Presentation rules that will make you the star of your presentation
Rules for presentation design, which are silent at the university. Working with text, color and indents. 10 golden design principles for creating sales slides.
. Have you ever encountered eye-rolling presentations, painted like a fighting Indian, accompanied by unreadable panels of text? Of course they impressed the audience! But it’s unlikely to be the way the author hoped for it. And all because he never read our article! :) But you are luckier. Knowing these rules for creating a presentation, you will never make the mistakes of unfortunate designers and will do an excellent job!
Define goals and objectives of the presentation
This is an important step on which the success of the entire event depends. From time to time clients contact us to order a presentation, or rather just make a design. Well, they will insert the text there themselves later.
We have to explain: according to the basic rules for creating a presentation, you should start designing only when you know:
- Who is your target audience?
- What area is the presentation being prepared for?
- Where and in what format will it be broadcast?
Well, imagine, the target audience are tough steelworkers, and you, not knowing this “trifling” fact, prepared girly pictures.)
Or, slides will be needed for the cargo transportation niche, and you created a design that conveys a concert atmosphere.
Or here's another one. The presentation will be read from the laptop screen, nose to nose, and you have concocted massive slides that can be easily seen from the last row at Luzhniki.
In general, each stage depends on the goals and objectives of the project. Start with this.
Create a story
The entire presentation, from start to finish, should be well structured and built according to the principle of a logical chain. It should evoke emotions, but not chaotically, but in a strictly thought-out order.
Don't let your thoughts run away like monkeys on vines. Keep them under control!
This is the only way you can interest the viewer. Otherwise, he will get confused, lose interest and decide that it is better to take a nap than understand your jungle.
To prevent this from happening, follow a certain order:
- string;
- climax/conflict;
- denouement.
And already under this structure, think through the main ideas, a single style, text and visuals.
Avoid tired patterns
Ready-made templates can be easily used, for example, to implement school projects. But if your speech is intended for a business audience, it is better to do without templates for two reasons:
- Most of them are morally outdated and hopelessly behind modern trends.
- They were used before you. And if anyone present has encountered something similar (or maybe even used it themselves), then your work is unlikely to impress them. They may not be tossed with tomatoes, but there will be some sediment left :).
Therefore, it is better to give up stencils and make simple slides, united by a single color scheme, according to the basic rules for developing and creating a presentation. On each of them, place the headings, text and photos in the same place. The exception is the title and finish screens. And believe me, it will be very good!
Like here
By the way, if you often have to give a presentation to the same people, create your own template. This is a great solution for:
- Reports to management;
- Sending regular information to partners;
- Training sessions for employees.
Neat, familiar, in the same style. The main bonus is saving your time and effort. You get creative once, and then you just insert relevant information. Eureka!
Limit one thought per slide.
You shouldn’t stuff one screen with a ton of information. This will overwhelm your audience and give them no chance to remember the most important part of your speech.
Imagine that you are doing cleaning. Do you think the entire list of services mixed with terrible collages of your works will look good in one slide?
Definitely not. This is a design collapse!
Instead, tell us about each service separately, choosing one photo per topic:
- Slide No. 1: industrial climbing, washing windows and facades.
- Slide number 2: daily office cleaning.
- Slide No. 3: General cleaning after renovation.
- Slide number 4:...
The amount of text also plays a role. There should be no more than a couple of lines on one slide. Break them down into small paragraphs and bullet points, it’s easier to understand.
In general, people are reluctant to read. Try to shift more responsibility for conveying meaning to the pictures.
Choose a decent visual and icons
Low-quality images hastily downloaded from search engines can significantly spoil the overall impression of the entire project. Office employees blooming with happiness and people laughing unnaturally at lunch cause bewilderment.
This is not typical behavior.
Unfortunately, the use of sloppy images “just to have it” from search engines is common. But this is an outdated method and does not look very good. Instead:
- Use high-resolution images from 1 thousand pixels;
- Avoid images from search engines - they are already an eyesore to everyone;
- Download photos from official stocks (the content there is higher quality, and there will be no problems with copyright).
Consider these simple points and your presentation will not end up on the list of anti-trends.)
