Slide Design
PROGRAM: IN A WORD
EPISODE: SLIDE DESIGN
[5 to 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Mary Beth Schaefer with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
Today I’ll give advice on designing slides for presentations. Try to think about the best presentation you have ever seen. What do you remember more, the slide show (if one was used) or the presenter? Chances are that the presenter made the presentation memorable.
The focus of a presentation should be on you, the presenter, and your message, not the visual aids you use. But you should still put time and consideration into the content and design of your slides. In fact, when crafting a slide show, you should consciously apply the idea that your presentation’s focus is you and the message you are delivering.
With this notion in mind, one principle you should consider when designing your slide show is simplicity. For example, it’s often more effective to use fewer words per slide. Some of the most powerful slides have only one word on them. Plus, if there is an overwhelming amount of text on your slide, the audience will be reading instead of listening to you. Instead of overloading your slides with text, give your audience members a detailed handout that they can take away with them.
And keep in mind that although bullet points are the default design in some slideshow programs, presenting information this way is not always necessary. Sometimes a graph, chart or image is more effective than a bulleted list.
Try to apply the principle of simplicity when choosing a background and layout, too. Find or create a design that does not distract the audience, and ask yourself the following questions: Is there an appropriate amount of white or empty space on each slide? Does the color of the text and images provide a good contrast with the background? Light blue text on a white background, for instance, would be hard to read.
Look at all of your slides together, too. Have you repeated certain design elements to make your slide show seem unified and cohesive?
Another important aspect of slide design is the images, including photographs, figures and tables.
In his book Presentation Zen, Garr Reynolds gives a few suggestions about the use and placement of images in slides. Reynolds recommends that images direct the audience’s gaze toward any text or other important content. If there is a picture of people on a slide, they should be facing or looking toward the text to guide your viewers’ eyes.
Reynolds also recommends thinking of your slide as a 3 x 3 grid when placing images and text.
Situate elements where the imaginary gridlines intersect, rather than in the middle, to make your slide more visually appealing. Some slideshow production programs, such as PowerPoint, give you the option of viewing gridlines during the design process.
Another tip that Reynolds gives for incorporating images into slideshows is to place text within images instead of next to them. For instance, let’s say you have a slide with a quotation next to a small photograph. You could enlarge the photograph to fill the entire slide and place the text in an open area of the picture. Just make sure that the color of the text contrasts enough with the background image.
These are just a few pointers for making your PowerPoint more powerful. For more advice, check out Presentation Zen or similar books on slide design. And as you create your slide show, remember that the focus of any presentation should be you and the message you’re delivering.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Mary Beth Schaefer, helping you make every word count.
[5 to 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
EPISODE: SLIDE DESIGN
[5 to 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Mary Beth Schaefer with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
Today I’ll give advice on designing slides for presentations. Try to think about the best presentation you have ever seen. What do you remember more, the slide show (if one was used) or the presenter? Chances are that the presenter made the presentation memorable.
The focus of a presentation should be on you, the presenter, and your message, not the visual aids you use. But you should still put time and consideration into the content and design of your slides. In fact, when crafting a slide show, you should consciously apply the idea that your presentation’s focus is you and the message you are delivering.
With this notion in mind, one principle you should consider when designing your slide show is simplicity. For example, it’s often more effective to use fewer words per slide. Some of the most powerful slides have only one word on them. Plus, if there is an overwhelming amount of text on your slide, the audience will be reading instead of listening to you. Instead of overloading your slides with text, give your audience members a detailed handout that they can take away with them.
And keep in mind that although bullet points are the default design in some slideshow programs, presenting information this way is not always necessary. Sometimes a graph, chart or image is more effective than a bulleted list.
Try to apply the principle of simplicity when choosing a background and layout, too. Find or create a design that does not distract the audience, and ask yourself the following questions: Is there an appropriate amount of white or empty space on each slide? Does the color of the text and images provide a good contrast with the background? Light blue text on a white background, for instance, would be hard to read.
Look at all of your slides together, too. Have you repeated certain design elements to make your slide show seem unified and cohesive?
Another important aspect of slide design is the images, including photographs, figures and tables.
In his book Presentation Zen, Garr Reynolds gives a few suggestions about the use and placement of images in slides. Reynolds recommends that images direct the audience’s gaze toward any text or other important content. If there is a picture of people on a slide, they should be facing or looking toward the text to guide your viewers’ eyes.
Reynolds also recommends thinking of your slide as a 3 x 3 grid when placing images and text.
Situate elements where the imaginary gridlines intersect, rather than in the middle, to make your slide more visually appealing. Some slideshow production programs, such as PowerPoint, give you the option of viewing gridlines during the design process.
Another tip that Reynolds gives for incorporating images into slideshows is to place text within images instead of next to them. For instance, let’s say you have a slide with a quotation next to a small photograph. You could enlarge the photograph to fill the entire slide and place the text in an open area of the picture. Just make sure that the color of the text contrasts enough with the background image.
These are just a few pointers for making your PowerPoint more powerful. For more advice, check out Presentation Zen or similar books on slide design. And as you create your slide show, remember that the focus of any presentation should be you and the message you’re delivering.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Mary Beth Schaefer, helping you make every word count.
[5 to 10 SEC OF MUSIC]