This is an IHeart podcast.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeart Radio.

Good morning.

This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is that if you are giving a presentation, don't read your slides.

The only reason to have slides is to show something visually beyond what you are saying.

Every meeting will be better if if you keep this rule, in mind.

Today's tip was inspired by Bill McGowan's new book, Speak Memorably.

McGowan is a communications coach.

He teaches people from lots of different walks of life how to present

more effectively. As you might imagine, a lot of speakers use PowerPoint. A lot of people

presenting at meetings use PowerPoint. There is almost no getting away from Microsoft's presentation software.

And it does do some useful things.

But you know what PowerPoint isn't?

A script to be read from.

McGoan uses the phrase good PowerPoint hygiene,

and a key part of that is that you should not read your slides.

There is no quicker way to forfeit the engagement of the audience than to narrate your deck,

he says.

The more text you have on your slides, the less your audience will listen to you. After all, they don't need to.

If whatever you are going to say is written right there on your slide. I suspect people do this

...