PowerPoint Made Easy with the 5 5 5 Rule

Looking for an easy way to create a more compelling PowerPoint presentation? Look no further than the 5 5 5 rule! This simple guideline makes it easy to lay out your slides in a clear, organized way that draws attention to the most important information.

Experts suggest that using this method – one of the many similar ones out there – will result in a better experience for your audience and better results for you as a presenter.

What exactly is the 5 5 5 Rule?

Simply put, the 5 5 5 rule (often written as the 5/5/5 or 5-5-5 rule) means that on each slide you should have no more than 5 lines of text. Within each line, there should be no more than 5 words. And finally, there should be no more than 5 text-heavy slides in a row.

5/5/5 Rule Powerpoint Example

Benefits of Using This Rule

Using this simple rule allows you to limit the amount of text on your slides which can be beneficial for many reasons.

You can focus on the main points.

Instead of putting all of your detailed ideas on each slide, this rule reminds you to focus on the main ideas and stops you from committing a major PowerPoint faux pas – reading directly from the screen.

Why shouldn’t you read from the slide?

First, directly from your presentation creates an extremely boring experience for your audience. They came to see you, not to read along with a slide.

Second, it’s often very difficult to read from a slide anyway, so you’re likely to make mistakes or lose your place.

Third, and most importantly, it takes away your chance to make eye contact with the audience and connect with them on a personal level.

So next time you’re giving a presentation, remember not to read directly from the PowerPoint slide – it’ll be better for both you and your audience.

And an added bonus? When you aren’t reading directly from the slide, you are encouraged to explain your ideas through storytelling which is a much better way to relay information.

In fact, studies have shown that our brains naturally look for stories and patterns to help us understand information.

Your audience will be more engaged.

Since your audience won’t be busy reading all of the text on your slide while you’re presenting, they will be more inclined to actually listen to what you’re saying.

Better yet, they will have the opportunity to be more engaged by responding to the things you’re saying or asking questions.

Remember, more than five text-heavy slides in a row will simply be a distraction for your audience and a guaranteed way to lose their interest.

You’ll end up with more professional-looking presentations.

If you’re looking for a quick and simple way to make your presentation look more professional the first thing you should do is evaluate whether you are using an unnecessary amount of text.

Professional presentations typically use clean and easy-to-skim designs. This means taking advantage of negative space (aka purposely leaving empty space on the slide).

It can keep you from feeling overwhelmed.

If you’ve ever had to create a presentation in rush you know how stressful it can be.

The same is true for those who are new to using PowerPoint and those who are simply not comfortable with its capabilities.

Using this rule can make creating a presentation much less stressful because it gives you a guideline to work off of.

It also minimizes how much time you’ll spend on adding content to the slide because you know that each slide will have no more than 25 total words. (5 lines of text with 5 words each=25 total words.)

If you’re not sure where to start, add your thoughts for each slide to the Notes pane first and then copy/paste only the most necessary information to the actual slide.

How to Use This Rule Effectively

Include high-level, key data points.

Not sure what to include for the “main points” mentioned above? Think about the 5Ws; who, what, where, when, and why.

Try to avoid including information that doesn’t answer one of these questions.

Use headings, short phrases, and common abbreviations.

Using a heading is a great way to summarize the information that will be shown on a particular slide.

Within the slide, locate any complete sentences and determine whether they can be summarized with a short phrase instead.

Here’s an example.

Full Sentence: Our annual earnings were up 10% compared to last year.

Summarized: Annual Earnings: +10% YOY

(In this example, YOY means “year-over-year” which is a frequently used abbreviation in business.)

As you can see, the summarized version allows you to use less text. It also makes it easier for the audience to retain information and recall it later.

Use images or icons to tell the story.

You can also remove text from your slide altogether by replacing it with images, icons, or easily recognizable symbols.

There have been numerous studies that show audiences remember information supported by images at a far higher rate than those told with text alone. Use this to your advantage!

Similarly, icons and symbols can easily replace text in many situations.

For example, text that says “this is important” can be replaced with a caution symbol. Text that says “key dates” can be replaced by a calendar icon.

Other Related Questions

What is the 2 4 8 rule in PowerPoint?

The 2 4 8 (also seen as 2/4/8 or 2x4x8) rule is another similar technique used by presenters to organize their slides.

This rule states that you shouldn’t spend more than 2 minutes presenting each slide. Each slide should contain no more than 4 main ideas or bullet points. Each idea or bullet should have 8 words or less.

This approach helps presenters to stay focused on their key points and avoid getting lost in too much detail or extraneous information.

By prioritizing the most important messages, you can ensure that their audiences will take away from the presentation only the most essential information.

What is the 10 20 30 slideshow rule?

The 10 20 30 (or 10/20/30) rule is another set of guidelines for creating effective presentations.

This rule means that your presentation should contain 10 slides total slides, last no more than 20 minutes, and use a font size of no less than 30 points.

The 10/20/30 rule was created by Guy Kawasaki, a venture capitalist and it has since been adopted by many business professionals.

While it’s not a hard-and-fast rule, it is a good general guideline to follow when creating presentations.

What is the rule of 7 in PowerPoint?

Also called the 7×7 rule, it means that for every slide, there should be no more than 7 lines of text or bullet points and no more than 7 words per line.

What is the 6 by 6 rule?

It is nearly identical to the 7×7 rule mentioned above. The 6 by 6 rule (or 6×6) means that for every slide, there should be no more than 6 lines of text or bullet points and no more than 6 words per line.

How many slides is a 5-minute presentation?

Generally speaking, a 5-minute PowerPoint presentation should have somewhere around 5 to 7 slides. This is an ideal number because it strikes the right balance between being concise and providing enough information to engage your audience.

Ultimately, how many slides you need in your presentation will depend on a variety of factors, including the nature of your topic and the specific goals of your presentation.

But with careful planning and clear communication, you can create an effective 5-minute PowerPoint that will help you achieve your objectives and “wow” your audience.

How do you plan a 5-minute presentation?

Planning a 5-minute presentation can be daunting and you might be wondering “how many slides should a 5-minute presentation be?”.

Here are a few steps you can take to make sure you make the most of your time.

First, determine the purpose of your presentation. Are you trying to educate, entertain, or persuade your audience?

Once you know the purpose of your talk, you can begin to plan what to include.

It is important to be concise and clear in your presentations, so plan to focus on just one to three main points. Make sure that you can provide a quick but impactful story (or any supporting evidence) to drive each point home.

Finally, practice your presentation several times before delivering it. This will help you ensure that you stay within the time limit and that your talk flows smoothly while also making sure you don’t forget any important details.

By following these tips, you can plan an effective 5-minute presentation that is sure to engage your audience.

Conclusion

Time to clap it up because you’ve just added some serious productivity-boosting info into your PowerPoint toolkit. Want to dive into even more tips for reducing text? Download the full, free cheatsheet here.

The 5/5/5 rule is a powerful tool for creating effective PowerPoint presentations. It can help you to summarize your ideas, makes your slides more visually appealing, and can even result in increased audience engagement during your presentation.

So when it’s time to draft your next presentation, keep the 5/5/5 rule in mind. It may take a bit of patience to get the process down but, once you do, you’ll see what a significant difference it can make.

Have you used this rule – or similar rules – when creating presentations? Do you know of any other rules that help with efficiency and design? Drop a comment below and let’s talk about it!