Have you ever sat through a presentation where the speaker relied on PowerPoint slides to tell the entire story? Each slide is jam-packed with details, and then the speaker reads each and every word to the audience. We’ve all been there and never want to sit through that again.
So what exactly constitutes an effective presentation?
A professional slide deck simply reinforces your message by offering a snapshot of your topic while YOU deliver the message. To create an effective presentation, all you need is a great story, simple slides and a few memorable moments.
Below are 10 general tips for creating clean, visually interesting slides that will educate, engage and entertain your audience.
Brand it! Slides should have a consistent, professional look and feel that mirrors your company’s brand. Achieving this is as simple as following the company’s branding guidelines when it comes to elements like font choices, approved colors and logo usage. If your company doesn’t have guidelines, let the website and marketing materials serve as your template.
Treat your logo professionally. Have you ever seen a presentation where the logo has been placed on a white square and shows up in different locations on every slide? You can avoid the awkward white box by using a PNG file, which has a transparent background. Better yet, by placing the logo on the lower right-hand corner of the master slide, it will appear in the same location throughout the presentation. (Here’s how to use a master slide in PowerPoint.)
Present only one thought per slide. Yes, just one. Why? When you give an audience information to read, they stop listening to you speak. Keep it simple and keep your audience engaged by presenting only concise, key points on the slides. Make them tune in to you for the details! For example, if these 10 tips were a slide presentation, there would likely be 11 slides—a title slide plus one slide for each of the 10 tips that simply contains the bolded words. Everything that’s not bolded would be included in my speech.
Focus on the current topic. When there are multiple subcategories to discuss, use multiple slides or animation to reveal those points…when you’re ready to talk about them. (Here’s how to animate a list in PowerPoint.)
Don’t read to the audience. Listening to you read is...boring! Tell us your story and let the slides simply reinforce your message (see tip #3). After all, we can read.
Capitalize correctly. Improper use of capital letters looks unprofessional, so avoid capping words for emphasis. Stick with grammar rules like capitalizing proper nouns, the pronoun “I” and words that begin a sentence. Also, use all caps sparingly; they take up space and can be difficult to read.
Keep backgrounds simple. Clean backgrounds make text and graphics easier to read. (Psst…there’s nothing wrong with a white background.)
Avoid green and red text. These colors are difficult to read and tend to bleed, so limit them to bullets and graphics.
Use graphics wisely. If a picture tells the same story as a block of text, use the picture. (Conversely, if graphics crowd your space and don’t enhance your meaning, avoid them.) Showcasing graphics is a great way to add memorable moments to your slideshow. Consider powerful visuals, funny pictures/memes or Instagram-worthy words of wisdom to make your presentation unforgettable.
“I know you can’t see this, but...” If you already know your audience will be unable to read your slide, reformat it. Edit the text, separate the information into multiple slides or enlarge the graphic. Don’t ever force your audience to view something that’s illegible while you explain the point. There’s always a better way.
By simply following these 10 tips, your presentation will be concise, clean and focused. Most importantly, you’ll be more effective and engaging, and your audience will thank you.
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