Professionally Speaking...

No Excuse For Scary Slides

Scary may be a good thing for Halloween decorations and theme park rides but certainly not for presentation slides. With all things scary taking center stage as we get ready to celebrate Halloween, it's a good time to ensure that we have some tools to engage our presentation audiences rather than scare them with our terrible PowerPoint slides.

Way back near the dawn of time, when PowerPoint was invented (1987), our limited technology skills and the scarcity of easily sourceable images made it sort of (note I said sort of) acceptable to fill our slides with text and the odd clip art stick figure.

But that was then.

What's our excuse now?

Slides that accompany our presentations should enhance the audience's understanding about different aspects of the content. They should help the audience think more deeply or see your point more clearly. Above all they should be memorable and make an impression.

Sources for thought-provoking images and chart and graph slide templates abound. In the interests of motivating you to explore different and more effective ways of supporting the content of your presentations here is a profusion of resources:

IMAGES

• New York Public Library Public Domain Images :: Over 700,000 photographs, maps, posters and prints including a collection of images of New York from the 1870s to the 1970s.
• Pixabay :: Close to a million images offered under a Creative Commons license and requiring no attribution. Categories include business/finance, architecture/buildings and science/technology among others.
• PicJumbo :: Beautiful photography in a wide range of categories.
• Unsplash :: Stunning, high resolution images from contributing photographers.
• Flickr :: A wide selection of images, some whimsical or amusing. In many cases you do have to sort through some amateur content to find a gem. Do an advanced search to look for images available under a Creative Commons license.
• Gratisography :: More high resolution images.
• New Old Stock :: Vintage photographs from all over the world.

Images from these sites are free and either have no known copyright restrictions (in the case of public domain images) or are offered under a Creative Commons license.

DESIGN TOOLS AND TEMPLATES

• Diagrammer :: A huge number of downloadable diagrams that can be used to create charts and graphs and express relationships between various ideas and data sets.
• Canva :: Professional layouts and drag and drop functionality combined with a large selection of images, shapes and fonts.
• Visme :: Another site offering slide templates and tools to help you present your ideas visually and make your data easy to understand.
• Slidebot :: This is a particularly interesting twist on design tools. Here you provide the text you want on your presentation slides and, in seconds, Slidebot designs slides tailored to your content and presents alternatives for you to choose from. You are able to edit and then export the finished product.

So ditch the mounds of bullet points. With all these tools, there really is no excuse for scary slides.



Pixabay/Halloween Pumpkin/Yuri_B  CC0

 

 

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Brain Science Supports More Visual Slides

Research on how our brain works and how it responds to information gives us a better understanding of human behavior. What is becoming increasingly agreed upon is that images (a.k.a. visual cues) used instead of, or in addition to, words make information clearer, easier to access and more memorable. You see, the part of our brain that processes visual images is much larger than the part that processes words so we have a built-in bias for using images to enhance our understanding. That bias can be fed by many forms of visual stimulation – pictures, illustrations, charts, graphs, diagrams, maps, cartoons.

When it comes time to create our presentations, however, we forget about this bias because it’s so much easier to just put a lot of words on a slide. But in so doing we compromise our audience’s ability to comprehend, remember and even care about our information.

Lucky for us (and even more lucky for our audiences) there are now a number of resources that provide pre-designed slide visuals and templates we can easily incorporate into a presentation. Not only can this save us hours of time, the slides are likely more professional-looking than anything most of us could create.

Here are some sources for slide templates:

SlideModel.com

SlideModel offers a robust suite of over 10,000 templates which are designed in alignment with current business trends and influenced by user feedback. The templates can be edited in Microsoft PowerPoint but are also compatible with other presentation tools like Google Slides, Keynote or OpenOffice.

Users can browse a collection of diagrams, business models, charts, maps and shapes and simply copy and paste the slide(s) into their own presentations, then replace the text placeholders and images with their own content. Each slide template has a helpful detailed description of its purpose, suggestions on how to use and the color pallet of the design.

For most of the templates text, color, shapes and icons are editable. According to SlideModel, “This tool becomes a Swiss-Army Knife for presenters running out of time when making their presentations and provides a wide range of presentation templates such as pitch deck templates to present a startup to an investor, marketing PowerPoint templates to present a marketing plan or educational templates to prepare a final thesis project presentation.”

SlideModel offers various subscription plans based on the number of desired downloads. It also offers free weekly presentation slides to subscribers. Pricing is reasonable with 4 options to choose from: 1-day access; 3 month access, annual basic access; and annual unlimited access.

