How many words should I have on each slide?

I still see lots of presentations with a large number of words on each slide. I was recently sent a presntation with 2,200 words on 22 slides - an average of over 100 words per page.

The average ***** has a maximum readindg speed of between 200 and 300 words per minute (although speed readers can go much faster).

While the audience is reading your slides they are not listening to you - the speaker. A good rule of thumb is less than 40 words per slide. This would allow the average reader to take in the text in around 12 seconds and then concentrate their attention back to the speaker.

We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, so it makes good sense to use pictures not words.