Avoid the “Chicken car wash” problem in your slides

I saw this car wash when I went to Winnipeg last summer on a video shoot. It’s a car wash, see, where you can also buy chicken. I know, right?

I enjoy some tasty chicken from time to time, and I do like a clean car. It’s just that, well, it feels a little strange to think of buying chicken at a car wash. They’re totally different things.

People do this all the time in PowerPoint. You see two different ideas jockeying for space on one slide. The result is confusion. It’s too much for the brain to process (just as your brain is still trying to reconcile the concepts “chicken” and “car wash.”)

I think it’s a good reminder when you’re creating your slide deck. Focus. Have each slide say one thing. One idea. Go wild. Make as many slides as you need to.

Say no to the chicken car wash.