Lately, I’ve been obsessed by creating an amazing visual experience in addition to a well-delivered presentation. As I perused Slideshare this weekend, I stopped at Bruce Kasanoff’s slide deck on how to nail the first 60 seconds of your presentation.
[slideshare id=26311770&doc=first60seconds-130918094034-phpapp02]
Here are two simple things that make this a great presentation:
- Eschews standard templates for powerful images. Not a single slide uses a template nor does he plaster his company’s logo all over these slides. Almost every slide has a full-slide image related to the content on the slide. Except for slide #16 – he chose to use only text in order to get his point across.
Implications for the novice graphic designer: When you open PowerPoint, don’t bother with the standard templates. Use an image that fits the context of your slide as your background template.
- Make text readable. On slides 5, 12 and 15, he had to add a text box with a background around his text in order to be able to read the words.
Implications for the novice graphic designer: Once you have chosen the background images that fit the context of your slides, you may have to do a little extra work to make sure your text is legible and does not blend in to the background of the slide. Sometimes you can simply vary the color of your text (using a yellow font instead of a black font on a slide with a dark background will often work). But sometimes you won’t be able to find a color that will stand out from your background and you’ll need to fill in the color of the text box shape behind your text (examples of this are on slides 5 and 12, while on slide 15 he just used a black rectangle across the width of the slide to provide a contrasting background for his font).
If you’re looking for additional examples of great PowerPoint presentations, you may find these prior blog posts to be helpful:
- Using PowerPoint? Take Some Ideas From These Spectacular PowerPoint Examples
- Survey Says! Creating Training Games Like Family Feud With PowerPoint
- Three Simple PowerPoint Tips To Improve Your Slide Design
- PowerPoint Slide Design: How Simple is Too Simple?
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