10 tips for better slide decks _ ted blog

04/05/2015 10tipsforbetterslidedecks|TEDBlog

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10tipsonhowtomakeslidesthatcommunicateyouridea,fromTEDsinhouseexpert

Whenyourslidesrock,yourwholepresentationpopstolife.AtTED2014,DavidEpsteincreatedaclean,informativeslidedecktosupporthistalkonthechangingbodiesofathletes.Photo:JamesDuncanDavidson/TED

AaronWeyenbergisthemasterofslidedecks.OurUXLeadcreatesKeynotepresentationsthatarebothslickandcharmingthekindthatpullyouinand

Postedby:TEDStaff July15,2014at3:57pmEDT



keepyoucaptivated,butinanunderstatedwaythathelpsyoufocusonwhatsactuallybeingsaid.Hedoesthisforhisownpresentationsandforlotsofotherfolksintheoffice.Yes,hiscoworkersaskhimtodesigntheirslides,becausehesjustthatgood.

WeaskedAarontobottlehisKeynotemojosothatotherscouldbenefitfromit.Here,10tipsformakinganeffectiveslidedeck,splitintotwoparts:thebig,overarchinggoals,andthelittletipsandtricksthatmakeyourpresentationsing.

AaronusedthisimageofaNewZealanddisastertokickoffaslidedeckfromTEDstechteamallabouthowtheypreparesforworstcasescenarios.Heaskedforpermissiontousetheimage,andcreditedthephotographer,BlairHarkness.Viewthewholeslidedeckfromthispresentation.

Thebigpicture

1. Thinkaboutyourslideslast.Buildingyourslidesshouldbethetailendofdevelopingyourpresentation.Thinkaboutyourmainmessage,structureitssupportingpoints,practiceitandtimeitandthenstartthinkingaboutyourslides.Thepresentationneedstostandonitsowntheslidesarejustsomethingyoulayeroverittoenhancethelistenerexperience.Toooften,Iseeslidedecksthatfeelmorelikepresenternotes,butIthinkitsfarmoreeffectivewhentheslidesarefortheaudiencetogivethemavisualexperiencethataddstothewords..



2. Createaconsistentlookandfeel.Inagoodslidedeck,eachslidefeelslikepartofthesamestory.Thatmeansusingthesameorrelatedtypography,colorsandimageryacrossallyourslides.Usingprebuiltmasterslidescanbeagoodwaytodothat,butitcanfeelrestrictiveandleadtometoodecks.Iliketocreateafewslidestoholdsamplegraphicelementsandtype,thencopywhatIneedfromthoseslidesasIgo..

3. Thinkabouttopictransitions.Itcanbeeasytogotoofarinthedirectionofconsistency,though.Youdontwanteachslidetolookexactlythesame.IliketocreateonestylefortheslidesthatarethemeatofwhatImsaying,andthenanotherstyleforthetransitionsbetweentopics.Forexample,ifmygeneralslideshaveadarkbackgroundwithlighttext,Illtrytransitionslidesthathavealightbackgroundwithdarktext.Thatwaytheyfeellikepartofthesamefamily,butthepresentationhastextureandtheaudiencegetsavisualcuethatweremovingontoanewtopic..

4. Withtext,lessisalmostalwaysmore.Onethingtoavoidslideswithalotoftext,especiallyifitsarepeatofwhatyouresayingoutloud.Itslikeifyougiveapaperhandoutinameetingeveryonesheadgoesdownandtheyread,ratherthanstayingheadsupandlistening.Iftherearealotofwordsonyourslide,youreaskingyouraudiencetosplittheirattentionbetweenwhattheyrereadingandwhattheyrehearing.Thatsreallyhardforabraintodo,anditcompromisestheeffectivenessofbothyourslidetextandyourspokenwords.Ifyoucantavoidhavingtextyslides,trytoprogressivelyrevealtext(likeunveilingbulletpointsonebyone)asyouneedit..

