Why bullet points don't work, and how to avoid them
Imagine working with a personal trainer to get super fit, and them saying, “Go have a few beers and some fast food tonight, don’t worry about it.”
Or a Michelin-star chef serving you instant noodles because “it’s what people are used to.”
Or your dentist telling you, “Plaque isn’t really that bad, just don’t smile too wide.”
Sounds ridiculous, right? Because professionals are supposed to raise standards, not lower them.
Yet I keep seeing presentation designers defend bullet points as if they were some necessary evil.
They’re not. They’re lazy design. They’re comfort-zone communication. And they kill attention faster than a dial-up connection in 2025.
If your goal is to inform, bullet points might just scrape by. But if your goal is to inspire, persuade, or move people to action, you need structure, visuals, story, and rhythm, not a wall of text.
Bullet points are the fast food of presentations: cheap, easy, and bad for your audience’s health.
So please stop serving junk slides. Your message deserves better.
Okay, rant over. Here’s how to actually fix the problem of relying too heavily on bullet points.
Option 1 - Convert to SmartArt graphic
This beautiful little button can take your standard list of bullet points and turn them into something nice and visual with one click.
Option 2 - Adding a framework/structure
Using a simple layout that breaks the standard line-by-line bullet list can really help your audience focus. There are some great animations you can use with this technique as well to really grab your audience’s attention.
Option 3 - Use imagery and multiple slides
Go big and bold with background imagery, and give each point a decent amount of breathing space. It means more slides in your deck, but much more clarity for your audience.
All of these simple techniques are demonstrated in the video below so you can start implimenting them right away.