PowerPoint bullets are not the problem

Boring repetition is the problem.

I recently watched a few training videos from one of the countless online PowerPoint gurus. She was good. Had some good advice and then got to the one thing that all the “enlightened” PowerPoint designers always say.

“Never use bullets!”

Well, that’s just flat out wrong.

In PowerPoint, bullets are not the problem. Boring repetition is the problem.

Let me tell you about the virtues of that little bullet.

Bullets, or other cute little symbols used in their place, provide a very useful way to signify this piece of information is a new or separate item in a list.

I have noticed a number of otherwise smart presentation creators build a list in a slide and avoid using bullets like they had the virus. The problem is the viewer was confused as to whether a particular line is a new item in the list, is a different item than the line above it or was even part of the main topic.

A simple bullet in front of each item solves that problem nicely. It provides a organized visual cue to the viewer.

The reason everyone says they hate bullets is from two often occurring problems.

Problem number one. People put them in front of full paragraphs. Don’t do that. Bullets are meant to point to a highly condensed nugget of information. No paragraphs. Avoid even full sentences. Just keywords or phrases are best.

Problem number two. A slide with a topic and 3-5 bullet items in a list under that topic is fine. 30 slides that way are boring and deadly.

If you have an endless progression of bulleted slides, then you probably should seriously reorganize your presentation. Especially in the online world. Too much of anything is a presentation killer.

So, don’t fear the bullet. Just use it the right way.