a website. Let’s take a look at how Prezi and PowerPoint compare.

Prezi presentations don’t have the ability to embed third-party content inside slides with I-frame or integrated apps. Their new app Prezi Design does offer iframe embedding but taking these designs to a Prezi presentation is not seamless.

Alternatively, you can easily embed a Prezi presentation into a webpage with a snippet of code.

Content can be linked or embedded easily into PowerPoint slides, either through the linking or embedding features. First of all, any content created on other Microsoft 365 software is easy to add to a PowerPoint presentation.

Excel charts for example can be added as live data. As long as the data is kept on your machine or OneDrive folder, the PowerPoint presentation will show the changes if it’s also uploaded to OneDrive.

Embedding a PowerPoint presentation into a website is just as easy as with Prezi. All that’s needed is an HTML embed code. Copy and paste into a webpage or blog.

Is Prezi More Effective Than PowerPoint?

Both Prezi and PowerPoint have their own advantages and disadvantages. The question if Prezi is more effective than PowerPoint is relative to your own needs. Prezi’s unique zooming feature will make your presentation instantly recognizable as a “Prezi”.

Likewise, a PowerPoint presentation with too many transition features and excessive use of animation will be recognized as a PowerPoint presentation.

When it comes to choosing between Prezi and PowerPoint it mostly comes down to what style of presentation you want to deliver. More so, each tool has particular features that the other one does not.

For example, you can’t embed third-party content into a Prezi and PowerPoints already have a bad rep with the whole “Death by PowerPoint” situation.

Looking for a Free Presentation Tool?

If you read this far, you might already know if Prezi or PowerPoint is the best software for you. If you're still not convinced, we have another option for you: Visme .

With Visme, you can create presentations that look stunning and professional right inside your browser. You get access to hundreds of exclusive templates and premade slide layouts.

You can also edit your presentation in a robust drag-and-drop editor with all kinds of multimedia, animation and interactivity features you can possibly think of.

Embed GIFs, Google maps, Typeform surveys, live data charts, YouTube videos, quizzes and more. Or, add animated characters to make your presentation more engaging.

You can also add pop-ups, external links, hover effects, voice-overs into your presentations, and download them as PDFs, PowerPoint presentations and even offline web pages.

Another cool feature is you can upload your own brand assets into Visme and use them for all your designs, not just presentations. From your logo and color palette to your brand's typography, you can save everything inside your Brand Kit.

More Visme features include team collaboration, such as commenting and annotating, publishing and sharing designs online, and even saving directly into Google Drive or Dropbox.

Sign up for a free Visme account today and try out the tools your presentation needs to be outstanding and unforgettable.

Disclaimer: Information is accurate as of December 3rd, 2020

Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

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About the Author

Orana is a multi-faceted creative. She is a content writer, artist, and designer. She travels the world with her family and is currently in Istanbul. Find out more about her work at oranavelarde.com

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SlideUpLift

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Google Slides In Presentations

Have you been pondering whether to put time into Google Slides? Google Slides is gaining popularity as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint because of innovative features offered by Google. Is it worthwhile to make the change, though? We’ve listed the pros and cons of using Google Slides so you can make a well-informed decision. 

Google Slides offers several advantages, including its web-based availability and collaboration features. Is Google Slides the ideal presentation programme for you? Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages to help you decide.

10 Reasons Why You Should Use Google Slides

Google Slides is a popular cloud-based presentation software among consumers and corporations due to its many advantages. Because of these qualities, it is often considered among the best-presenting programmes available. The top 10 advantages of using Google Slides for creating beckoning presentations are as follows:

  • Simple to work with

Collaborative

  • Accessible from anywhere
  • Highly Cost effective

Wide Choice of Customization

  • Adding Multimedia with ease
  • Easy to integrate with other platforms by Google
  • Accessibility features

Backup of Edits

Simple to work with, accessible from anywhere, highly cost-effective.

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

Adding Multimedia with Ease

Easy to integrate with other platforms by google, accessibility features.

