A lot of people are really comfortable good communicators, one on one, small groups giving speeches and presentations. But the second you have them give a PowerPoint presentation all their body language shuts down. And they now are nervous, uncomfortable, stiff, boring as anyone and it's just awful. So I'm going to give you a few tips on PowerPoint for starters. Never look at your PowerPoint, the PowerPoint is for your audience. It's not for you if you need notes, as we talked about in a previous lecture, here's a sheet of paper.

If you are going to read bullet points off a PowerPoint, let me ask you this. How do you like it when people read to you? This is a question I ask people all over the world when I'm conducting in person, public speaking workshops and universally everybody says the same thing. I hate it boring. I checked my email. Because here's the thing if you are reading PowerPoint and one thing we know is you've now completely destroyed your ability to connect with your audience with your eyes because you can't look at them.

So you can't use this is the poor man's the poor woman's teleprompter. If you're using PowerPoint, and hey, I'm not anti PowerPoint. I love PowerPoint. I have courses on PowerPoint. I use PowerPoint. So my best friends are PowerPoint.

But don't let it destroy your body language. You aren't giving a PowerPoint presentation. You're giving your presentation. When you stand up or sit down and you're using PowerPoint, realize you're not giving a PowerPoint presentation any more than I'm giving an electricity presentation today or a light presentation. I'm using electricity. I'm using lights but those are just tools to help me with my main goal.

Of communicating important messages to help you with your business career. So when you're using PowerPoint, realize it's your presentation. You have to make the ideas come alive. You have to look at people, you have to gesture. You have to walk around, you have to ask people questions, and then listen to them. And if you want to use PowerPoint slides, fine.

But realize that is one small piece of the puzzle. And just because you have PowerPoint slides doesn't mean you're now wedded to standing behind the lectern, locked down like a prisoner for the next hour. You can get some kind of a clicker. You can walk over occasionally and manually do it. You don't want to let that constrain you. You can give a great PowerPoint presentation and let people have a good impression of your body language.

If you do the right things, Of course the number one tip get you're not gonna like it. Practice your PowerPoint presentation on video. Look at it, keep redoing it until you love what you see most of my clients. When they see a video themselves delivering a PowerPoint presentation the first time their first reaction is always Oh my god, teacher that's boring as all get out. I wouldn't want to watch it. What do you think?

And my response to them is well, you seem like a smart person. If you think it's really boring. Guess what? It is. Keep practicing on video until you love your style and your substance with your PowerPoint presentation.