This Tip explains why VILT needs more slides, to give participants something to look at, keep them focused, and capture their attention.
“It may be counterintuitive, but for effective VILT, you need more slides with fewer words.” Dan Menden
When I think about PowerPoint slides, I naturally think that less is more. We don’t want to overwhelm our participants with a lot of slides. As a result, we try to keep the number down. At least this is true for classroom training.
However, I’ve recently learned that we need to use more slides when conducting VILT.
According to Cynthia Clay, web conferencing is primarily a visual experience. “When people are logging into a …training from their computers or devices, they need something to look at, to keep them focused and to capture their attention visually.”
She believes that our PowerPoint slides are our “strongest attention management tool. Every time you advance the slide, you grab back your participants’ attention.”
We need to keep in mind that our PowerPoint slides need to have more images and less text.
Ms. Clay proposes that we spend no more than one minute per slide. This is unless there are special circumstances when we’re using the slide for more than one activity. So, expect a 60-minute webinar to have 60 slides!
She feels that bullet points are all right- “especially if you are communicating information that people need to remember or recall.”
But she cautions that we should use the “six by six rule”. No more than six words per line and no more than six lines per slide. The text should be at least 28 point and preferably 32 point.
As for clipart, she considers it “unsophisticated and cheesy.” She prefers photographs that support the key points on the slide.
Of course, there is more to an effective and engaging virtual learning experience than the slides. We need to incorporate interactive or learning activities every 3-5 minutes. As Dan Menden says: “More slides plus more interaction will equal more engagement and more learning.”
Have you found that you need more slides for your VILT?
May your learning be sweet-and safe.
Deborah
#PowerPointslides #VILT #trainingdesign #learnerattention