READ MORE: Microsoft PowerPoint V/s Google Slides

5 Drawbacks Of Using Google Slides For Your Presentations

While there are many advantages of Google Slides, there are also some disadvantages of using this cloud-based presentation software. Users should weigh the pros and cons of Google Slides carefully to determine whether it is the right tool for their needs. Here are the five disadvantages of using Google Slides for presentations:

  • Limited offline functionality
  • Potential formatting issues
  • Security concerns
  • Fewer advanced features and customization options
  • Dependency on internet speed

Limited Offline Functionality

Potential formatting issues, security concerns, fewer advanced features and customization options, dependency on internet speed, when to choose google slides for presentations.

Google Slides is a great place to start if you’re looking for a free alternative to expensive presentation software. Besides the pros and cons of Google Slides, as discussed above, it is a powerful presentation tool thanks to its intuitive design, cloud-based availability, and collaborative features. Some examples of when it would be a good idea to use Google Slides are as follows:

  • Collaborative Projects Made Simple: Whether you’re working on a group presentation or a school project, Google Slides lets multiple participants collaborate and make real-time changes.
  • Accessible Online Projects: Since Google Slides is hosted on Google Cloud, it is accessible from any internet-connected device, making it a perfect choice for producing online presentations that can be shared with people worldwide.
  • Suitable for Basic Presentations: Because of its user-friendly design, Google Slides is ideal for generating presentations in less time, making it more convenient. 
  • Multimedia Integration: Google Slides provides straightforward methods for adding elements such as photographs and videos to presentations, making it an effective tool for organising and illustrating content in a presentation.

MUST READ: Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using PowerPoint In Presentations.

Get the Most Out of Google Slides: Profession-Based Use Cases

Google Slides has become popular as a flexible and user-friendly presenting tool across various professions. We’ve produced a table that covers profession-specific use-cases to help you understand how Google Slides can be utilised for your presentation needs. 

Developing lesson plans, presenting in class, and working on group projects
Creating pitch decks, reports, and proposals, as well as hosting webinars
Creating social media visuals, commercial campaigns, and brand guidelines
Creating and sharing design mockups, working on design projects collectively, and presenting design concepts

In conclusion, the slides you make for a presentation have the potential to alter the outcome completely. It can liven up even the most mundane of presentation subjects. Therefore, the presentation software you employ is crucial. Your circumstances, needs, comfort level, and money are all factors to consider when deciding on a presenting app. Ultimately, whether to use Google Slides for presentations depends on your specific needs, and weighing the pros and cons of using Google Slides will help determine if it’s the right tool for your job.

Can I Use Google Slides Without An Internet Connection?

Is google slides safe to use for sensitive information, how do google slides compare to other presentation software, is it possible to export a google slides presentation to other formats.

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Presentation Training Institute

Presentation Training Institute

A division of bold new directions training, the pros and cons of presenting in a team and how to manage the workload.

Teamwork requires a group of individuals to work together toward a common goal. Depending on your personality you may or may not like the idea of working as a team.  It’s not always easy working with a group, but there are times when presenting as a team can also work in your favor. Working as a team can certainly be chaotic, but it can also prove to be an incredible learning experience. Let’s examine a few of the advantages and disadvantages of presenting as a team as well as tips for dividing the workload evenly. 

What Are the Pros of Group Presentations?

More Ideas to Share

Haven’t we always heard that two heads are better than one? That’s because more can be achieved by collaborating with a group. Everyone has different experiences, views, and ideas that they can bring to the table and the ability to share these ideas can lead to a more successful presentation. The fact that team members can bounce ideas off of each other can be very advantageous. 

Division of Work

The thought of putting together an entire presentation can be a bit overwhelming but when you are working as a team, a fair division of labor can make the workload less daunting. Instead of being responsible for the entire project, each person is only expected to handle one aspect of it. That said, it is important that the workload be divided equally among team members to ensure that everyone puts in their fair share of work. 

Increased Efficiency

With more people thinking and working, things are likely to get done faster. When each member works to complete their own piece of the puzzle, the entire presentation will come together much quicker. Contrary to popular belief, working as a group can actually lead to increased efficiency. 