Diagrammer™

This is an offering from Duarte Design, well-known for its principal, Nancy Duarte, and her best-selling presentation books, Slide:ology and Resonate. Duarte describes Diagrammer as a “visualization system” based on the principle that “diagrams use proximity, scale and links to clarify hierarchy and relationships between information, making your message more easily understood.”

The website has over 4000 customizable and downloadable diagrams. By asking questions it guides you to define the relationship you want to show and then takes you through several steps (like defining the number of objects you want to represent and whether you want a 2-D or 3-D perspective) to help you choose from the appropriate category of diagrams.

It appears that you can download the diagrams for free but since there is no mention of pricing on the website, I don’t know if there is a limit to the number of downloads.

SlideHunter.com

SlideHunter also offers PowerPoint templates, diagrams and charts that are customizable and downloadable. There are some attractive slides available and they are free. Perhaps because of that there is a lot of advertising on the website, so take care that what you click on is actually part of SlideHunter’s offerings.

Knowing that visuals can help make complex ideas more undertandable and all ideas more memorable seems reason enough to try out some of these professionally designed slides. A small word of caution...less is more. Don't let the beautiful slides overshadow you. At the end of the day, it is you who will connect with your audience and change the world. Supported by the beautiful slides.

 

Photo Credit:
flickr.com/Brain C.C. 2.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I know you are terribly busy at this time of year building and packing all the toys, motivating the elves, polishing the sleigh and grooming the reindeer. But I could really use your help.
 
Business presenters all over the globe need to make better presentations so that the power of their messages will be truly heard and their audiences will be engaged and take action. Here are the gifts I send to presenters everywhere this holiday season. And Santa, any assistance you could provide in getting these presents distributed would be greatly appreciated.
 
Gift #1: Commitment to The Audience: an unshakable belief that an audience deserves your absolute best and an unwavering focus on making each presentation a valuable experience for those listening to you.
 
Gift #2: Minimal Use of PowerPoint Bullets: the time and energy to develop more visually meaningful and helpful slides to support audience comprehension and retention plus the courage to NOT use PowerPoint when you, the presenter, can communicate the message more powerfully.
 
Gift #3: Management of Presentation Nerves and Anxiety: a willingness to invest the time in learning how to manage the fear of speaking in front of a group so your audiences can benefit from the full impact of your message.
 
Gift #4: Acceptance of the Value of Rehearsing: the resolve to commit the necessary time to practicing every presentation so that your audience gets your most competent performance.
 
Thanks, Santa, for helping presenters everywhere to be their best! And do be careful on those slippery roof tops.
 

May you all have a very happy holiday season, filled with peace and joy,
compassion and generosity.

Photo Credit:
Flickr/docjohnboy's photostream  C.C. 2.0

 

 

 

Use Contrast in Your Presentation For Better Memorability

We humans love contrast. We employ it in decorating [current hot trend: purple and green]; in fashion [current hot trend: Placid Blue and Hemlock Green with a dash of Radiant Orchid]; in story [long time trend: good vs. evil]; and even in decision making [long time trend: pros and cons].

The reason contrast is so universal is because it highlights and creates memorability. Aren’t you more likely to remember a stunningly decorated room in purple and green than one in all grey? [OK, maybe that’s a female thing]. Contrast implies difference and difference is more memorable than sameness. We are wired to be particularly conscious of differences and they help create meaning for us.

So why not apply this principle to our presentation slide design to enhance the likelihood that our audience will better remember our message?

Now I’m not just talking about contrast between the background color and the font color, although having strong contrast here is indeed a good idea. I’m talking about using contrast in the size and placement of visuals as well as in color and font choice. Here are some ideas to shake up those slides and give your audience more reason to remember your meaning:

• Don’t make all your pictures or illustrations on a slide the same size. Enlarge the one that should have the most prominence in relation to the point you’re making.

• Use greyscale or black and white on the visual that signifies the “before” or the problem. Show the “after” or the solution in vivid color.

• Make the different elements on your slide very different, not just a little different.

• On a bar chart use the same color for all the bars except for the one you want to emphasize. Put that one in a dramatically different color.

• When using visuals to signify old and new or then and now, choose items that will implicitly communicate the message such as a first generation cell phone and an iPhone side by side.

Fiddling with the placement, size and color of your images on the slides may seem like a small thing. But isn’t it worth trying everything we can to enhance the memorability and impact of our presentation?

In Presentations, Normal Isn't The Same As Effective

New normal is a frequently heard phrase these days, describing everything from the tough economy to instability in the Middle East to the make-up of the modern family. I'm thinking maybe it's time for a new normal in presentations because the old normal isn't working very well.

Too many times I hear my clients say, "...but that's the norm...that's what's expected...," when explaining why they continue to follow bad presentation practices. But when did the norm become synonymous with effective?

