Every presentation course teaches a rule with numbers in it. They all target the same problem: slides with too much text, which the audience reads instead of listening. The numbers differ because nobody measured them — they are teaching devices. Treat them as warning lights: if a slide breaks one, ask whether it should.
The 7x7 rule
The 7x7 rule says: no more than seven lines of text per slide, and no more than seven words per line. A slide that follows it has at most 49 words, usually far fewer. The idea is that a slide holds key words as cues for the speaker, not full sentences to be read.
Here is a slide that breaks it, and the same slide within it:
| Before (one of eight lines) | After (within 7x7) |
|---|---|
| We have seen a significant increase in customer complaints over the last quarter, mainly related to delivery times | Complaints up 32 % in Q3 |
| The main reason seems to be the change of our logistics partner in July | Cause: new logistics partner (July) |
| We propose to renegotiate the service level agreement and add penalties | Fix: renegotiate SLA, add penalties |
Even better, the rule invites a further question: does the slide need lines at all? The “after” version could be one large figure — “+32 % complaints” — with the cause and fix spoken.
The other rules: 6x6, 5/5/5, 10/20/30, 1-6-6
| Rule | What it says | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| 6x6 | Six lines, six words each | Stricter version of 7x7 for presented decks |
| 5/5/5 | Five words per line, five lines per slide, no more than five text-heavy slides in a row | Training and classroom decks |
| 1-6-6 | One idea per slide, six bullets, six words each | Keeping each slide to one point |
| 10/20/30 | Ten slides, twenty minutes, no font smaller than 30 pt (Guy Kawasaki’s rule for pitches) | Pitch decks to investors |
| One idea per slide | Every slide makes exactly one point | Everything |
Of them all, “one idea per slide” matters most. A slide with one point and seven lines is clearer than one with three points squeezed into 6x6.
When to break the rules
- Reading decks. A deck sent instead of presented must explain itself; full sentences and denser slides are right there. Keep one message per slide and a headline that states it.
- Quotes and definitions. A quote is read in full or not at all.
- Tables of exact values. A price table or a specification sheet has more words by nature; make it readable with size and spacing instead of cutting content.
- Code and formulas. Show what you discuss, highlighted, at a size the room can read.
In each case the deeper rule still holds: the audience must be able to take the slide in quickly while you talk, or you must give them time to read it in silence.
How many slides for a 10 or 20 minute presentation?
A common guide is one slide per one to two minutes of speaking. It depends heavily on the kind of slide: a picture or a statement may stay up for twenty seconds, a complex chart for three minutes.
| Talk length | Typical slide count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 5 to 8 | Lightning talk; one idea |
| 10 minutes | 8 to 12 | Three main points with evidence |
| 20 minutes | 15 to 25 | Pitch or project review |
| 30 minutes | 20 to 35 | Training or conference talk |
| 60 minutes | 35 to 60 | Workshop or lecture with exercises |
Fast, visual styles (a new picture every 15 seconds, as in Pecha Kucha) use far more slides; data-heavy reviews use fewer. Count the time per point rather than per slide: a 20-minute talk has room for about three to five main points, each with an opening, evidence and a takeaway.
Words and pace
Many speakers talk at roughly 120 to 160 words a minute in a presentation. A 10-minute talk is therefore about 1,200 to 1,600 spoken words — the length of a short article. If your slides hold more words than that in total, they are a document, not a talk.
Check text and timing in PowerPointWindows and Mac
See all text at once
Choose View → Outline View to see every slide’s text as one list. Slides with long bullets jump out immediately.
View → Outline View Count the words
On Windows, File → Info → Show All Properties shows the number of words; on a Mac, File → Properties → Statistics. Divide by the slide count for a quick average.
File → Info → Properties Time a rehearsal
Choose Slide Show → Rehearse Timings (Windows) or Rehearse (Mac) and talk through the deck. The Slide Sorter then shows each slide’s time; long times flag dense slides.
Let the coach listen
In Microsoft 365, Slide Show → Rehearse with Coach reports your pace, filler words and whether you read the slide text aloud.
A structure that works
Rules about words fix single slides. The structure fixes the talk. For most business and school presentations this skeleton works:
- Opening (1 slide): a hook and the one message — see how to start and end a presentation.
- Agenda (1 slide, for talks over ten minutes).
- Context (1 to 2 slides): why this matters now.
- Main points (3 to 5 sections): each a statement headline, evidence, takeaway.
- Conclusion (1 slide): the message again and the next step.
- Appendix (hidden or after the end): detail for questions.
Rules for type that matter more than word counts
Text size limits words better than any count: at 28 to 32 pt body text, a 16:9 slide simply cannot hold a wall of words. Keep titles at 32 to 44 pt and body text at 18 pt or larger for presented decks; never under 14 pt for anything the audience must read. Two fonts, left-aligned body text, and high contrast. Our guides to presentation design and fonts in PowerPoint go further.
A one-minute checklist for every slide
Rules are easiest to apply as questions. Before you present, run each slide through these five; any “no” is worth a minute’s fix.
- Can I say its point in one sentence? If not, the slide holds two ideas — split it.
- Does the title state that point? A topic (“Results”) becomes a statement (“Results beat the plan in three regions of four”).
- Could someone at the back read every word? If not, cut words before you cut size.
- Is there something to look at besides text? A figure, a chart, a picture, a diagram — or a single strong statement.
- Would I miss it if it were gone? Slides that only repeat what the previous one said can go, or move to the appendix.
Applied to a typical forty-slide first draft, the checklist usually removes a quarter of the slides and a third of the words — and the talk gets shorter, clearer and easier to deliver.
Designs for this kind of deck
Every design brings its own colours, fonts and layouts to the whole deck.
How ExpertSlides keeps slides within bounds
Every layout in the ExpertSlides library knows how much text each of its places can hold at a readable size. When the AI writes a deck, it writes each headline, point and caption to fit its place — so a slide does not end up with seven long bullets in a box made for three short ones. Where your content is longer than a place allows, it is shortened to its point rather than shrunk to an unreadable size.
For your own text, Settings → Text handling in the prompt decides how closely an attached document’s wording is kept — word for word, lightly or heavily summarised, or left to the AI. In an open deck, “make this slide more concise” or “turn these bullets into three short statements” applies the rules above to one slide, and Magic Fix tidies a slide’s layout afterwards without touching the content.
Read the step-by-step guide to making a presentation, browse Design Templates, or see how the AI presentation maker turns notes into slides.
Questions, answered
What is the 7x7 rule in PowerPoint?
No more than seven lines of text per slide and no more than seven words per line. It keeps slides to key words that support the speaker instead of sentences the audience reads.
How many slides do I need for a 10 minute presentation?
Roughly 8 to 12, at one slide per one to two minutes. Visual styles use more slides, data-heavy talks fewer.
How many slides for a 20 minute presentation?
Usually 15 to 25 slides, covering three to five main points with an opening, a conclusion and an agenda.
What is the 10/20/30 rule?
Guy Kawasaki’s rule for pitch decks: ten slides, twenty minutes, and no font smaller than 30 points.
What is the 5/5/5 rule?
No more than five words per line, five lines per slide, and no more than five text-heavy slides in a row.
Does ExpertSlides follow these rules?
It writes every text to fit the place its layout gives it at a readable size, shortening content to its point instead of shrinking it, and lets you ask for a more concise slide in plain words.