You Can Play to Your Strengths

Everyone has different strengths and talents so working as a group allows you to take on whatever task you feel most comfortable doing. You can each find the specific role that best suits your skillset and focus on that area. 

What Are the Cons of Group Presentations?

Unequal Involvement in the Work

It’s challenging to work in a group when you feel like everyone isn’t doing their fair share. You will always have the people who are willing to go above and beyond and those that are lazy and wait for others to do their work. This can be one of the most frustrating issues to deal with so it’s important to delegate tasks and set clear expectations right from the start. 

Clash of Ideas

Things can quickly go awry when your team is in disagreement. People will inevitably have different ideas and working methods and this can make things complicated. It can sometimes be difficult to coordinate with multiple people so it’s helpful to have a group leader who can act as a mediator. 

Dealing with an Overbearing Personality

One of the most common challenges of presenting with a group is dealing with an overbearing personality. You might have an authoritative leader who is unwilling to listen to anyone else’s ideas or a team member who is trying to outshine the rest of the group. In these instances, it’s important to remember that you are all working together toward a common goal and everyone’s role in the group is equally important.

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Using Handouts for Presentations: The Pros and Cons

by Steve Adubato, PhD

Recently Jim, a middle manager, was asked to give a presentation to other members of his team regarding a new project he was working on. Jim was asked to present an update on where things stood and identify areas where his colleagues could provide valuable feedback.

The first thing he did was distribute a thick handout with lots of detailed information about the project. There were numerous charts and graphs along with about 20 pages of text. Within 30 seconds of Jim’s presentation, half of the 10 other managers started thumbing through the handout. This clearly distracted Jim and from that point on he had a really difficult time getting the audience’s full attention.

Some might think the moral of this communication story is that when making a presentation you should never distribute handouts. Well, it’s not that simple. With this in mind, consider some tips and tools as well as some pros and cons when it comes to handouts and your next presentation:

  • If you are going to use a handout, never distribute something that is more than just a few pages. There is too much to thumb through. The best handouts are a page or two with bulleted, boldly typed information with key points, themes, statistics or questions. It is really a basic outline for your audience to follow.
  • Your job is to fill in the white space in between the bulleted points on the handout. The more you read verbatim what you’ve handed out, the more you invite your audience to ignore you and become obsessed with what is on the printed page.
  • Only provide a handout if it really enhances or supports your presentation. Don’t do it just to do it, because even the best handout will be somewhat of a distraction. Remember, while your audience is reading the handout, you’ve lost eye contact with them. So pick your spots.
  • Make sure your handouts are practical and can be utilized by your audience AFTER your presentation. One of the handouts I use in a typical communications seminar is titled “Top 10 Keys to Making a Great Presentation.” It’s a simple list of ten practical tools. There is no detailed explanation, but it is helpful to audience members who want to remember the points raised in the actual presentation and share it with other colleagues in the workplace.
  • Another option is to distribute the handout AFTER the presentation. Tell folks you will be providing that material to them to reinforce the messages communicated in your presentation. This is helpful because many professionals don’t take a presentation seriously unless there is some piece of paper they can take away from it. That’s just human nature.

Pros and Cons for PowerPoint and Google Slides

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Exploring the Pros and Cons of Memorized Presentations

Ashish Arora

Acing your presentation will result in the following – an approved business idea, lead conversion and sale, and getting people up to speed with a concept.

So, you need to work hard to create an effective presentation to deliver important information to people as intended. One of the key factors that will assist you in this process is memorizing the material.

Memorized speech is the rote recitation of texts that the presenter has committed to memory, and it has its positives and negatives.

So, let’s delve into what it means to learn by rote, how effective it is in presentations (advantages and disadvantages), and if there is anything better you can do than memorizing material for a successful presentation.

What is a Memorized Presentation?

It is the process where you learn the speech/material in your presentation and present it without the help of your notes. 

Upsides of Memorizing the Presentation

Learning the material in advance has its advantages. It can give you leverage over other methods of recitation (impromptu, manuscript).  

