Walls of text on a presentation slide can be intimidating for your viewers and result in them missing what you are trying to say. This is why bullet points are a presentation’s best friend. Bullet points improve readability and focus the user on the key messages.
Here are my tips to write better bullet points.
Craft them like a headline. Your bullet points will gain the same attention as your headlines, so take some time and carefully craft them. They need to be concise and engage the viewers.
Call out what is important. Don’t pad out your bullet points with unnecessary words. Brevity is your friend so focus on your communication priorities.
Simplicity is your friend. Avoid complex or lengthy bullet points and if you can, don’t use sub-bullet lists.
Stick to a theme. Your bullet points should stick to a single theme for the slide and each focus on specific components of that theme.
Make them symmetrical. Just like this list start the point off with a statement in bold then a sentence to explain in more detail.
Maximum of 6 bullets. This is the limit per slide to minimize clutter and focus your message.
Once you have written your list of bullet points do a quick review. If all the bullet points start with the same word or phrase then try and change them up.
In addition, your bullet points should have an order to them either chronological, logical or by importance.
Finally, review the way they are written. Is the messaging clear and could a child understand it? Have you supported any assertions with facts?
Bullet points are the bread and butter of a presentation. They allow for the conveying of written ideas in a readable and browsable format. The suggestions above will improve the quality of your bullet points and the messaging they are providing. So, start reviewing your presentation today.