A great presentation should motivate and educate your audience while getting your point across clearly and efficiently. Although slides can help you do this, not using them effectively can bore your audience to tears. Here’s five ways to use slides to keep your audience attentive and interested.

1. Avoid text. A photo is worth a thousand words and way more interesting to look at.
2. Get to the point. When inserting text, use point form with just a few key words for each.
3. Never read a slide. Your audience can read for themselves. Instead, verbally expand on what’s on the slide.
4. Keep it moving. No one wants to look at the same slide for 20 minutes. Instead, divide large amounts of information among many slides with less content on each.
5. Have no slide. It’s okay to have the screen dark while you discuss an idea or tell a story. Creating a solid black slide is a great trick to getting the audience to focus on you instead of the overhead.

Marc Gordon is a marketing expert and professional speaker. Get more marketing tips on his website, marcgordon.ca and on his online show, marctv.net.