1. You get more time to make eye contact

One of the best advantages of learning your presentation is that you can completely face your audience and make eye contact consistently. You get more time to scan your audience and establish rapport by locking glances.

Why is it so important?

Because it is the quickest and easiest way to build connections, and you wouldn’t want to be the person who keeps looking in the notes or on screen when presenting. It will make your presentation very impersonal, and you will miss out on the magic of forging interpersonal relationships in that crucial duration.

2. Less use of filler words and distracting speech

When you are prepared in advance, you know the content beat by beat, including the sequence, the words, and the entire material. It frees you from the space of not knowing and having to fill up the speech with filler words (um, like, you know) or accidentally using them.

In the process, you might need to go back to your notes or PPT to recall, creating this silent space (use of distracting speech or being quiet) which is an embarrassment for both the audience and the presenter.

3. You look like an expert

In an ideal situation, the memorized speech sounds like an off-the-cuff statement by an eloquent presenter and an organized thinker. It gives you the space to speak with conviction, control, and confidence since you know the entire content like the back of your hand. 

The presenter can’t get sidetracked with the content and can deliver the message exactly as intended. Also, people will feel more confident in your knowledge of the content .

4. Appropriate use of space and body language

Memorizing the presentation will free you from being restricted to personal notes and PPT screens. So that gives you ample time and space to move around the stage and be mindful of your body language and gestures. If you are using visual aids in your presentation, then you are more at an advantage.

However, to use this to your benefit, try to memorize the vocal cues (the varied pitch, tone, volume, and pace), facial expressions, and gestures, as well, to avoid the risk of making your presentation flat and dull.

  Downsides of Memorizing the Presentation

  Let’s go through some of the reasons that make memorized presentations a bad idea.

1. Forgetting the content

Okay, let’s see. Why does anyone memorize a presentation?

The purpose is to remember everything and not miss any key point in the presentation.

But as it stands, memorization might help with short content, like a wedding toast speech. Presentations are complex and lengthy, and the longer they are, the harder they are to remember word for word.

And you will be more likely to forget your speech. So, the very reason for which you wanted to do this in the first place might not be fulfilled, and the situation becomes paradoxical.

Also, a format like that has no personality. When you are too focused on remembering everything, a lot gets lost mid-way. One of the quickest responses would be from your audience disengaging from you as the speaker, and it’s very difficult to get people back from that stage.

2. Unnatural and lack of spontaneity

The primary goal of your presentation would be to engage your audience to elicit the desired result from the presentation. How engaging and interesting the presenter looks reading the content word for word?

How inspired or excited do you think the audience is sitting through that presentation?

A memorized presentation to the T might mean you stand the risk of sounding too rehearsed, resulting in a monotonous tone. It lacks the passion and authenticity of a good delivery from someone with presentation skills .

3. Going in autopilot mode or not being mindful

When you have memorized everything, you can quickly move into an autopilot zone, relaying everything like a parrot. Also, the process of recalling makes you not mindful of the environment. 

Such a thing will make you miss out on emphasizing the relevant and essential points and doesn’t sound too authentic.

4. A lot of work

A presentation is a long document, and not like a 2-minute speech at some political event or wedding. Memorizing the entire thing is a big and tedious task and will require a lot of effort. And it’s not just the texts you will have to remember for effective relaying –  you need to be mindful of the delivery as well. 

Otherwise, your presentation will become too insipid for anyone to engage with. So, including everything, learning by rote is too much effort, and the benefits do not level the risks associated.

5. Discomfort with any changes

Any changes in the audience or situation might become discomforting and distracting as a lot of energy is focused on recalling everything right. Any alterations and interruptions might sidetrack you enough to lose track of the content, and getting back from that stage could be troubling.

Imagine this happening just even twice in your presentation.

Also, if you suddenly start an ad-lib, the audience will notice the change of delivery and the transition that took place. And it will make them see that something is off and wrong.