5. Usephotosthatenhancemeaning.Iloveusingsimple,punchyphotosinpresentations,becausetheyhelpwhatyouresayingresonateinyouraudiencesmindwithoutpullingtheirattentionfromyourspokenwords.Lookforphotosthat(1)speakstronglytotheconceptyouretalkingaboutand(2)arentcompositionallycomplex.Yourphotocouldbeametaphororsomethingmoreliteral,butitshouldbeclearwhytheaudienceislookingatit,andwhyitspairedwithwhatyouresaying.Forexample,Irecentlyusedtheimageaboveaphotoofacontainershipabouttotipover(iteventuallysank)toleadoffacoworkersdeckaboutfailurepreparation.AndbelowisanotherexampleofaphotoIusedinadecktotalkaboutthelaunchofthenewTED.com.ThepointIwasmakingwasthatalaunchisnttheendofaprojectitsthebeginningofsomething



new.Welllearn,adapt,changeandgrow.

Here,alovelyimagefromaslidedeckAaroncreatedabouttheredesignofTED.com.Viewthewholedeckfromthispresentation.

Andnowsometacticaltips

1. Goeasyontheeffectsandtransitions.KeynoteandPowerpointcomewithalotofeffectsandtransitions.Inmyopinion,mostofthesedontdomuchtoenhancetheaudienceexperience.Atworst,theysubtlysuggestthatthecontentofyourslidesissouninterestingthatapageflipordroplettransitionwillsnaptheaudienceoutoftheirlethargy.Ifyoumustusethem,usethemostsubtleones,andkeepitconsistent..

2. Usemaskingtodirectattentioninimages.Ifyouwanttopointsomethingoutinaphoto,youcoulduseabigarrow.OryoucoulddowhatIcalladupeandmask.Idothisalotwhenshowingnewpagedesigns,particularlywhenIdontwanttheaudiencetoseethewholedesignuntilImfinishedtalkingaboutindividualcomponentsofit.Herestheoriginalimage.



Herestheprocessformaskingit.(1)Settheimagetransparencytosomethinglessthan100.(2)Duplicatethatimagesothereisonedirectlyoverthetopoftheother.(3)Setthedupdimagetransparencybackto100.and(4)Followthetechniqueheretomaskthedupdimage.Youllendupwithsomethingthatlookslikethis.



Youcanusethistechniquetocalloutanythingyouwantinascreenshot.Asingleword,aphoto,asectionofcontentwhateveryouwantyouraudiencetofocuson..

3. Trypanninglargeimages.Often,Iwanttoshowscreenshotofanentirewebpageinmypresentations.TheresagreatChromeextensiontocapturethesebuttheseimagesareoftentimesmuchlongerthanthecanvassizeofthepresentation.Ratherthanscalingtheimagetoanillegiblesize,orcroppingit,youcanpanitverticallyasyoutalkaboutit.InKeynote,thisisdonewithaMoveeffect,whichyoucanapplyfromanobjectsactionpanel..

4. Forvideo,dontuseautoplay.ItssupereasytoinsertvideoinKeynoteandPowerpointyoujustdragaQuicktimefileontotheslide.Andwhenyouadvancethedecktotheslidewiththevideothatautoplays,sometimesitcantakeamomentforthemachinetoactuallystartplayingit.SooftenIveseenpresentersclickagaininanattempttostartthevideoduringthisdelay,causingthedecktogotothenextslide.Instead,setthevideotoclicktoplay.Thatwayyouhavemorepredictablecontroloverthevideostarttime,andevenselectaposterframetoshowbeforestarting.



.5. Reproducesimplechartsandgraphs.Droppinganimageofachartinto

apresentationisfine,butitalmostalwaysdisruptsthefeelofadeckinunsightlyfashion.Ifthegraphdataissimpleenough(andyouhavesomeextratime)theresawaytomakeitmuchmoreeasyontheeyes.Youcouldredrawitinthenativepresentationapplication.Thatsoundslikeneedlesswork,anditmightbeforyourpurposes,butitcanreallymakeyourpresentationfeelconsistentandthoughtthrough,ofoneflavorfromsouptonuts.Youllhavecontrolovercolors,typography,andmore.Herearesomeexamples.

