It’s a familiar scene — a presenter clicks through slide after slide while the audience checks out, their eyes glazing over. At some point, the words on the screen start doing all the talking. The speaker fades into the background. And the real connection is lost.

That’s why, in our Public Speaking Course, one of the first things we challenge is how you use your slides — or whether you even need them at all.

Slides can be helpful. They can reinforce a point, show data, or bring a visual story to life. But far too often, they become a crutch. Speakers overload them with text, read directly from them, or rely on them to structure the entire presentation. The result? The speaker stops being the focus. And the audience stops listening.

When you remove the dependence on slides, something important happens. You step forward. Your message becomes more direct. You start to use your voice, your body language, your storytelling skills — and suddenly, you’re actually presenting.

Slides should support you, not lead you. If the slide could do the job on its own, what’s the point of you being there? Your presence, your perspective, and your delivery are what make the message matter. And when slides are used sparingly — just to reinforce key visuals or simplify complex information — they work beautifully.

In our training, we help people rethink how they use visual aids. Sometimes we suggest stripping them back. Sometimes we suggest scrapping them altogether. The goal is always to make sure you are the one delivering the impact, not the screen behind you.

If you’ve ever felt like your slides were getting in the way, or you weren’t sure how to speak without them, explore our presentation skills training courses and see how we can help - https://www.presenterstudio.com/business-presenter-training/presentation-skills-training