PowerPoints consisting entirely of bullets and words are useless, right? Well, for the most part, yes. But dig deeper — there are productive ways to break this (like any) rule.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Haters of PowerPoint, we give you Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report segment “The Word”

Plan B
Clean Slate
Body Armor
Season Pass
Hip Replacement

The graphic — his “PowerPoint”– is really just bullets & words. Sure, some video and graphics give context, but it’s just the bullets and words that make the segment work.

Notice the text NEVER says the same thing as Colbert. Usually it’s dropping punch lines. Sometimes it contradicts him to comic effect, completes the thought he left hanging, or reads between the lines.

While you really can’t –shouldn’t– remake your slide deck into a comic sideshow, always consider its role a supporting one. It’s a visual aid. If you like, a chalkboard, and no more. Its job is to do and say something other than what you are saying and doing, something more than what you can alone. You’re not taking that “stage” to present your PowerPoint, you’re there to present your ideas. You’re there to do business, so get on with it. The visuals support you, not vice-versa.

Audiences of the world will thank you.

(Pity about the links, we’d like to embed but Wordpress & ComedyCentral don’t play together nicely–yet. Also, the links die mid-May, so after that, try this, click “Daily Show-Colbert” and find “Colbert Report-The Word” in the list. Thanks, Sumner.)

Thanks to Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen for his recent Comedy/PowerPoint post and the inspiration to finally post about this.