Most managers find business presentations boring and too long.
A survey of more than 300 managers by training firm PTP Training & Marketing revealed that 97% found it difficult to stay alert during business presentations.
Two-thirds said any presentation that goes on for more than 30 minutes was too long, with the majority opting for an ideal duration of between 10 and 20 minutes.
The key reasons for business presentations being seen as a bore are more to do with the lack of skill of the presenter rather than the content of the presentation.
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The main reasons for poor performance included lack of confidence in presenting material, reading word-for-word what is written on visuals, using too much information on the slides, and addressing the slide rather than the audience.
Marc Holland, managing director of PTP said: “Death by PowerPoint is a common phenomenon where many presenters see their role as simply reading the slide contents. This is a sure-fire way to lose your audience within the first few minutes and it is easy to see why 30 minutes of this is the maximum people can stand.”