5. It is wise to practice

Where memorization is lacking, practice will fill all the gaps. The more you practice, the more you will be learning things as a byproduct, and you will realize, eventually, those two are very different.

Practicing the content will help you cover things like specific words you will say, pauses, gestures, etc. On the other hand, memorization is committing the information to memory to be recalled later.

Don’t try to learn the entire manuscript by heart – rather, go with the outline. Practice so you can effortlessly recall the order and content of your main points.

However, there are specific things that you could memorize, like the crucial statistics of your presentation (if you have to), opening and closing speech, etc., where you don’t need to refer to your notes again and again.

To Sum it Up

Memorizing a presentation has its upsides and downsides. On the one hand, it will give you a sense of knowingness; on the other, you stand the risk of looking too robotic and predictable. 

So, it is wise to draw the line in between. You can memorize parts of your presentation and rely on practice and strong presentation skills to cover points. 

Rather than relying on memorizing, you should try learning your presentation cold. Meaning that taking time to craft the sequence of your content and rehearsing it so much that you can recite it backward if needed. Practicing your presentation like this will help you cover all the loopholes and negatives of memorization, rendering you with only the pluses. 

Work on creating solid slides that give you a peek into all the relevant points and transitions and use them to your advantage in your elocution skills. And you are good to go for a rocking presentation!

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Ashish Arora

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Are Your Presentations Too Emotional — or Too Analytical?

When making a presentation, leaders need to balance appeals to both logic and emotion — the head and the heart..

what are advantages and disadvantages of presentation

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When you have the opportunity to connect with an audience, stating fact after fact is not the way to go. You have an opportunity to connect more deeply than you can with just facts. Granted, some presentations are solely to convey updated information. But if that’s the case, you’re probably better off just emailing the particulars and saving everyone time. The best use of a presentation is to motivate others.

Staying flat and factual can work in a scientific report setting, but it won’t help motivate most audiences. Facts alone don’t help audience members understand why the information is important: You’re possibly relying too heavily on attendees to surmise the meaning behind them and make connections between point A and point B. You’re making the audience work way too hard to identify the decision you’re hoping to persuade them to make.

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Using emotion is a way to bring emphasis to the details and help them stand out. You want to complement facts with a pinch of content that will help the audience understand the value of the data and the valuable outcomes if it’s acted upon — or the consequences of it being ignored.

But if you had an audience of, say, biotech engineers, and you pulled the emotional strings too hard, that would be a huge mistake. And if you had a sales team you were trying to pump up, and you went full-on data, that would also be a mistake. You need to empathetically think about what’s going to be the right amount of emotional appeal and the right amount of intellectual appeal for your audience before your presentation. You need to blend your content the right way, almost like a recipe. You need balance.

Credibility plays a crucial role in this balancing act. By demonstrating that you have an understanding of the audience’s preferences and needs, you’re establishing common ground, and that reinforces your reliability. Your established trustworthiness and expertise provide a solid foundation that amplifies the impact of your presentation.

This isn’t a new idea. Back in the fourth century B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle claimed that to persuade, one must employ three types of argument:

  • Logos, or logical appeal, where the speaker provides evidence through words and data.
  • Pathos, or emotional appeal, where the speaker stirs the emotions and imaginations of audience members.
  • Ethos, or ethical appeal, where the speaker leans into their existing credibility and character.

Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals are still relevant today. What’s key for managers, and often quite difficult, is knowing how to balance these appeals to an audience. Whether you’re presenting to a room full of engineers, a group of potential investors, or your colleagues and peers, the ability to calculate the right level of logic and emotion — in a way that resonates with the audience’s roles, industries, and problems — is a profoundly useful skill.

First, Understand Your Audience

The first step in reaching for this balance is understanding your audience members. Are they data-driven decision makers who thrive on statistics and factual evidence? Or are they more likely to be swayed by personal stories and emotional connections? The industry, department, and roles of your audience members may help you define the ratio of analytical to emotional content to aim for as you engage them. If you don’t take time to understand your audience, you risk creating an imbalance. What’s more, when you show up with emotional or analytical energy that doesn’t match the audience’s, it hurts your credibility. (See “An Analytical and Emotional Balance That’s Just Right.”)

