priorityJesus.org » PowerPoint

Thou Shalt Not Stuff Powerpoint Slides

Nick Seipel — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:04:00 +0000

Here is a great rule. Dare I even say a presentation commandment. Don’t stuff your PowerPoint slides with information overload. Cramming is prohibited. They’re hard to decipher quickly and easily, and put audiences to sleep.

On ppt slides, never say with words what you can say with a picture. You’re the speaker, so YOU use words, let your slides be your visuals. Some say no more than 6 words per slide. Think VISUALS, not WORDS, when crafting your next stack of ppt slides.

PowerPoint slides should be closely akin to the design of billboards. And what are billboards known for? Words or visuals? VISUALS! You’re not driving on a highway hoping to catch 3 bullets with 25 words on it. You need something you can absorb in 3 seconds. So next time you’re thinking ppt presentation think billboard method. Think 3 second glance by an audience member, and see if they can grasp everything you’re trying to throw at them.

“Presentations are a ‘glance media’ — more closely related to billboards than other media…. Ask yourself whether your message can be processed effectively within three seconds. The audience should be able to quickly ascertain the meaning before turning their attention back to the presenter.” — Nancy Duarte

Thinking Presentation Design

Nick Seipel — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:40:00 +0000

1) Connect with your audience:
Make a connection with your audience and their goals and their interests. This goal is supported by the principle of Relevance and the principle of Appropriate Knowledge.

2) Direct and hold their attention:
You must get and keep their attention and interest and let them know what is important and what is not. This goal is supported by the principles of Salience, Discriminability, and Perceptual Organization. Attention is drawn to areas that are perceptibly different, so leverage design principles such as contrast and make differences big and obvious.

3) Promote understanding & memory:
You must make it easy for them to follow, digest, and remember your material. This goal is supported by the principle of Compatibility, the principle of Informative Changes, and the principle of Capacity Limitations.

For more go here.

http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2007/08/i-spent-the-wee.html

Another great lesson is the timeless, “Less is More.” Strip down and cut away. Clear the rubbish so that only the critical point shines through in simple elegant design. Great lessons are learned by design and transference of meaning in comic books. Amplification through Simplification!
“By stripping down an image to essential ‘meaning,’ an artist can amplify that meaning…” — Scott McCloud

For more go here.

http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2006/09/learning_from_t.html

Give a Punch and Make a Point

Nick Seipel — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:43:00 +0000

From the pulpit, in the classroom, or in the business world, presentations need tapering. They need a pinnacle. A talk that bleeds and runs all over the place is a poor presentation. Keep revamping and revising until it’s clear to you where exactly you need to bring your audience. Then cut everything else. If it lacks precision and exactness then the points are weak and liquidly. It’s like repeatedly throwing wet noodle jabs without ever bringing home the strong forceful uppercut. So next time you speak, take some Pepto-Bismol, end the diarrhea spewing forth from your mouth, and make the killer point.

Dialogue Seizes Attention

Nick Seipel — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:34:00 +0000

If you can create dialogue in your presentation you have your audience glued. But I’m not talking here about dialogue between you and your audience. I’m talking rather about dialogue and interplay within the presentation itself. Your audience in these scenarios are the on-lookers of the embedded dialogue, exchange, and interplay. This method of presentation works very well, and you should look to incorporate it in creative ways whenever possible.

One reason why it works so well is because the audience is guessing and anticipating what’s next in the exchange between the characters. There is a ping-pong back and forth effect, which can captivate and mesmerize your audience. If you can do this, you have your audience, their attention, and everything else.

Example to illustrate: Look at the captivating effect of the exchange of the two characters from the MAC vs PC commercials. Dialogue seizes attention! Brilliant characters, brilliant exchange, great interplay. Creative, humorous. It’s got everything in 30 seconds.

Dropping PHAT Philosophy on Napkins

Nick Seipel — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:42:00 +0000

You wanna drop huge lofty dreamy complex PHAT ideas? Well, you need present them simply to be effective.

The gods of marketing, presentation, and design like Seth Godin, Dan Pink, Garr Reynolds, and Guy Kawasaki are joined at the hip. Wonderful stuff. Dan Roam’s new book, “The Back of the Napkin,” helps us to think visually to make a powerful connection with our audience. No need for fancy technology. If you know what you’re doing, all you need are powerful simple ideas displayed visually on a napkin.

My points to bring the dreamy to the pavement.
1. Thinking visually and creatively so points can transfer and stick.
2. You do the complex and thoughtful background, but then, leave it at home. You bring your imagination and simple clean crisp design when you present.
3. Mission statements are run on German philosophers’ sentences. Toss them and opt for mantras, and slogans. You can’t remember mission statements, but you can remember mantras and slogans!