Do you also think a lot about AI these days?
I do. AI this and AI that… and it quickly becomes too much.
This is not a piece about all the different implications or applications.
All your thoughts, feelings and opinions of what this means for society…
let’s put those on hold for a little while and focus on one single thing.
Namely AI-generated slides for your presentations.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t use those.
Here is the main problem.
Some people have asked me if I use AI when
I create my PowerPoint presentations.
I have experimented with it.
I have looked at different tools.
But there is always something bothering me.
It isn’t the lack of control over the result.
It’s the lack of creativity and innovation.
Think about it.
If you take all PowerPoint presentations you have ever seen.
How many of them left you inspired?
How many left you bored?
How many of them created a feeling in you that
you would do anything to be someplace else?
I know you have seen it.
All the endless list of bullet points.
All the confusing graphs and diagrams.
All the meaningless headlines and corporate bullshit.
We have all seen it.
Experienced it.
Endured it.
Now what do you think you get if you take all these slides and
then use that as inspiration to create more slides.
What do you think the result would be?
Exactly.
But… What if I use it to save some time?
Sure, AI can create slides fast.
And they often look quite alright.
And I know that you have a busy schedule and
creating slides from scratch takes time.
But here is a crucial thing that most people miss.
The problem is rarely the colours or the animations or the images…
You know, all those things that AI can help you with.
The problem often lies in the structure of the presentation.
The stories. The transitions from one topic to another. The framework.
Unless you specify them, all those things are guessed or assumed by the AI.
And again, it is trained on patterns and structures that are not… very effective.
In other words, AI can help you to decorate and make the slides look good.
It cannot help you however, make the presentation “feel good”.
And that feeling doesn’t come from slides.
It comes from you.
You know when something feels off.
You might say that “then I just include and specify everything in the prompt.”
True, the more information you can provide, the better the result will be.
But even if you include everything, your research and all the limits you have identified,
there is still one thing you can’t control.
How it is received.
If it is obvious that you have used AI to create your presentation…
Will the audience trust you… or will you be ignored and regarded as AI slop?
Will they applaud you for your understanding or will they think that you don’t know the topic?
You might say that AI will get better, it will be harder to detect.
True, but our bullshit radars will also improve, and if you ask me,
most people are already highly evolved when it comes to this.
You can tell if something is off, even if you can’t put your finger on it.
You know when it doesn’t feel right.
A boring bullet point list, doesn’t suddenly become
effective, simply by changing the background.
You need something else.
No PowerPoint is often better than an AI-generated one.
I would argue that using AI as a shortcut to generate some
slides for you, is a bad long-term strategy.
Yes I know, it takes time to create slides. And no, I am not suggesting that
you should be better at whatever presentation software you are using.
It takes time to create a very good presentation. That is never going to change.
So why not use that time to actually focus on the presentation and not on the slides.
Create and draw a figure to illustrate your main point.
Practice the delivery, your tone of voice, your body language.
Think about a metaphor that could work as a framework for the discussion.
There are so many aspects of a good presentation.
Many of them are often ignored.
You might hide behind your slides.
Write part of your script in bullet points and
ask an AI to sprinkle some colours on top.
If that is how much effort you are willing to invest in a presentation…
why should the audience care more about it?
If you want your audience to care, you have to care!
How do you show someone that you care?
Well… in a world of shortcuts and AI generated slop… maybe
the biggest proof that you care about your audience is
that you haven’t taken any shortcuts.
You have invested time, practice and thought into making sure the point is clear.
You haven’t just written a prompt in order to get the job done.
You have managed to teach, motivate, inform or inspire.
As the famous quote goes:
“People will not remember what you said,
they will remember how you made them feel.”
If you are the one sitting in the audience, you can feel if the speaker cares about you.
If you remember that before your next presentation, I know you will prepare differently.
You will focus on structure, story, and delivery, rather than prompts and decorations.
Invest your time wisely and enjoy the return on that investment.
Best of luck!
Want to continue the discussion,
send me a DM on LinkedIn
Until next time!
Daniel - The Talking Bridge
Ps. Music Motivation:
