Why You Should Stop Putting Too Much Text in Your PowerPoint (And What to Do Instead)

We’ve all been there.

You’re sitting in a conference room, coffee in hand, trying your best to stay awake. The lights dim, the projector hums to life… and then it happens: a wall of text appears on the screen.

The presenter clears their throat. “So… as you can see on the slide…”

And proceeds to read every single word out loud.

By slide three, you’re scrolling your phone under the table. By slide five, you’re mentally planning dinner. By slide ten, you’ve entered a state of existential dread, wondering how much longer this can possibly last.

Sound familiar? Yeah…me too.

But here’s the thing: it’s not just boring. It’s actually ineffective. Neuroscientists have found it’s nearly impossible for your audience to read and listen at the same time. When you overload your slides with text, you’re setting people up to fail, no matter how smart or interested they are.

Let’s talk about why this happens, why it matters, and how to fix it so your next presentation doesn’t leave people counting the minutes until lunch.

The science: why your brain can’t multitask like you think

People love to brag about multitasking. “I’m great at multitasking!” they say while texting, watching TV, and half-listening to their friend tell a story. But here’s the secret: multitasking is mostly a lie.

Our brains aren’t actually doing multiple things at once. They’re switching back and forth really fast, which drains mental energy and makes everything harder.

When you ask your audience to read a slide while you talk over it? Their brains go into overload. They’re using one part of their brain to process written language and a different part to process spoken language. Trying to do both at the same time makes them worse at both.

Instead of absorbing the message, they end up missing key points or forgetting what you said entirely.

In one study, researchers found that people retained way less information from presentations when slides were text-heavy. Their brains simply couldn’t keep up.

So if you’re cramming tons of words onto your slides thinking “I don’t want them to miss anything!”…you might be making it harder for them to remember anything at all.

Why do we overload our slides anyway?

Honestly? Most of us do it because we’re scared. Scared we’ll forget what to say without it written out, scared the audience won’t take us seriously if it looks “too simple”, and scared we’ll miss something important.

So we fill the slides with everything. Every fact, every quote, every stat, every bullet point.

We treat the slide like our safety net, our teleprompter. But the problem is, when you turn your slide into a transcript, you lose the audience. They’re busy reading ahead while you’re talking, or zoning out because they’ve already seen the punchline.

Your slides shouldn’t be your script. They should be your visual support system.

What happens when slides are overloaded?

Let’s be real: we’ve all checked out during a text-heavy presentation. When your brain is forced to read and listen simultaneously, here’s what happens:

You feel mentally fatigued faster
You retain less information
You disengage sooner
You focus on the words, not the speaker

It’s not your audience being rude, it’s their brains protecting them from overload.

And honestly? A bored, disengaged audience is the worst-case scenario for any presenter.

The better way: how to design slides people will actually watch

Good news: you don’t have to be a professional designer to make great slides. You just need to shift your mindset from “how much can I fit?” to “how little do they need?”

Here’s how to do it:

1. Keep text short and simple

Aim for no more than 6 words per line and 6 lines per slide
Use large, readable fonts
Stick to key phrases, not sentences

If someone can read your slide in under 5 seconds? You’re doing it right.

Remember: less is more. You’re the storyteller, the slide is just backup.

2. Use visuals instead of words

Humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. We’re wired to respond to images, icons, charts, and diagrams.

Whenever possible: swap bullet points for a photo or graphic, turn data into a simple chart instead of a table, and try to use icons to represent key ideas

Not a designer? No problem. I swear by Canva Pro for creating polished slides even if you have zero design skills. They’ve got drag-and-drop templates that make it (almost) impossible to mess up!

3. Think “billboard,” not “article”

Imagine you’re driving past your slide at 60 mph. Can you read it and understand the message in 3 seconds?

That’s the goal.

Your slide isn’t a document. It’s not a handout. It’s not the written version of what you’re saying. It’s a visual cue that anchors your audience to your message.

4. Tell the story out loud, not on the slide

If your entire talk is written on the slide… why are you there?

Your audience can read faster than you can talk. If you’re reading slides word-for-word, you’re not adding value—you’re competing with the screen.

Instead, let the slide set the stage. You fill in the details. You guide the audience’s attention. You create the experience.

“But what if I need to include more info?”

Sometimes you do need to present complex data or detailed steps. In that case:

Provide a handout with the full information
Or send a follow-up email with the details
Or include a QR code linking to additional resources

Your live presentation should focus on clarity, not completeness. You can give them the extra info after you’ve made your main points stick.

People remember how you made them feel, not how much they read

At the end of the day, no one walks out of a presentation saying, “Wow, those bullet points were amazing.”

They remember how you made them feel. Did you energize them? Inspire them? Make them care?

Slides can’t do that alone. Slides are your backup dancers. You’re the headliner.

And when you step into that role, presentations stop feeling like chores…and start feeling like conversations.

The next time you build a deck…

Cut half the words you think you need
Double the font size
Swap a paragraph for a photo
Practice speaking with the slide, not reading it

Your audience will thank you. You’ll thank yourself. And who knows, you might even start looking forward to giving presentations instead of dreading them.