The Power of Knowing Why Things Work
Master the foundations, break the rules better
I’ve given a lot of presentations over the years. And yes, I’ve used slides. But I was trained in the principles of learning and design that actually make presentations work. That training makes all the difference.
You probably know this already, but it’s worth repeating: sometime in the 1980s, a certain software company released a presentation app that relied on slides. To keep it simple – maybe too simple – they introduced the bullet point.
Since then, the world has been riddled with them.
Bullet points have spread like a virus. They’re everywhere now, even in things like ‘bullet journals,’ as if no sentence can exist without a dot in front of it.
Back to presentations.
Most slide decks these days follow the same pattern: bullet point after bullet point, followed by slabs of tiny, unreadable text in dubious colours. And just in case reading it wasn’t painful enough, someone will stand at the front of the room and read it aloud.
This is where I quietly scream inside.
Because anyone familiar with Cognitive Load Theory knows this actually impairs understanding. Reading aloud while your audience tries to read along splits their attention and reduces comprehension. There's a body of research that shows why presentations fail when they're packed with dense text … and why there are much better ways.
Yet most managers I’ve met have never learned a thing about the principles of effective learning or slide design. And many HR and marketing professionals – despite their confidence – often haven’t either.
Over the years, I’ve had to defend evidence-based design, argue against bullet-point overload, and explain why the ‘received wisdom’ of PowerPoint slides isn’t all that wise.
But when you understand the principles, it gets easier.
Even if the Big Boss insists on slides filled with bullets, you can still make them work – if you know the fundamentals of what actually helps people learn and stay engaged.
And that’s the real lesson here.
Whatever your role, whatever you’re working on: learn the principles that underpin good outcomes. The right knowledge gives you flexibility. It gives you the confidence to push back when needed, and the skill to compromise without losing effectiveness.
And if the task needs more expertise than you’ve got? Find someone who knows.