Apple® founder Steve Jobs was widely recognized for his excellent presentations. His unveiling of the iPhone® in 2007 is considered one of his best presentations to date, and if you're one of the millions who watched it online, you'll know why.
Jobs was particularly known for building his presentations around powerful visual aids. He knew that slides were more effective when they told a story than conveyed information. His slides were therefore simple, elegant and image-based. They complemented and reinforced his message and never competed for his audience's attention.
You don't have to be Steve Jobs to make a great presentation, but you do need good visuals. They convey a powerful message about your ideas and your brand. So it's essential to bring them to life. In this article, we'll look at how to create effective presentation aids, slides that connect your audience to your message.
"SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION" (LEONARDO DA VINCI)
The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is popular for a good reason: the human brain processes information more efficiently when it is accompanied by memorable images or short statements. This means that when you use slides based on simple images to support your message, your audience can better understand the information you're communicating.
Many people use too many slides, or build presentations around visual aids that are too heavy or complex.
These visual aids can have a negative impact on your presentation. Let's look at a few examples:
- You're trying to convince the board of directors to support a new product idea. Your slides are made up of graphs, numbers and blocks of text from top to bottom. The board members spend most of their time reading them instead of listening to you. The result? You don't make a real connection, and your passion for the project is lost.
- You're promoting a promising potential customer. You've spent a lot of time creating your slides, using lots of colors, animations and fonts. However, the slides are so complex that your customer has trouble understanding them. He leaves the presentation feeling tired and exhausted, and avoids calling on your company because he fears, subconsciously, that dealing with you in the future may also be exhausting.
- You make a presentation of your department to highlight its good work. You want to introduce everyone, so you make a slide detailing each person's achievements. Your department has dozens of people. So, in the end, your team cares more about leaving than about its results.
Now think about what happens when you use simple, attractive visual elements. Instead of creating confusion or exhaustion, your slides create a positive connection with your audience.
People may not remember exactly what you said, but they'll remember a powerful image.
They'll remember the positive emotions they experienced during your presentation and start to associate your brand with clear, intelligent communication.
You'll win new customers, convince your colleagues to act on your ideas and be recognized for the hard work of your members. In short, you'll make positive impressions that will stay in people's minds long after the details of your presentation have faded.
How to create striking visuals
Your visual aids have one purpose: to support your presentation. However, it takes a lot of time and creativity to develop visuals that work well. To make the most of your preparation time, here are a few tips:
1. Be consistent
A common mistake is to choose different colors and fonts for each slide. This can confuse your audience and distract from your message. Stay consistent with your slides so that they form part of a homogeneous whole.
Start by choosing colors carefully, as they will affect the mood and tone of your presentation. Also consider the space in which you'll be presenting. If the room is dark (with lights off), choose a darker background color, such as dark blue, black or gray, with white or light-colored text. If the room is bright (with lights on or lots of ambient light), choose a white or light-colored background, with black or dark-colored text.
You also need to match the color to the tone and message of your presentation. Bright colors convey energy and enthusiasm, while darker colors can seem more conservative and serious. Align the color palette you choose with your subject.
Tip: Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote are the most widely used presentation software. They include useful templates and tools, and most people are familiar with the structure of their presentations. However, online presentation tools (Prezi, Slide Share, etc.) include features and templates that may be new to your audience, increasing the potential impact of your presentations.
2. Use images intelligently
When Steve Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air®, he had to show just how small this new laptop was. The public wasn't going to remember that it was 0.68 x 11.8 x 7.56 inches; those numbers don't create an emotional response. Instead, he showed them that the MacBook Air would fit easily into a standard kraft paper envelope. It was a powerful way of showing off its size.
This kind of creativity is essential when choosing images. Your audience has probably already seen a lot of bad clipart and too many images of cross-cultural handshakes. Brainstorm creative and clever approaches with your images, and look for photographs or illustrations that tell a story in less obvious ways.
Thoughtful, high-quality images keep your audience engaged, reinforce your professionalism and make a lasting impression.
3. Decompose complex data
When you need to communicate complex data or large chunks of information, avoid putting them all on one slide, as your audience may find it difficult to grasp all the details. Instead, summarize the information or spread it out over several slides.
You can also use documents to communicate complex information. Documents allow your audience to examine the data closely. This is particularly important when you're presenting to analytical people, such as engineers, scientists or finance professionals. They're trained to be skeptical about data, and a document will reassure them more closely. Again, this kind of attention to your audience's needs will highlight your professionalism and support your message.
4. Keep it simple
Each slide should focus on one idea or concept. This allows your audience to quickly grasp what you want to communicate. Keep your text to a minimum (10 words or less if possible) and, wherever possible, use an image to convey a message rather than words. For example, consider using a graph instead of a list to display changing trends.
Each slide should take three seconds or less to process. If it takes longer, the slide is probably too complex.
Avoid bulleted lists whenever possible; they make it easy to fit multiple ideas on one slide, which can be confusing for your audience. If you must use bullets, don't use sentences; instead, simply list the fact, statistic or idea you want to communicate. You should be able to glance at the slide and know exactly what you want to say.
Tip: to further simplify the wording of your slides, highlight the key word in each sentence. Next, look at the layout of your slides. Try to use a plain background and plenty of space, as this will help focus audience members' eyes on your message. Avoid decorating slides with distracting background images, logos or patterns.
Finally, consider using blank slides when you need the audience's full attention. A blank slide is the equivalent of a pause, and adds drama, tension and focus to your words.
5. Get ready
Many people underestimate the time they need to prepare for a presentation. They spend days creating content and visual elements, but only a few hours practicing. Allow extra preparation time to refine your message and feel totally confident in your presentation.
First, take our interactive quiz - "What are your presentation skills?" - to get an idea of how well you've already mastered this art. My articles on "How to replace words with images" and " Public speaking: happiness or terror " contain tips and strategies to help you communicate with clarity and intention.
Board
If you're not sure you know how to create your own slides, consider entrusting this task to a professional such as INSPIRACTION.
This can be a wise option when there's something at stake, or when you don't have the technical skills to create the type of presentation you want.
If you do, make sure you're clear about the details of the project, communicate your objectives for the presentation and set deadlines that will give you enough time to revise and add if necessary.