How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint [A Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Mar 6, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 3
While working on her sales deck, Jess, one of our clients, asked us something that hit the nail on the head.
She said,
“How do I avoid death by PowerPoint?”
Our Creative Director replied instantly,
“Design for clarity, not clutter.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on countless sales decks, leadership talks, product demos, and training presentations every year. And through all of them, we’ve seen one recurring issue — presenters keep overwhelming their slides and losing their audience in the process.
So in this blog, we’ll show you exactly how to avoid death by PowerPoint and create presentations that actually keep people engaged.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
What is Death by PowerPoint?
Death by PowerPoint isn’t about the software. It’s about how people use it.
The term was coined in the early 2000s, but the problem started long before that. It describes the slow mental shutdown your audience experiences when they’re forced to sit through a mind-numbing presentation — overloaded with text, meaningless bullet points, and visuals that add zero value.
It’s that glazed-over look people get in meetings. The kind where they’re nodding politely but secretly wondering what’s for lunch.
The phrase gained traction after Angela R. Garber used it in a 2001 article, calling out the painful reality of corporate presentations. Since then, “death by PowerPoint” has become shorthand for everything wrong with how we present — poor design, lack of structure, and too much focus on dumping data instead of telling a story.
And here’s the thing. This exists because we were never taught how to present visually. Most people treat slides like Word documents. More text equals more credibility, right? Not even close.
What it actually equals is a distracted, disengaged audience.
How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint
Now that we’ve laid out the causes, let’s talk about the cure.
Avoiding death by PowerPoint isn’t about using fancier templates or memorizing TED talks. It’s about clarity, structure, and making deliberate choices about what belongs on a slide — and what doesn’t.
We’ve worked on hundreds of decks over the years, and the best ones — the ones that actually work — all follow the same principles. Here’s what we’ve learned and what we apply every day.
1. Build a Story, Not a Slide Collection
Let’s get this straight: your deck is not a document. It’s a tool to support a story you’re telling.
So before you even open PowerPoint, start with a blank page. Map your message. Ask yourself:
What do I want my audience to understand?
What should they remember?
What do I want them to do at the end?
Start from there. Build a logical arc — beginning, middle, and end.
If it’s a sales pitch, that arc might be: Problem → Solution → Why Us → Results → Next Steps.
If it’s an internal update, maybe it’s: Goal → Progress → Roadblocks → What’s Next.
Whatever the context, give the content structure. You’re not just dumping slides. You’re leading people somewhere.
We recently helped a SaaS team restructure their onboarding deck. Originally, it started with every feature and technical integration. Halfway in, they’d mention the actual pain point the platform solves. We flipped the order: pain first, then product, then proof. Engagement doubled. And they didn’t change a single feature — just the order.
2. Say Less on Each Slide
This one’s hard because it feels counterintuitive. Most people think the slide should say everything, just in case they forget. But great slides don’t do all the talking — they give the presenter a platform to speak from.
Aim for one idea per slide. Not five. One.
That idea can be supported by a few keywords, a strong image, or a clean graph. But it should never compete for attention.
If your audience is reading, they’re not listening. So don’t overload your slide with paragraphs, sub-bullets, and legal disclaimers. Save that stuff for handouts.
Here’s a rule we use internally: if you have to shrink the font below 24pt to make it fit, you’re trying to say too much.
And no, reducing the line spacing or pushing everything to the edges isn’t a fix — it’s a red flag.
3. Use Visuals with Purpose
Not all visuals are good visuals. If you’re adding stock images just to “make it look less empty,” stop. Visuals should earn their place.
Ask: Does this image explain the idea better than text? Does this chart simplify a point that would take a paragraph to say? If yes, great. If not, cut it.
And when you do use visuals, keep them clean. One visual per slide, clearly labeled, with enough space around it to make it readable.
We had a client who used eight icons per slide to explain a user journey. Eight. The slide looked like a digital treasure map. We broke it into four simple steps, each with a bold icon and headline.
Suddenly, everyone got it.
Don’t aim for decorative. Aim for digestible.
4. Create Visual Hierarchy
Your slide should have a clear entry point. The viewer should know where to look first, then next, then where to rest.
Use font sizes, weights, and colors intentionally. The title should be bigger than the body. The key data point should stand out. The supporting note should sit quietly in the background.
Most slides suffer from “visual equality.” Everything is the same size, same style, same volume. So nothing gets noticed.
We once redesigned a financial report where all data points looked identical. The revenue growth number — which was the whole point of the slide — blended into the rest. We made it bold, big, and blue. Guess what the audience remembered? Not the margins. The growth.
Design is storytelling. Hierarchy is how you emphasize your plot.
5. Cut the Bullet Points
Bullet points are not evil, but they’re overused.
People rely on bullets because they don’t know how else to organize information. But five bullet points is just five competing headlines. No one remembers them all.
Instead, use headlines. Think of each slide as a billboard. What’s the one sentence you want someone to walk away with?
If you must list things, break them into separate slides or use visuals to support each point.
And remember: a slide doesn’t always need text. A single image or number can be more powerful than a laundry list.
6. Use Data Intentionally
Data only matters if it supports your message. A chart with ten lines, three axes, and unreadable legends will confuse, not convince.
Simplify.
Show only the data that supports your point.
Highlight the part of the chart that matters.
Use colors to draw focus, not to decorate.
Always add context. Say what the number means, not just what it is.
We once redesigned a healthcare pitch deck that showed a complicated retention curve across multiple patient segments. It looked smart, but no one understood it. We pulled out the one curve that mattered, added a headline that said “90% of patients stayed beyond 6 months,” and let that number do the talking.
Less data. More meaning.
7. Don’t Read the Slides
If you’re presenting live, you are the value.
Reading your slides word-for-word kills that value. It turns you into a narrator. And your audience into people who wonder why they didn’t just get the PDF.
Use your slides as a cue, not a script.
Know your material. Practice. Speak like you’re explaining the idea to a friend, not reporting to a board.
The more natural you sound, the more trust you earn.
And by the way, confidence isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about clarity. If your slides are clear and your delivery is honest, people will pay attention.
8. Match the Format to the Setting
Different formats need different designs.
If you’re emailing the deck, you may need a few more words to make it self-explanatory.
If you’re presenting live, remove most of the text and let your voice do the work.
If it’s a leave-behind, create a companion doc — don’t just export the same slide deck.
One size does not fit all. We’ve seen perfectly good slides flop just because they were used in the wrong context. Design with the format in mind.
9. Use Consistent, Clean Design
You don’t need to be a designer. But you do need consistency.
Use a simple, readable font.
Stick to a color palette.
Align your elements.
Don’t change styles every three slides.
Good design isn’t fancy. It’s invisible. When done right, it just feels easy to follow.
We once helped a client fix a deck where each slide looked like it came from a different universe.
Different templates, fonts, margins. The message got lost in the mess. We unified the look — consistent headers, typography, spacing — and suddenly, the whole deck felt tighter. Not just visually, but logically.
Clean design creates trust. It shows you’re in control of the details.
10. Edit Ruthlessly
Finally — cut, cut, and cut again.
Every slide should have a reason to exist. If it doesn’t push the story forward, it goes. If it repeats a point, combine or delete.
We often trim decks down by 30 to 40% during redesigns. And the results are always better.
Think of your presentation like a movie. Every scene should matter. Every transition should lead somewhere. Don’t be afraid of what you leave out. Be intentional about what you keep in.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.