Nine times out of ten, animation works against the goal of the presenter: to deliver a clear, effective message. Most uses of PowerPoint animation are the “gee-whiz” variety — meant to look flashy without any useful purpose. When we create slides we can be like the sorcerer’s apprentice playing with all of the master’s secret, cool magic tricks. Trust me, neither you nor I will ever be as good as even the cheesiest children’s cartoon show. Your audience will not be impressed and most likely they will find it very distracting.
What we can do is use modest animation that serves a specific purpose.
The animation in this example is a simple “wipe” animation that reveals a graphic element, in this case the arrow, from one end to the other. It shows motion against a map and leads the eye to the words as they are revealed.
Two ideas to keep in mind:
- More is usually less. Keep your animation on the subtle side.
- Experiment with the timing and how the animation will start or be triggered (On Click, With Previous and After Previous).
I generally coach people to forget the fancy stuff but, in the right spot, a little animation can be a good thing.
Watch the animated slide here.
