Have you seen presentations with poor visuals that take away all the talks or even distracts the intended audience? Presentations can be annoying to build. However, not all presenters are designers.
At Chillibreeze, I've had the chance of working with many PowerPoint professionals, whether for a major customer project or our company meetings. And while becoming a presentation expert takes some time and practice, there are two don’ts of presentation that cannot be ignored.
Before we rush into the don'ts lets look at how this post came into the picture.
How did it begin?
I googled " tips for presentation," and I wasn't surprised to see masses of advice on how to give a presentation, not to mention the search had around 17,60,00,000 results. The search returned with tips such as using the right posture, keeping your eyes on the audience, etc. All of this can help, but I suggest there are other metrics to work on as well.
Quick look into the past!
Taking a look back at where it started, I looked up Robert Gaskins, the founder of PowerPoint in search of some answers. I found this quote on his homepage:
By 2003, PowerPoint revenues for Microsoft exceeded $1 billion annually. By then PowerPoint was being used by over 500 million people worldwide, with over 30 million PowerPoint presentations being made every day. In 2010, Microsoft announced that PowerPoint was installed on over a billion computers worldwide.
This number is often quoted to show the increasing usage of presentations. But do not be boggled with the number as the current stats are yet to be disclosed.
Alright! Back to business, as promised earlier, I’ll share two don’ts of presentation design that might just save your next big deal.
Careful colors – Are you creating a presentation now, just finished your 23rd slide and noticed that it is anything like the first example? Scrap it, trust me you’ll thank me for that!
Gone are the days where you attract your audience with those multiple fancy colors. The current trend demands a modern look with more focus on the content you have to share rather than the colors they come with. Try it and let me know.
Size does matter – Seen the image below?
Well, for the first example, I guess I would need another pair of glasses and a whole lot of time to finish reading and understanding it. But what if the text was compressed and narrowed down to a sentence? That would make the biggest impact, plus your slide will look clean and your message could be directly shared at a glance. Make your fonts bigger and more compact. Your audience will thank you for the agony you just saved them from.
Got it, I’m talking about the don’ts here, what about the do’s? You can read about the PowerPoint Design Trends to Follow in 2017 and Beyond here!
To wrap it off; you won’t necessarily get all the praise for simple presentation design, but it can allow your audience to concentrate on what you want to say. Your story might just get all the well deserved accolades!
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