When you hear about a party with a bunch of 20- and 30-somethings, you probably don’t picture it involving homework. But having been to two such parties, I can now confidently say that the very best gatherings do.
I am, of course, talking about PowerPoint parties. The first time I went to one, I genuinely didn’t think most people would do the homework.
I was wrong. At both parties, every single person showed up ready to go. It made for a full, fun but entirely manageable evening that you might want to try.
What’s a PowerPoint Party?
PowerPoint parties have been around, at least as early as 2012, though a viral 2018 tweet and the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic (when people were looking for virtual entertainment) brought the topic into the public eye. Since then, these parties have continued to remain popular.
The idea is simple enough: Ask each guest to arrive with a PowerPoint they’ve created. The point of the party is to have everyone present their PowerPoint while following whatever rules have been put into place. It’s a great way to share about a topic that you love and the perfect ice-breaker for people who don’t know each other all that well. No small talk is needed—you can jump straight to the really important things in life, like discussing which superhero would win Miss America.
How to Throw a PowerPoint Party
Here are a few tips to make your PowerPoint party a success.
1. Have your tech in place
Getting started is easy—just figure out how you’re going to show off your attendee’s presentations. A TV works great, as does a projector. Just make sure that you have all the cords you’ll need to get the presentations from your phone or computer to the bigger screen. (Usually this means an HDMI cord, an adapter, or the ability to do some type of screen casting).
2. Establish rules
Here’s the thing about PowerPoint parties: People will talk more than you expect. Even the quietest person gets awfully loquacious when given a clicker and pictures of their favorite fandom.
There aren’t any hard and fast rules, but generally you want a slide limit and/or a time limit. It may seem overly strict, but trust me when I say that you’ll be glad you enforced these elements. Personally, I prefer asking everyone to stick to five to 10 slides and three to five minutes max, as it gives room for sillier slides and also ensures that everyone will get a chance to go.
3. Have fun
Remember, these PowerPoints aren’t for looking “professional”— they’re for having a good time getting to know people better. I highly recommend encouraging the silliest presentations possible. This is your moment for bad ‘90s word art and dizzying animations. Let your inner middle schooler out, and really embrace the absurdity of it all.
The title slide for my most recent presentation analyzing the movie Wicked’s best moments.
Ideas to Get You Started
Neither PowerPoint party that I attended used a theme, but for those who are new to the concept, think their attendees may be a bit shy or just like the idea of reigning in the chaos a smidge, a theme can help. Similarly, if you are attending an open-ended party (or hosting one) and want some ideas for what to talk about, below are some of my favorite suggestions.
- Convince everyone to partake in your favorite TV show, movie, book or podcast.
- Rank something. Anything. One of my friends made a “definitive list of the best types of chocolate” and put milk chocolate at the bottom just to watch our collective outrage.
- Explain your favorite niche interest. For instance, at one party someone explained the basics of color use in video game design (and the way that it tells you what you can and can’t interact with), and I have not stopped thinking about it two years later.
- Analyze which of your friends would win The Hunger Games and how the others would die. (Maybe skip this one if you’re hanging with people you don’t know well.)
- Swap PowerPoints with someone else without giving each other any context on the topic you chose.
- Use it as an excuse to bring props to give away. One person brought cuttings of their plants and another brought beer samples of beer they’d made.
- Create a “Top 10” list of the most attractive characters from your favorite fandom. One of my friends even went so far as to give each a separate numerical ranking on cuteness, hotness and sexiness. (Probably best to avoid topics like these if you’re having this party with coworkers).
Photo from bbernard/Shutterstock.com
