How many slides is too many?
By Dave Paradi, MBA, co-author of "Guide to PowerPoint"

If you delivered 155 slides in 35 minutes, would that be too many slides? Most presenters would immediate say "Yes! Way too many!" And up until recently, I would have agreed. But a recent experience made me reconsider my initial response.

Most rules of thumb in the past have been that there should be one slide for every two to three minutes. And I have agreed with this. But I reviewed a presentation on video tape for a client from one of their top sales professionals in front of clients and he used 155 slides in a 35 minute presentation (yes, I counted). And it looked great. How could this be?

It stems from what is on the slide. Most of his slides were product photos that he showed in fairly quick succession showing off the different features. His use made it almost like a movie of sorts, with the flow working quite well. He spent more time on the text slides, such as when he was explaining how to place the order for the product. He spent time on the most important part of his presentation, the call to action, and did not stick to a particular formula.

So based on this experience, here is what I am now thinking. If it is a primarily text slide, I think the traditional rule of two to three minutes per slide would still be a good guideline. But when the slide is primarily a graphic, a much wider range of timing can apply. A sequence of photos may be run through quite quickly, with maybe five slides in one minute. Some graphics, such as a process flow diagram, require a two or three minute explanation. So my new thought is that a graphic slide could range from 10 seconds to three minutes, depending on what the graphic is and how it is used in the presentation.

I am starting to use more graphics, primarily photographs, in my presentations, and sometimes it is on the screen for a short period of time since the point is clear. Other times, I show the photo, tell a store about the photo, and then make a point. In this case, the photo slide is on the screen for multiple minutes.

If you have been basing the number of slides in your presentation on the traditional formula, consider these ideas in determining whether you want to modify the rule you have used in the past.

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©MMIV Dave Paradi