You're in a seminar room. The lights are down, the speaker has their back to you, and they're reading slide fourteen out loud, word for word. There are forty-something slides to go. Somebody near the back is checking their phone. Somebody else has quietly given up and is staring at the ceiling.
You've been that person in the audience. So have I.
Too many slides, too many words on every slide, and a speaker who's leaning on them like a crutch. No wonder you hear people say they're more scared of public speaking than they are of dying.
Start with the idea
It doesn't have to be like that. A good talk starts with an idea, not a blank slide.
The best speakers I've seen barely use slides at all. When they do, the slides support what they're saying. They don't say it for them. What holds the room is the story, a clear structure and someone who obviously cares about what they're talking about.
Watch a great chef
I think a great speaker works a lot like a great chef.
A great chef knows that the best dishes are often the simplest. They don't throw in every flavour in the cupboard. They know their ingredients inside out, they put each plate together with care, and when you watch them cook you never see them reading a recipe.
A great speaker does the same. They break their idea down into small pieces you can take in. They don't confuse the room with ten unrelated points. And you never see them reading their notes.
The hidden recipe
But the chef still has a recipe. You just can't see it. The ingredients and the method are there, worked out long before service starts.
Good speakers have a structure too. That's what makes it look effortless, and it's what lets them walk on knowing they'll deliver every time. The slides are the garnish. Nice to have, never the meal.
It's a lot like reading the room as a DJ. You plan the set, and then you watch the dancefloor and adjust. Planning is what gives you the freedom to play. I wrote about why stories land so well in How to tell stories in your business.
The talks I remember
Of all the talks I've given and sat through since 2017, the ones that stayed with me had the fewest slides. Some had none. What I remember is a story, and how it made me feel. The words do the heavy lifting, which is the whole idea behind Words are like weapons.
Next time you've got a talk to give, close the laptop. Write down the one thing you want people to leave with and the story that shows it, and only then decide if you need any slides at all.
First published November 2017.