Don't overuse fonts
When choosing fonts, immediately abandon handwritten and display options. After just a couple of minutes they cause fatigue, and in some people - a nervous tic :)
Use a proven sans serif or select a “font pair”. You can google what kind of animal this is and choose a ready-made successful combination on special services.
Psychologists are sure: the right font is not only a harmonious design. As a result of a series of experiments, an interesting discovery was made. It turns out that fonts control the consumer’s mood and influence the level of trust in the text!
In this regard, experts distinguish 5 types of fonts according to the intensity and vector of their influence on the mood of the audience:
- Straight elongated. Universal fonts to convey a business mood.
- Strict square. They convey seriousness and are often used in advertising industrial products or industry technologies.
- Rounded. They make you feel comfortable, create a feeling of security, trust and comfort.
- Inclined. Especially in tandem with decorative touches they create lightness and beauty and make it easier to perceive.
- Handwritten. Used in special cases. For example, to emphasize the exclusivity of a product.
You've probably already heard something about serifs - short strokes at the end of a letter. So, for online presentations it is better to use fonts WITHOUT serif. Not for nothing, approximately 70% of sites use them for the main text.
Serif letters are easier to read in printed materials (books, newspapers, booklets).
The main thing is to remember that an overdose of fonts will not lead to good things. Two types will be enough: one for the main text, the second for emphasis.
Leave the colors to the parrots
When choosing a palette for your presentation, choose 3 colors. Of these, two are basic and one color is for contrast. Decide immediately what the background will be: light or dark, and then proceed to choosing a color. If desired, you can use background striping.
The color of the text should be as contrasting as possible with the background. Classics of the genre: white background - black text. Or vice versa. But you can experiment.
Color combinations for your inspiration.
You can get more ideas from our works.
Get rid of the dross
“Everything should be stated as simply as possible, but not simpler.”
It’s not for nothing that Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize!) And we can only reap the fruits of his wisdom.
Don't try to decorate your slide with too many objects. Most often, the essence can be explained with just one picture and a couple of lines of text.
How to check if your slide is overloaded? Remove some of the text/elements and if the meaning is not lost, then they were superfluous!
Also, get rid of unnecessary punctuation marks. The reader “stumbles” over each of them. Bullets (lists) and headings without periods and commas look much neater.
Remember, your listener is human
You should not express your thoughts in abstruse, entirely scientific terms. Except if your target audience consists only of academics. And believe me, they also love comics, although they will never admit it.)
Put yourself in your audience's shoes. Would you like a stream of unfamiliar complex word structures? Unlikely.) Nobody wants to feel like a dupe.
Therefore, following the rules for creating and designing a presentation, write in the language of the target audience. When appropriate, throw in a quick joke to break the tension. Reduce, and most importantly, simplify!
Look, as Veonix professionals do.
Practice your presentation
There is nothing sadder than a lecturer who spends his entire speech with his nose buried in a cheat sheet. To prevent this from happening, think through everything to the smallest detail:
- How do you go out into the hall?
- What words will you use to greet the audience?
- What remarks will fill awkward gaps?
You will have to rehearse until you do everything automatically. It's not enough to create a cool presentation. It needs to be presented well!
Then you will be heard and understood.
If you do not prepare for your speech, the audience will understand this from the first minutes, your credibility will fall through the roof and it will not be easy to regain your favor.
And a few more tips for successful presentations:
- Don’t read from a cheat sheet - speak casually, as if you are having a friendly conversation.
- Maintain eye contact with the listener - everyone will feel like you are talking to them personally.
- Control the openness of gestures and postures - do not hide behind/under the podium, do not cower, do not cross your arms. You should feel like a hero, in charge of the situation.
- Vary the timbre of your voice. Periodically speak softer, louder, faster, slower. We won’t delve into the secrets of public speaking now, but this advice will definitely help keep the audience’s attention in good shape.
Agree, it's not that difficult to stick to these presentation techniques. And if you have made it this far, you will definitely have a great, accessible, information-rich and well-structured presentation!
And if there are any difficulties, we will be happy to help you! Just remember our phone number - 8 (495) 109-77-65.