When presenting to analytical audiences, you want to pull back on how much you apply an emotional appeal. Use it lightly and with intention. Heavily analytical folks are still human, so it can be motivating to include material in a presentation that shows, for example, how lives will be changed if people take action from the data presented.

For more emotionally driven audiences or emotionally charged content, you want to pull back on the analytical appeal. Allow the audience to become immersed in all the feels. Emotionally driven audiences don’t enjoy the overuse of facts and details. They want to know that data has been carefully considered, but they likely won’t want to see 20 slides with charts.

The right balance is key. Even if you’re the most remarkable presenter in the world, being too geeky or too expressive in your storytelling can create a chasm between you and the audience.

For example, it’s easy for many of us to get caught up in numbers. To be successful in most jobs, we work with data, charts, graphs, timelines, and dashboards all the time. But when launching a revolutionary new product, it’d be unwise to overwhelm an audience with too many figures. While analytical content is essential, it should always be presented in a digestible and engaging manner.

Facts and Feelings: The Perfect Blend for Persuasive Presentations

To address both the mind and the heart, you must create a compelling narrative that is both persuasive and memorable. To do this, step back and inventory your slides to identify any content that can be made either more analytical or more emotional. Think about what balance you’re aiming for overall. Change the tone and content of slides where appropriate; for example, a slide with statistical data can be followed by a slide with a powerful quote or a compelling image.

Examples of typical types of analytical content include statistical data and facts; charts, graphs, and visual data; quotations from experts; logical arguments and reasoning; citations from research and studies; diagrams and explanatory videos; demonstrations and specimens; and appendices with documentation.

Examples of typical types of emotional content include anecdotes and stories; humor; emotive exclamations, like “This is amazing”; evocative photos and illustrations; metaphors and similes; suspenseful reveals and bold statements; dramatic music and sound effects; dramatizations and physical props; and rewards, benefits, and offers.

Whether you’re tilting to the head or the heart, you need to connect with the audience on a personal level.

Of course, analytics and emotions often can be blended for impact. You can attach data to anecdotes or tell stories about the people who generated the logical arguments to humanize your message. Charts and graphs can be designed to evoke emotion — for example, a chart can be revealed gradually , bar by bar, to create suspense and keep the audience invested in your narrative, and a graph showing a significant improvement can be paired with images of the team celebrating the achievement. And connecting data to something the audience really cares about demonstrates its value and makes it sticky. For example, don’t just say that a product creates 30% efficiency; say, “Our product creates 30% efficiency. Now, imagine how much more time you’ll have each day for higher priorities if each task is completed faster.”

Tying rewards, benefits, or offers directly to your call to action can further enhance the emotional appeal of your presentation. For instance, emphasizing how adopting a new strategy will not only improve efficiency but also lead to tangible payoffs, such as bonuses or professional growth opportunities, creates a compelling reason for your audience to act. This connection between action and personal gain helps motivate and engage your audience on a deeper emotional level.

And whether you’re tilting to the head or the heart, you need to connect with the audience on a personal level. When detailing statistics about a new product launch, share the stories about the journey of its development, highlighting the challenges overcome and the passion behind its creation.

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While logical arguments can lead audience members to agree with you intellectually, emotional resonance is often what spurs them into action. Using storytelling and powerful imagery and connecting data to relatable scenarios can evoke that emotional response. (For more must-do’s for creating a presentation that lands well, see “ How to Create Slides That Suit Your Superiors: 11 Tips .”)

Are you ready to elevate your communication skills? By carefully balancing analytical and emotional content, you can craft presentations grounded in facts that also engage and persuade your audience. Paying attention to the balance in your messaging gets your audience excited to move forward . This is the true power of effective presentations and presenters: the ability to drive people toward action.

About the Author

Nancy Duarte is CEO of Duarte Inc. , a communication company in the Silicon Valley. She’s the author of six books, including DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story (Ideapress Publishing, 2019).

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