How to make awesome presentation slides if you're not a designer

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It only takes four steps to create a really good presentation.

Learning to design is easier than ever.

Directly from your laptop or smartphone, you can access online courses and cool design books, which in smart words talk about the use of a modular grid and the golden ratio, color theory and font combinations.

But do you have the time and desire to dive into design and layout to make a good presentation? More importantly, should you do this?

To make a good presentation, you don't need to be a designer - you just need to be on the side of the listener, learn how to remove unnecessary things and focus on the main thing.

Step 1: start with story, not slides

For the master class, which you can watch for free, I advise you to first write the script and draw the slides by hand.

What for?To turn the chaos from text and data into an interesting story.

Pain. Long and difficult, only suitable for particularly important performances.

Solution. Sketch straight away in PowerPoint / Keynote, but don't think about design at all. Fill your slides with the content you want. After that, check the functionality of the resulting prototype: turn on the view mode and try to run the presentation in front of an imaginary audience. If there are logical inconsistencies when switching slides, swap slides, add or remove content.

Slides should support your presentation, not the other way around. At this stage, act in broad strokes, make decisions quickly, and don't be afraid to throw content in the trash - it's a draft that no one else will see but you.

Always keep the purpose of your presentation in mind. If a slide doesn't meet this goal, discard it mercilessly.

Step 2. One slide - one thought

What for? So that the listener immediately reads what you want to tell him. According to A Detailed Look Into Being Successful on SlideShare Slideshare, for a slide to be easy to read, there should be no more than 25-30 words on it. Count the number of words in your presentation and draw conclusions.

Pain. Fear of a blank slide and a desire to show everything at once.

Solution. Don't overwhelm your slide and your audience. Meet the “rule of the five year old child” - your slide should be read in 10-15 seconds. A semantic title will help you with this. Don't use a title to describe what is on the slide, but articulate the conclusion your audience needs to draw.

Do not be afraid to divide information into separate slides; you do not need to create structures that are difficult to understand. Let your content float freely. You can show each element step by step.

Step 3. Determine the purpose of the slide

What for? The slide helps you to influence the audience and gain understanding. To do this, you need the design of the slide to match its purpose.

Pain. I would like to fill the slides with meaningless elements to make it "beautiful": be sure to insert a photo in the background or add icons to a frightening list of 20 items.

Solution. Read the short book Point of Contact: Presentation and take note of the four functions of the slide:

1. Remind

No complicated visualization. A clean slide with a number or phrase is enough.

2. Impress

The main element of the slide is the image, which helps create emotion. If possible, place it on the full width of the screen, otherwise the effect is lost. You can use video to grab attention and enhance the effect.

Use visual metaphors to tell a story with images

3. Explain

A large amount of text can be replaced with a diagram or table. Try to remove all unnecessary elements and control attention: the listener must understand where to look, what you want to focus on.

Diagram icons can be downloaded from the Flaticon website, and ready-made PowerPoint diagrams can be downloaded from Duarte Diagrammer.

4. Prove

Use charts wisely - limit the number of elements and don't create a rainbow of colors. Your task is not to show the chaos from the data, but the result and the conclusion.

Step 4. Put things in order

What for? Help the listener answer the question "Where to look?" To quickly come to an understanding.

Pain. There are many elements on the slide, and they are arranged randomly, without a hint of alignment.

Solution. Build a hierarchy. The main element is the headline, make it big. But don't forget that after the listener reads the title, it should be clear to them what to look at next. Create a focal point: use color, shape or size. The most important elements can be highlighted so your audience knows what to look at first.

It is immediately clear what to look for after reading the title.

To keep the elements neatly lined up, turn on rulers and guides, and do not forget about the functions "Align" and "Distribute"

Step 5. Consciously repeat steps 1-4

The best way to find out if your presentation turned out well is to call a friend or colleague and do a test run. This will give you an understanding of how the content is perceived and will also give you a rehearsal.

During your presentation, pay close attention to how the audience interacts with the slides. Here they did not understand your diagram, but here it took 20 minutes to explain the diagram. Ask for feedback and make your next presentation better. This will make your presentation skill a competitive advantage.

The main thing is to approach presentations consciously: build a preparation algorithm that will be convenient for you, test and implement new ideas and techniques.

A successful presentation is not about pretty pictures, but a tool that will help you create rapport and solve a problem.

Checklist to help make your presentation easier to read

• The logo only on the title and final slides will help save valuable screen space.
• There are no elements on the slide that you cannot explain.
• There is no slide numbering. It is only needed if the presentation needs to be printed.
• The presentation uses no more than two fonts, but rather one.
• The font is easy and fast to read.
• There is no rainbow of colors on the slide. Ideally one accent color, maximum two.
• You used a minimum of animation and complex transitions - they are more distracting than helpful.
• At the end of your presentation, instead of “Thank you for your attention,” write a call to action: what do you want from the person who watched or listened to your presentation.