.

Lastly,Idlovetoleaveyouwithacouplebookrecommendations.Thefirstis



AaronWeyenberg Keynote Powerpoint presentationliteracy presentations slidedeck

slides TED

Resonate,byNancyDuarte.Itsnotsomuchaboutslides,butaboutpublicspeakingingeneralwhichisthefoundationforanypresentation,regardlessofhowgreatyourslidesare.Init,shebreaksdowntheanatomyofwhatmakesagreatpresentation,howtoestablishacentralmessageandstructureyourtalk,andmore.(OneofhercasestudiescomesfromBenjaminZanderscharmingTEDTalkaboutclassicalmusic,atalkthatcaptivatedtheaudiencefromstarttofinish.)Thinkofthisasprerequisitereadingformysecondrecommendation,alsobyDuarte:Slide:ology.Thisismorefocusedonpresentationvisualsandslides.

Happyslidemaking.

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IlovethattheveryfirsttipistothinkabouttheslidesLAST.Thatssofarfromwhatmosteverydaypresentersdo(andofcoursemostpresentationssuck),soitsagreatapproach!

Also,the3rdtipaboutusingstrongcontrastbetweenpointsreallyresonatedwithme.Contrastkeepsyouraudiencehooked,andtoomuchconsistencynumbsthesenses.Seeifyouagreewithmytakeonthat:

CraigHadden(@RemotePoss)commentedonAug292014



https://bitly.com/1pclyCm

Asyousuggest,Iliketousemaskingonpictures,butprefertouseatranslucentblackcoversothebackgrounddoesntlosecontrastandlookwashedout.(Forthosewhoareinterested,mylatestpostsavideoshowingonewayyoucandothatinPowerPoint.)

Anyway,thanksforsharingthegreattips.Letshopelotsofpeopleadoptthem!

SomeAwesometips,howwouldyougoaboutincorporatingtheseintoapredesignedtemplatethough?

MattShawcommentedonAug282014

Veryhelpful!Thanksforsharingthetips!

Presentationslidesanddurationshouldbeinsync.Always,lesstextispreferredonslide,so,Presenterconnectswithaudiencethroughkeynotesandconveytheburningissue!

JPcommentedonAug262014

Ioncejoinedalectureofaatthoseday60yearsoldsociologistPeterGrosswhotalkedabouthisbookThemultioptionalsocietyandhestartedhistalkwiththewordsdoeshehaveapowerpointorsomethingtosay?andthenhedidafabulousandthrillingpresentationbywordsandonaflipchart.

EversincethenIhavethissentenceinmind,whenIdomypresentationsandaskmyselfifmyaudiencereallyneedstoseeslides.ButifIeverdecidetodoaslideshowwithpptorkey,thehintsinthisarticleareofgreathelp!

Thankyou!

MichaelRuhecommentedonAug132014

Rebloggedthisongeorgeobservesandcommented:Firstwhoisyouraudience..dosomebitofcustomizationofyourpersonalstyle..bit.becauseyoudontwanttoconformtoomuchandneitherdoyouwantto

georgeobservescommentedonAug92014



losethemonslide1.Basedonpoint1,figureoutthebigmessageandtheelementsthatmakeupthebigmessagewhichshouldbe,whatwhyhow..thatssoundslikeinaneadvice,buttherealityisthatquiteoftenwehaveaburningissueinourheadthatwewanttoshoutouttotheworldorwehavenoburningissueandjustneedtopresent.Itsthesetimesthatweforgettheinanewhat..whyandhow.Thenoftenevenwhenwerememberit,itrequiresfocusandskilltoensurethatyourpptfollowsthewhatwhyhowelementsinwhateversequence.Onceyouhavetheelementsonpaperthengettomakingthedeck.Thisrebloghassomegoodtipsonthat.Samefont.nottoomanycolors,verylesstext.

