When it comes to presentations, we believe that content should drive design. That is, the way that you structure and organize your presentation should follow the needs of the content, rather than a rigid structure.
But this is a lot of work, and isn’t always easy, particularly if you are still learning the ropes of presentation design and storytelling. That’s where rules come in. If you’re struggling to get started, or are unsure of how best to structure a PowerPoint presentation, rules can offer an easy on-ramp to help you get going. And the 5/5/5 Rule is both one of the simplest and most effective.
What is the 5/5/5 Rule
The 5/5/5 Rule explains what it is right in the name: when creating slides for your presentation, use at most:
Now, let’s take a closer look at each part of the rule, and see how it helps build a better presentation.
5 words on a single line
Presentations are multi-dimensional. They rely on a combination of written words, spoken language, and visual storytelling to effectively communicate information. So if you are writing out lengthy, complete sentences in order to make sure that “all the information is there,” you are missing the point (and the value) of PowerPoint.
By applying the “5 words per line” rule, you’re ensuring that your writing stays sharp and clear, and that the audience is focused more on you than on the screen. As we noted in our blog 3 ways to up your PowerPoint game, too much content can actually lead to less information retention, which is very counterproductive.
5 lines of text on a single slide
When we are designing PowerPoints for clients, we have our own general rule we try to follow: one idea per slide.
That’s because people tend to think of a slide as a single unit of content. This tells the brain to keep those ideas together, creating associations between bits of info and helping us to cement them in our minds. And if a seminal piece of neuroscience is true, we can hold “seven, plus or minus two” pieces of short-term information in our brains.
By limiting yourself to 5 lines of text, not only are you helping to make your presentation more effective, you’re also helping your audience to internalize more of the information your trying to share.
(No more than) 5 slides that apply the first two rules in a row
If you followed the first two rules to the letter on every slide in your PowerPoint, you could still have way too much content for an effective presentation. So if you catch yourself relying too heavily on the first two 5’s, you should take a step back and look for ways to vary your content.
This could mean trimming back certain slides to reduce the amount of content, adding in more images/infographics, or simply removing some slides altogether.
When to use the 5/5/5 Rule
The purpose of this rule isn’t to blindly apply it to every PowerPoint you make. Rather, it’s to force you to take a step back and carefully consider each slide you’re creating for it’s content as well as keep the audience’s considerations front and center.
It’s also a great way to outline your content. If you’re ever feeling stuck on how to get started with a big presentation, creating content within the 5/5/5 Rule can help you to structure your presentation just enough that you can ignore the rule.
FAQs
No walls of text
What is the 5 5 5 rule for PowerPoint slides? ›
Follow the 5/5/5 rule
To keep your audience from feeling overwhelmed, you should keep the text on each slide short and to the point. Some experts suggest using the 5/5/5 rule: no more than five words per line of text, five lines of text per slide, or five text-heavy slides in a row.
What is the 7 7 7 rule in PowerPoint presentation? ›
The 7x7 rule is a fundamental principle that brings clarity and impact to PowerPoint presentations. It's a simple concept: limit each slide to a maximum of seven lines of text or bullet points, with each line containing no more than seven words. This excludes slide titles from the count.
What is the 10 20 30 rule for slides? ›
Decoding the 10/20/30 PowerPoint Rule
Embrace the 10-20-30 rule for presentations, which recommends keeping them under 10 slides, delivering them within 20 minutes, and using a font size no smaller than 30 points. By applying this rule, you can make your presentations more direct, memorable, and compelling.
What do some experts suggest using the 5 5 5 rule for creating an effective presentation? ›
The 5/5/5 rule is a simple guide to keep things short and sweet. Stick to five words per line, no more than five lines per slide, and steer clear of having five slides in a row with lots of text. This way, your audience won't feel bombarded with too much information, and you can share details in manageable bits.
What is the 5 5 rule? ›
The 5x5 rule states that if you come across an issue take a moment to think whether or not it will matter in 5 years. If it won't, don't spend more than 5 minutes stressing out about it. When your problems need to be put into perspective, the 5x5 rule is a good thing to remember.
What is the 10 40 rule in PowerPoint? ›
I find that most speakers understand that slides with too many words and too few pictures are boring and hard to read, but they don't know how to fix it. Well, there's a simple solution. I call it the 10-40 Rule: the first ten slides of your presentation should contain no more than forty words.
What is Rule #1 in PowerPoint? ›
Rule 1: Include only one idea per slide
Each slide should have one central objective to deliver—the main idea or question [3–5].
What is the 6 6 6 rule in PowerPoint? ›
A thought might be dangling in your mind about what the 6x6 rule is. The 6x6 PowerPoint rule is a rule which suggests that a presentation shouldn't have more than 6 words per line and no more than six bullet points per slide. The goal of the 6x6 rule is to make your slides more readable yet informative.
What is the 2 4 8 rule in PowerPoint? ›
The 2-4-8 rule states a presentation must give 2 minutes per slide, and it should have four bullet points per slide and eight words for every bullet point.
People should absorb your point in three seconds, max." The three-second rule will dramatically improve your slides by making it easier for your audience to grasp--and retain--the key message. Sticking to the three-second rule is not as hard as it might sound.
What is the 1-6-6 rule in PowerPoint? ›
PowerPoint Math: The 1-6-6 Rule
Today I want to discuss the 1-6-6 Rule. Quite simply, this “rule” says that each PowerPoint slide should have one main idea, a maximum of six bullet points, and a maximum of six words per bullet point.
What is the 10 20 20 rule in PowerPoint? ›
The guidelines for this rule are as follows: No more than 10 slides. No longer than 20 minutes. No larger than 30-point font.
What is 5x5 presentation? ›
The 5/5/5 Rule explains what it is right in the name: when creating slides for your presentation, use at most: 5 words on a single line. 5 lines of text on a single slide. 5 slides that apply the first two rules in a row.
What are the 7 C's of effective presentation? ›
The 7 Cs stand for: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous. Though there are a few variations. You can use the 7 Cs as a checklist in your written and spoken messages.
What is the 1 7 7 rule for digital slides like PowerPoint? ›
The rule states that you can have no more than 7 lines across each slide, and each line can have no more than 7 words. It will help keep your audiences' interest intact in the content of your presentation and make it readable to them.
What are the golden rule for a presentation? ›
Don't imitate someone else's style, and don't adapt a style that is not consistent with who you are deep down. Be the best version of yourself. Of course, you need to project and speak clearly, and make effective use of body language, but don't try to be someone else. Go out there and be you.
