Charlie Chaplin told complete stories almost without words. A walking stick, a bowler hat, a few gestures. And the whole world understood.
That’s simplicity. It looks easy. Until you have to do it yourself.
Because when you’re in the middle of your presentation, it feels anything but simple. What do you leave out? What can stay? Who decides what’s essential? Especially as an expert, everything you know feels important.
The KISS principle comes from engineering
Keep it simple, stupid. The principle is attributed to Kelly Johnson, an American aircraft engineer. His jet fighters had to be repairable in the field by an ordinary mechanic with basic tools. Not by a genius in a lab.
Chris Anderson, head of TED, says something similar about speaking in his book TED Talks: imagine your audience as a class of six-year-olds. Other experts put it at ten or eleven. The age matters less than the principle. Not because your audience is stupid, but because clarity forces you to make choices.
5 ways to keep your presentation simple
- First answer one question: what do they need to remember? If that isn’t crystal clear to you, it certainly won’t be to your audience. Put that message at the centre and cut the rest.
- Do the child test. Explain your story to a child. If the child understands it, your structure is clear. If an adult still remembers it afterwards, your story is strong. Simple words, short sentences, without oversimplifying.
- One slide, one thought. Want to explain five bullet points? Then you actually need five slides. More about that in the tip on too many bullet points.
- Dare to leave white space. Every sentence that adds nothing drags the rest down. Leave one strong sentence. White space communicates too.
- Cut what your mouth won’t say. Read your text out loud. Does your tongue stumble, or do you trip over your own sentences? Then there’s ballast. Cut until it flows.
Why simplicity pays off
A simple presentation is not a watered-down version of a difficult one. Your audience understands more, remembers more and doesn’t have to guess where you’re going. You gain time for questions and interaction. And anyone who understands what you’re asking gets moving faster. Confusion leads to standstill, clarity to action.
In short
Simplicity isn’t a matter of style. It’s a strategy.
Can’t see the noise in your own story? Makes sense, that’s incredibly hard with your own story. With the Presentation Check, we’re your sounding board: we help you cut, refine and simplify down to what really counts. Not prettier, but simpler. In the training, you learn to make those choices yourself from now on.
