Maximum visual impact

The way you display information on your slides can make or break your presentation, yet many presenters struggle to structure their slides in the most compelling manner possible.  It’s a delicate balance – if your slides are dull and boring, you may lose your audience along the way.  On the other hand, if they’re too busy – crammed with images or too much text – attendees may be too distracted to absorb what you’re saying.  The key to success lies somewhere in between.

1. Use a Simple Background

You want your text, diagrams, and images to “pop” off the screen.  But, they will disappear when placed up against an elaborate background, minimizing their ability to convey key concepts.  A clean, simple background will ensure that audience attention is focused on the main points and ideas of your speech.

2. Smart Font Selection

Your audience should not have to struggle to view the content contained on your slides.  Additionally, text needs to be easily readable on handouts.  Choose larger fonts, a minimum of 28 points if possible.  In situations where you need to make the font much smaller to fit all the information on the slide, try breaking the content up logically into multiple slides instead.  Additionally, keep fonts consistent throughout your entire slide set, and remember that certain typestyles, such as “sans serif” fonts, are much easier on the eyes than others.

3.  Keep It Brief

Many presenters try to cram as much information onto as few slides as possible.  But, slides that are packed with text are difficult to read, and may confuse audience members by highlighting too many ideas or thoughts at once.  As a rule of thumb, try to stick to no more than two or three key points per slide.  Bullets, as opposed to sentences or paragraphs, make it easier to grasp ideas “at a glance”.  And, consider using “builds” to bring in one point at a time.

4. Choose Images Over Text

Wherever possible, try to get your point across using visual aids – photos, clip art, charts, etc. – instead of plain text.  The average person cannot read and listen at the same time, so forcing them to peruse wordy slides as you speak will hinder information retention.  Additionally, graphics are far more memorable and interesting, so use them often to enhance the way you make the key points within your presentation.  For example, photography can add realism, while diagrams can simplify complex or hard-to-understand concepts.

5. Color, Color, and More Color

Effective use of color can really catch the eye of those you are presenting to.  Try using contrasting colors to draw attention to certain ideas, or to focus attention on certain elements of each slide.  And, select colors based on the image you want to convey, or the emotions you want to evoke.  For example, brown promotes feelings of friendliness and warmth, while purple creates the perception of sophistication

6. Proofread Thoroughly

Nothing will minimize the visual impact of your slides more than a misspelled word, misplaced image, or other erroneous error.  Spell check your slides and ask a friend to proof your slides carefully before you present.  Be sure to check your visuals and numbers, as well as your text.

7. X & Y

One thing that professional presentation designers spend a lot of time on is continuity. It may not seem like a big deal but if a title block or image “jumps” noticeably  from one slide to the next it can be distracting for the audience. There are two easy ways to manage this. Number one is don’t move the template items around on your slides. Number two is cut and paste an element from one slide to the next. Most presentation programs will place your item at the same coordinates on the next slide. The third more time consuming way to manage objects using an X & Y coordinate inspector to ensure your slide objects aren’t shifting across slides. This will let you drag or “tap” them (using arrow keys) into the right place.