Okissogreatpresentedproblemhttp://www.investcenter.com.pl

casimaa88commentedonAug52014

RebloggedthisonKeepitsimpleandcommented:interesting

ajiitabhcommentedonAug22014

Hopeyoudontmindcontributing,anyamountwoulddo.Everydollarwouldbeahugehelphttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zolentworldoftalents/x/8237794

FarzadParidarcommentedonJul242014

RebloggedthisonNoo2555'sBlog.

NoocommentedonJul212014

RebloggedthisonAnalyticsIdeasandcommented:Asamarketerofanalyticssoftware,IoftenfindmyselfunderatremendousamountofpressuretocreatepresentationswhichhaveWAYtoomuchdetail.ThisTEDblogisamustreadforanymarketerorfranklyanyonewhoneedstocreatepresentationsthatconveymeaning.

BrendanGradycommentedonJul202014



Rebloggedthisonjennifer55723'sBlog.

jennifer55723commentedonJul202014

RebloggedthisonDownUpandcommented:Interestingstufftothinkabout

arronsparkscommentedonJul192014

Nicepost.Myteacherdiscussedhowtomakeslidesthatshowhowapersonisthinking,thisisrightupmyalley,greatinfo,Thanksforsharing

jibriw85commentedonJul192014

thisissuchaninterestingstorytoread.thanksforcommentingeveryone.

WebmastersPridecommentedonJul182014

RebloggedthisonHudaTsuyoshiandcommented:RightwhenIneedit:)

hudatsuyoshicommentedonJul182014

So,istheresomewhereIcanlearnaboutthe1920sv2012shotputter?

louclarkgravcommentedonJul172014

EmilyMcManuscommentedonJul182014



Whyyesyoucan!DavidEpsteinsTEDTalkishere,anditsreallyfuntowatch:http://www.ted.com/talks/david_epstein_are_athletes_really_getting_faster_better_stronger

IsitpossibletowatchhisTedtalk?

ChristineFramcommentedonJul172014

RebloggedthisonCreativity,Innovation,Talent&Leadership.

mdmontalbancommentedonJul162014

ThepicturePrepairingtoFailhassomanyimpossiblethingsthatarewrongwiththe(implied)dynamics,thatitisunrealistictoalargedegree.Manyofyourrecommendationshavebeenneglectedhere.

MacrocompassioncommentedonJul162014

Macrocompassion,areyouimplyingthepicturehasbeenshoppedasitistoounrealistic?ItisfromanaccidentoffthecoastofNZ.

ngaioshortcommentedonJul182014

IndeedIamclaimingthatthepicturehasbeenfaked.Thedisplacementsofthecontainersontheshipisnothowsuchadynamicoccurancecouldtakeplace.Asanengineerwithsomeknowledgeandexperienceinsuchthings,Iknowbetter.


HiMacrocompassionitshardtobelieve,Iknow!Butthisindeedhappened.GoogleRenaMonroviadisastertolearnmore,includingfilmandmorephotos

EmilyMcManuscommentedonJul182014



fromdifferentangles.

Itisquiteanamazingshot,andhereissomevideooftheactualfootage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7v7jqf6xg

Atabout1:45in,youcanseethepositionoftheshiproughlyasitisinthephotointheslidedeck:

MichaelMcWatterscommentedonJul182014

Alright,Iwaswrong.Thatvideofootageisobviouslyauthenticandverydynamictheshipapearstobesplittinginhalfononeside.Didit?


notetoselfifeverIfeellikesayingsomethinglikeAsanengineerwithsomeknowledgeandexperienceinsuchthings,IknowbetterpleaseletmethinkbetterofitbeforeImakemyselflooklikean..

Thatbeingsaid..whenIsawthephotoitdidbringupabunchofquestionsabouthowcargoships/containersarestackedsuchthatitsevenpossibleforthemtosomehowhangtogetherlikethis.Prettyimpressiveengineeringifyouaskme.

Thatbeingsaid..andnottodiverttheconversationawayfromthetopicfurther.Thanksforpostingthearticle.Veryusefultips.

liamjkennedycommentedonMay42015

RebloggedthisonKSFINBLOG:GlobalAnalystandcommented:Someverygoodtipsforthosewhopresentstuff.

ksfinblogcommentedonJul152014

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