I follow the 10/20/30 rule. http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html#axzz0dpTWbmE5
Really, a presentation is about hook, not detail. Detail can come before or after. Keep your audience interested in YOU, keep them from reading the slides, keep yourSELF from reading the slides, and hook them well. The info absorption can happen with handouts that they can take back to their offices after you're done with the Q&A. While I don't share Guy Kawasaki's exact reasoning for advocating the 10/20/30 rule, I spent way too many hours of my life in boring, long, overly-detailed presentations and left each one tired and eager to just go home. I advocated this approach heavily at my last employer and managed to get a few people to see the value, and they saw their presentations become vastly more effective. Now, what scares the crap out of me most about your question is that you're asking about time per slide in a PPT presentation for a day-long training session. I'd be afraid students brains would turn to jello and even start fermenting before the day was over! Definitely keep PPT to a minimum in a training environment and focus on engaging the classroom. The worst thing you could do is give them a warm, dim environment to ferment away into a PPT coma. Space the PPTs out between Q&A and other interactive sessions, follow 10/20/30 for each presentation, and provide details in a training book that they can take with them and digest in detail later. > A co-worker asked me if there is some established target for how much time to > spend on each slide in a PowerPoint presentation. We're working on a training > presentation for clients to introduce a new technology/product line. I'd be > interested in what the group has to say about the number of slides per hour > and the ideal number of slides per session (assuming training is going to run > for most of a day). If you have any suggestions for pacing, suggested length > of each session, or any other helpful guidelines, I'd value your input. -- Bill Swallow Twitter: @techcommdood Blog: http://techcommdood.com LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/techcommdood Available for contract and full time opportunities. ------------------------------------------------ STC Ideas: http://stcideas.ning.com Join: http://stcideas.ning.com/?xgi=6X1vNGI ______________________________________________ ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. Download Free Trial. www.doctohelp.comhttp://www.techcommpros.com/componentone/ Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email t...@techcommpros.com. Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-subscr...@techcommpros.com Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-unsubscr...@techcommpros.com Need help? Contact listad...@techcommpros.com Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
