Edward Tufte says that you don’t need any words on powerpoint slides. Outlines of the talk can be handed out on paper. Save the slides for important information: data, pictures, illustrations of what you are talking.
People hate powerpoint presentations because they are tedious. No one wants to keep on reading the talk. There’s no need. That’s what the speaker is supposed to be doing.
When I make a presentation, I try to put as many “pretty pictures” in it as I can. Maps. Pictures of places I’m talking about. Illustrations of concepts I’m talking about, anything that can’t be conveyed through speech (oral or written).
Tufte also allows about five minutes per slide if you do it this way. There is a lot of information on the slide to talk about, and the slide complements your talk, and lets people get the same information through a different sensory channel. You shouldn’t need more than 9 or 10 slides using this method.
Whatever you do—if you opt for wordy, boring slides—please do not do the one slide a minute job. Shudder!
Good luck! Hey, what’s the talk about?