Want Greater Engagement? Stop Hiding Behind Your Slides.

Welcome to Public Speaking with Peter George. This is a QuickBites episode — public speaking tips and techniques you can digest in five minutes or less. I'm Peter George, public speaking trainer, speaker, and award-winning author of The Captivating Public Speaker. In this episode, you might just gain a new perspective on a topic that can make or break your presentation: visual aids — more commonly known as slides.

The Cardinal Rule

Slides should support your presentation, not be your presentation. You are the presentation. Your slides are the supporting cast. Most speakers get this backwards. They build a slide deck first, then figure out what they want to say about each slide. The result? They end up reading from the screen, turning their backs on the audience, and hiding behind a document instead of delivering a dynamic talk.

Here's the right approach: develop your content first. Know what you're going to say. Then — and only then — ask which slides would enhance your delivery.

Five Rules for Slides That Serve You

1. Use minimal text. A bold heading, a few key words, or one powerful statement. Instead of bullet points, try a slide that simply reads, Disengagement is expensive — then deliver the details verbally. The slides set up the points. Your voice provides the depth.
2. Choose authentic visuals. Make images large, crisp, and high-resolution. Ditch the cliché stock photos — the smiling team around a laptop, the businessman on a mountaintop. These are so overused they've lost all meaning. Find visuals that genuinely connect to your content. And always include them when rehearsing so they enhance your momentum rather than derail it.
3. Be consistent with your design. Same color scheme, fonts, and layout throughout. This creates visual coherence and reduces cognitive load. Limit your palette to three colors at most, and always ensure strong contrast between text and background.
4. Animate with purpose, not decoration. Use animations only when they serve a clear function — such as revealing bullet points one at a time to maintain focus. If you're animating something just because the feature exists, don't.
5. Never read from your slides. This is the ultimate form of hiding. If your slides contain everything you plan to say, why are you in the room? Just email us your deck.

Your Action Step

For your next presentation, review every slide and ask: Is this necessary? Does it enhance my message — or distract from it? Delete anything without a clear purpose. Simplify everything else.

Thank you for devouring another QuickBites episode of Public Speaking with Peter George. Are you ready to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then visit petergeorgepublicspeaking.com and let's make it happen. I'll see you next time.