Glossary
What is a handout?
Handout: A handout is a document the audience takes away from a talk or meeting, such as a short summary, the key slides or reference material, so people can review the content afterwards.
A handout is a document you give the audience to keep. It reminds people what you said, adds the detail that did not fit on a slide and tells them what to do next. You hand it out before, during or after a talk or meeting.
A handout is not the slide deck printed. Slides made for speaking print badly: they carry little text and make little sense without you. A handout is a document of its own.
Three types of handout
| Type | What it contains | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Slide printout | Your slides, several to a page, often with room for notes | The audience follows along and takes notes |
| Summary | One or two pages: the key message, the numbers, the next step | Clients and decision-makers want the result, not the whole deck |
| Reference sheet | Tables, checklists, formulas, links | Workshops and training, where people use it later |
PowerPoint can print slides as handouts with up to nine slides per page; the layout with three slides per page has lines for notes. For a summary or a reference sheet, write a separate document instead.
An example
After a proposal meeting, the client gets one page: the finding in one sentence, the three phases with their fees and the next step with a date. That page is a one-pager used as a handout. Colleagues who were not in the room can read it in a few minutes and understand the offer.
How to make a good handout
- Give it one purpose: reminder, reference or call to action.
- Put the key message at the top, then the numbers, then the next step with an owner and a date.
- Use full sentences and headings. A handout is read in silence, so it has to work without you.
- Choose the moment. A worksheet goes out before the session, because people use it during the session. A summary goes out afterwards, so that people listen instead of reading ahead. A document people should read before the meeting is a pre-read.
- Add your contact details and say where the full deck can be found.
- Match the numbers to the slides. One different figure weakens both documents.
Typical mistakes
- Printing the slides six to a page and calling it a handout.
- Handing out the summary at the start, so that the audience reads instead of listening.
- Length. Beyond two pages a handout becomes a report.
- No next step and no contact.
- Forgetting that speaker notes stay with you. Whatever the audience needs belongs on the handout.
The AI editor behind this site names handouts among its document types. A portrait page such as A4 downloads as Word.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is a handout in a presentation?
A handout is a document the audience keeps after a talk. It can be a summary, a printout of the key slides or a reference sheet with tables and checklists. Its job is to help people remember and act on what they heard.
What is the difference between a handout and a pre-read?
A pre-read goes out before a meeting so that people arrive informed. A handout is something people take away, so it works as a reminder or a reference after the event. Some documents, such as a one-pager, can serve as both.
When should you give out a handout?
It depends on its purpose. A worksheet goes out before the session because people use it during the session. A summary goes out at the end, so that the audience listens instead of reading ahead.
How long should a handout be?
One or two pages for a summary. Beyond two pages a handout turns into a report, and fewer people read it. Reference sheets can be longer if they are organized for looking things up.
Keep reading
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Where to go next
- GuideHow many slides?
5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes? Plan one slide per 1 to 2 minutes of talking, subtract the time for questions and leave the appendix out. With a table and examples.
- ProductWrite the report as an A4 document
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