What can we learn about slides from fire hydrants? Lots.

A fire is an emergency, pretty clearly. The last thing the firefighters involved want to be doing when they’re dealing with the fire is messing around looking for hydrants (water supplies) or trying to guess what size supply it is.

Scattered around British towns and cities are signs like the one I snapped on my trusty iPhone today, to the right.

It’s clear, simple and obvious and tells the firefighter what they need to know, without any un-necessary fuss. According to the pretty definitive statement here (http://www.lbc.co.uk/what-do-the-yellow-h-signs-mean-43167) what this particular sign is telling us is that there’s a 100 millimeter sized supply, 12 metres away from the sign.

It’s simplicity itself.

Imagine, oh please, just imagine, if all your slides were that clear. They tell your audience what they need to know, and only what they need to know, in the clearest possible way, without any silly fuss.

Mind you, if they did, we’d be out of a job! :)

So do your audience a favour. See if you can put me out of business!

Simon is one of the UK's most highly regarded presentation skills trainers and professional speakers in the fields of presenting, confidence and emotional resilience.

3 Comments

  1. I like the way you have used

  2. Great post Simon, I like the way you have used a simple sign to explain this. I agree that it needs to be clear – and I’ve learnt what those yellow signs actually mean now!

  3. Hi Harry – it could be almost any roadsign, I guess. Speedlimits, men at work, sharp bend… :)

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