Presentation Design | Tips |
Consider framing your presentation content as a story.
Nancy Duarte, author of Resonate, recommends applying these storytelling principles:
Begin with a description of the way things are and compare that with the ideal world that will be achieved if your idea is accepted.
Move back and forth between what is and what could be, pointing out what must be overcome.
End with a final call to action, followed by a description of the new bliss that can be achieved if your big idea is accepted.
Remember that you, the presenter, aren’t the hero; the audience is the hero. The presenter is the mentor who leads the audience from an ordinary world to a better world
Source: “The Secret Structure of Great Talks” TEDTalk by Nancy Duarte.
Here are more storytelling tips from filmmaker Andrew Stanton:
- Make the audience care
- Make a promise from the beginning
- Make ‘em work for it
- Story is about change. No change, no story
- Construct anticipation in your story
- Have a clear them
- Stimulate a sense of wonder
- Use what you know
Source: “The Clues to a Great Story” by Andrew Stanton.
Choose your slideware
Create slides that illustrate or enhance your talking points or script. Create or gather images. If using images created by others, give appropriate credit.
Consider these “Ten Tips for Slide Design” by Garr Reynolds for designing effective presentation slides:
- Keep it simple
- Limit bullet points and text
- Limit transitions and animation
- Use high-quality graphics
- Have a visual theme but avoid templates
- Use appropriate charts
- Use color well
- Choose your fonts well
- Use video or audio
- Spend time in the slide sorter
More tips from Damon Nofar’s “8 Tips for an Awesome Powerpoint Presentation”:
- F—ck normality
- Colors are nice
- Use good fonts
- Text is evil
- Images say more
- Big is beautiful
- Infographics are amazing
- Get inspired
8 Tips for an Awesome Powerpoint Presentation from Damon Nofar
Consider giving a Pecha Kucha presentations in which you present your ideas using 20 slides that advance automatically every 20 seconds. This format can help presenters focus on their most important ideas.
For suggestions on classroom applications for Pecha Kucha presentations, read the “Challenging the Presentation Paradigm (in 6 minutes, 40 seconds): Pecha Kucha” article by Jason B. Jones at Profhacker (Chronicle of Higher Education).
And for an even faster demonstration of brilliance, try Ignite! (20 slides that advance every 15 seconds).