Slideshows are a powerful way for an individual to present opinions or share a message. When you combine a slideshow with a presentation, the combined power of two is enough to get the attention of people, but only if both compliment each other. However, there are times when you only need to create and share a written slideshow, no presentation required. In both cases, though, you must create a presentation/slideshow that speaks to the audience. You do not want them to sit through a boring demonstration, whether it is a conference, a classroom lecture, or a meeting.
The goal is to appeal to the psyche of the audience so they can grasp the content and remember it and take action. The goal is simple, and the slideshow needs to be too. Here are a few things to keep in mind for a person who is making a presentation for the first time or a very critical situation. Let’s see.
Know your script
Creating slides is important, but doing that without any plan or script is not a great idea. If you can process what you want to say into slides without having an outline first, it’s fine. But otherwise, laying the structure of the slides is a smart move. Knowing what goes in where and why and what will be in it should be your first step.
It ensures your slide has all the vital takeaway about which you are going to be talking about. It also ensures the slides and your speech compliments each other. Planning it makes it worth your while as it aids you in creating a slideshow which will make the reader notice it and anticipate for more, but without distracting them from what you are saying.
Choose the correct template
Everyone uses templates these days because they save time. There are beautiful and professional templates in Canva slideshow maker and PowerPoint which can ease you into creating a slideshow which looks and feels professional.
But you do need to ensure that you choose one which is correct for the message you are trying to convey. At the same time, it should be customizable so that while making the slide, adding a touch of your brand is not impossible.
One point per slide
Too much information on one slide is never an excellent idea. It distracts the audience from what you are saying. It is because they are waiting for you to catch up to the other information on the screen. For instance, you are talking about methods to increase sales, and you put four bullet points. Now, you are talking about the first one. But the readers are distracted by the other three and are just waiting for you to get to that. The better way is to put one point per slide in a few words and use visual or graphs or charts to support it.
This way, the audience will pay attention to what you have to add to the point, and there will be no distraction to pry away from their eyes from you.
Make your sentences simple
Talking about one idea per slide doesn’t mean that you can fill the slide with one huge paragraph. That will not do. It looks messy and unprofessional. However, simplifying the sentences by breaking the paragraph into concise points or one or two-line phrase is a better option.
When words are few, punctuations are fewer, and your slide has more effect on people. It ensures that the text doesn’t become a distraction for the people.
Take aid form visuals that evokes emotions
It is best to use original images for a brand. Teachers and students can work well with stock images. However, creating graphs or charts for their slideshow is a better option. In any case, when using visuals, make sure it simplifies the content and resonates with the message you are trying to convey. You, in no case, want the visual to evoke a different emotion than what you were going for.
Also, use quality images and make use of infographics for complex data or even charts. Nowadays, including short clips into the slide is a nice way to appeal to the audience, but only, if it goes with the subject.
Contrast the colour of background and text
You do need to use colours which resemble your brand. But also keep in mind that the background and text colour should complement each other, not fade into one another. So, use a contrasting colour, dark text for light background and vice versa.
Also, if you are using a bold or warm background, the colour of the text or other elements in it should be subtle or cool. For instance, the combination of black text on a blue background is much appreciated across the slideshow creating community.
Follow the rule of 10-20-30
Whether you are presenting in a meeting or school or at a lecture, you have limited time to show your presentation and demonstrate it. Thus, you need to prepare it accordingly. That means the slideshow cannot have more than ten slides and you need to allow yourself two minutes for each slide. Try to convey your opinion per slide or per topic in this limited time period. This also requires you to cut back on your text and focus more on context.
The last rule is to have a font size which is equal to 30 points. It ensures that the audience is able to see the text and visuals with clarity and do not have to come ahead to do that.
Edit and Edit
It would be embarrassing if there are any spelling or grammatical mistakes in your slide. Or the visuals you are using are pixelated. These small mistakes are not only embarrassing, but also distracting. So, edit your slides ruthlessly, especially if they are too wordy or lengthy.
With these simple tips, you are now ready to create an efficient first presentation.
