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Loading...Public speaking, presenting, whatever you want to call it can be terrifying but if you get your slides right not only will you feel way more confident delivering your presentation but your audience will be grateful too. Here are our do’s and don’ts you should follow when creating your slides.
1. Don’t use a stock template
Stock templates are generic, boring, and overused. Invest some time into building your own PowerPoint template. It’ll give your presentations a bespoke feel that off-the-shelf templates can’t match.
2. Turn up the contrast
If you’re placing text over an image or colored background, make sure it’s readable. If not, adjust the colors or contrast until it is.
3. Choose complimenting colours
You’re not trying to complete the rainbow: three or four complementary colors should be plenty.
4. Choose colors that stand out
There’s no need to deploy the neon pink, but make sure your colors stand out. Avoid using competing colors in bar charts and don’t place yellow or light blue against a white background.
5. Slow down on the transitions
Transitions exist to help your presentation flow and enhance it, not overload it. Less is more.
6. Go easy on the text
If your audience has to read and listen to you at the same time, one of the two is going to be ignored. Your slides should be used to convey key points only.
7. Ditch the bullets
Ok maybe they’re ok for highlighting key points but if you’re going to deploy them for every line of text on every slide, what’s the point in having them at all?
8. Left is best
Left alignment looks best in presentations; avoid centering body text.
9. Use sans serif
For body text, sans serif fonts are more legible. Save the serifs for titles and headers if you must, but don’t go overboard – you won’t need more than two or three fonts throughout your presentation.
10. Size fonts appropriately
The size of your font will naturally affect its legibility, but you also need to think about the ratio between your header and body text. Bear in mind the size of the room you’ll be presenting in. Will those at the back be able to read it?
11. Don’t chop and change
Be consistent with your fonts. Whatever font you choose for your headers and body text should be the same throughout.
12. Use bold and italics in moderation
You can highlight key words and phrases to draw your audience’s attention to key concepts but highlighting entire sentences just looks bad.
13. Avoid cliched stock photos
Stock photos are great but cheesy, cliched ones are worse than PowerPoint clipart. Sites like Unsplash, Pexels, and Death to the Stock Photo can provide a welcomed alternative to the traditional stock photo sites.
14. One image per page
Remember it’s not a photo album it’s a presentation so stick to one image per page (that doesn’t mean one image on EVERY page)
15. Images aren’t just photographs
Charts, arrows, completion bars, and other graphics can all help to enhance your presentation when used effectively.
16. We all love a filter
If you have the time you could apply the same filter to all of your images. This will give your presentation a harmonious and professional sheen. If you’re not a Photoshop user, you can use web-based software such as Canva to batch-apply filters.
So, there you have it. Follow these tips when creating your slides and your presentation will be so beautiful it’ll belong in a gallery (well maybe we’re exaggerating a touch). Now you’ve just got to deliver it. But that’s all on you.
Image: Pixabay
James Robinson is the Marketing Manager for Buffalo 7, the UK’s leading PowerPoint presentation design agency.
Buffalo 7 works with names including UEFA Champions League, Dell, Red Bull, Facebook, and the BBC.
See Also: SwiftPrez / PresentAssist: Conversation with Jamie Garroch
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.
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I agree with almost everything; however, a few things. I still see some slides with colored text on a background that ruins the slide: red on blue is biggest offender. There is a lot of argument on serif versus sans serif in electronic media. In print media serif is supposed to be the most readable along with 12.5 pt font size; however, again, when was the last time you looked at instructions or a label in a store and the font was larger than 9 or 10 pt and not in arial condensed. You didn’t mention a couple of my other pet peeves, sounds and overuse of animation. I use these only in very limited instances and for emphasis where I am totally convinced it will have a positive impact. I hope everyone that is trying to improve their presentation skills remembers what you pointed out, the audience is there to hear what you have to say and the slides are for emphasis not the show.
I use gimp as my free version of photoshop. On really stunning photos that I may want to use as a background for several slides I often use the unedited photo as the title slide with the font placed for maximum visability and a copy that is edited (adjusted for light, dark, or contrast) for body type on following slides. I am finding in my presentations there seems to be a greater expectation of a few videos to clarify topics which creates a challenge in finding quality content and avoiding copyright issues.