Recently somebody asked me why my presentation didn’t have a clear index/agenda slide at the start. “Because every good slide deck has one, right?!”
Of course there are some advantages of displaying a clear index. The audience kan estimate the duration of your story, they know what subjects will be discussed and why you are building up to a certain conclusion. But I’m not a fan of index slides and here is why:
- In a one-to-one conversation you won’t start with: “First I’ll tell you three reasons why you have to.. and then I will show you my plans for the future which will lead to…” All spontaneity will be squeezed out of your message.
- An exciting movie is a lot less exciting when you already know the ending. You are prepared to whatever will happen which makes the storyline so much weaker. The audience should wonder: “I’m curious what comes next!”
- When your audience already know which subjects will be covered there is a chance they’ve chosen the topics that seem interesting to them before they know what you have to say about any of them. This way it will be harder to keep them interested during the presentation.
Isn't there any reason why you SHOULD use an index? There is.. When you present at a meeting it is nice for everyone to know what the topics are. This is an event when the audience want to make sure all the topics will be dealt with.
