Really Bad Powerpoint

Powerpoint remains the topic of a lot of discussions (this blog being no exception), but this post by Seth Godin probably sums up the best ways to avoid it's abuse. His five basic rules (but do read the rest of the post to have the complete picture):

1. No more than six words on a slide. EVER. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.
2. No cheesy images. Use professional stock photo images.
3. No dissolves, spins or other transitions.
4. Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound effects that are built in to the program.
5. Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides. They don’t work without you there.