“Do you have slides?”
It’s one of the first questions I get asked when I’m booked to speak.
My answer?
“Nope. Just people.”
I don’t use PowerPoint as a keynote speaker.
After delivering over 2,000 keynotes in the last 26 years, I’ve learned something: connection doesn’t live in your slides—it lives in the space between us.
And that space gets very small when we stop talking at each other and start talking with each other.
PowerPoint Creates Distance
Let’s be honest: slides are safe. They keep you in control. They let you script every word, hide behind bullet points, and distract from nerves.
But safety isn’t the same as impact.
When we overuse slides, we stop reading the room. We stop making eye contact. We stop being present. And presence is everything.
According to Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy, people judge speakers first on two things: warmth and competence. Warmth is what builds trust. And warmth gets lost when you’re facing a screen instead of your audience.
A Conversation, Not a Performance
Keynotes aren’t meant to be information dumps. They’re meant to spark something. Move something. Shift something.
That doesn’t happen when I’m reciting from slides. It happens when I make eye contact with someone who’s clearly had a rough year. When I ask a question that makes the room go still. When I throw in a joke that catches everyone off guard.
PowerPoint can’t do that.
People want to feel seen, not managed. They want a moment, not a lecture.
So I stopped using slides years ago. And what happened?
Audiences leaned in. They felt like part of the experience—because they were. When there’s no screen between us, there’s nothing to hide behind. We’re all just humans in a room together.
Why It Works
- It Increases Trust
People trust what they feel more than what they see on a slide. - It Boosts Engagement
When you don’t know exactly what’s coming next, you stay curious. You pay attention. Real-time connection requires real-time listening. - It Encourages Presence
No clicker. No script. Just the room and what it needs. That’s where transformation happens. - It Makes Room for Humor
Slides don’t laugh. People do. When I share a story or make a joke, I’m not interrupting the flow of a slide deck—I’m building a relationship.
I’m Not Anti-Slides. I’m Pro-Connection.
Let me be clear: I’m not saying never use slides. Sometimes they help clarify complex data or anchor a key message. But most of the time, they become a crutch.
As a keynote speaker, my job isn’t to show you what I know. It’s to make sure you remember how it felt. Because that’s what sticks.
According to Stanford research, people are over 22 times more likely to remember stories than facts alone.
So I build keynotes around experience, not exposition.
No slides. Just presence, humor, emotion, and interaction.
The Feedback That Keeps Me Going
After almost every keynote, someone comes up and says:
“It was so refreshing not to stare at slides for an hour.”
“I felt like you were actually talking to us.”
“You made us feel seen.”
That’s the power of putting the audience at the center—not your slide deck.
Final Thought
A keynote isn’t about performance. It’s about presence.
So no, I don’t use PowerPoint. I use eye contact. I use stories. I use silence when the moment calls for it.
Because the best keynotes don’t talk at people.
They talk to them.
Looking for a keynote speaker who connects, not just presents?
Visit idoinspire.com to learn more or book Jody Urquhart—a motivational speaker who shows up human, not scripted.