Let's look at some of the worst "normal" practices and consider what might make for a new normal.

The Norm :: Using copious bullet points, filling up each slide until there's almost no white space left.
The New Normal :: Using only key words and phrases, not sentences, on slides. Drastically reducing word slides in favor of visuals [charts, graphs, illustrations, pictures] and more dialogue with the audience.

The Norm :: Reading from the slides. Continually turning to the screen to read so one's back or side is to the audience.
The New Normal :: Being well enough prepared that reading the slides isn't necessary. Making continual eye contact with the audience to engage them and read their reactions.

The Norm :: Using filler words -- ums, ahs, you knows -- to the extreme both in the middle of and between sentences.
The New Normal :: Replacing filler words with a pause to gather thoughts and let the audience absorb what's been said. Practicing enough before the presentation so the delivery flows smoothly without the crutch of filler words.

The Norm :: Handing out the PowerPoint deck as a take-away.
The New Normal :: Recognizing that the slides and handouts serve two different purposes. In keeping with having less detailed slides, providing a more detailed handout that includes information/resources that will be useful to the audience after the presentation.

Moving from the norm to a new normal doesn't happen overnight. If a major change isn't feasible or comfortable, gradually may be the best way to implement improvements in your presentation practices. Then step by step the norm will become so much more effective.

Photo Credit:
Wikimedia Commons/iPhone&Steve Jobs  C.C. 3.0

 

 

 

 

Infographics Help Audiences Visualize Data

Most presentations are filled with truck loads of data, communicated through slide after slide of mind-numbing bullet points. The likelihood of your audience extracting the significant facts from this data dump is low.

Data is dry and lifeless until you make it come alive.

Enter the infographic.

Wikipedia defines infographics as "graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly." Infographics help an audience better understand complicated data and see patterns and trends. These graphic pictures provide context and tell a story which makes it easier for the audience to find relevance in the information.

The concept of graphically representing complicated information has been around for ages but infographics are currently popular partly perhaps as an antidote to those bullet point-laden slides and partly because of new tools which make them easier than ever to produce.

Here are a few of the tools that will help you create infographics to make your presentations clearer and more memorable:

Easel.ly :: This is a free, web-based app that creates professional-looking graphics. There are a variety of pre-existing themes where you can insert your own text and customize background colors, icons and fonts by dragging and dropping. The tool is easy to use and your infographic can be downloaded as a jpeg or png for your presentation.

Venngage :: Another drag and drop tool with many templates, themes, charts and icons. You can upload data as a CSV to create your chart. The free option only allows for online viewing and sharing while the premium option [currently $19/month] enables you to export as a pdf or png.

Charteo :: This takes the concept of PowerPoint templates to a whole new level. There are over 15,000 slides in this PowerPoint library in a wide variety of charts, graphs, diagrams and tables as well as background images, graphic metaphors, icons and symbols. The slides are 100% editable, including color, and can be downloaded for either Mac or PC. You can purchase an individual slide, an entire presentation or a subscription service.

With any of these tools, it's easy to be seduced with the clever designs and cool bells and whistles. But remember that your primary job is to decide what message, story or pattern you want to communicate with your data and then...and only then...choose the appropriate tool to visualize that data for your audience.

 

Photo Credit:
flickr/Proctor Archives  C.C. 2.0

Save

C-Level Presentation Tip #6: Beware of Too Many Slides

Presentations to senior executives can seem a lot like ice climbing -- the terrain is slippery, it's hard to get a solid grip and the drop is a long way down.

This series of tips will help you make a few tweaks to your presentation practices so you won't slide sideways in those executive presentations.

TIP #6: BEWARE OF TOO MANY SLIDES

Just like sliding down a wall of ice can result in physcial disaster, hiding behind a big deck of slides in the C-Suite can result in career disaster.

Slides can seem like a safe haven in an anxiety-laden senior level presentation -- helpful for jogging your memory and good for taking the focus off you. But having the audience focused on you instead of on the screen is exactly what will make the presentation most impactful. The executives want to hear your opinions, analyses and recommendations, not read them on a slide. Only you can communicate your expertise and your passion.

Keep slides to a minimum so the audience can absorb and process your message. Don't overwhelm them with data especially when you want them to make a decision. You can engage an audience more effectively with dialogue than with slides.

Keep slides clean and simple. Use them only where they can add value or further explain what you're saying. Favor charts, graphs and pictures over bullet points.

 

 

C-Level Presentation Tip #5: Analyze Your Audience
C-Level Presentation Tip #4: Beware of Too Much Detail
C-Level Presentation Tip #3: Expect and Be Happy About Interruptions
C-Level Presentation Tip #2: Link to Business Issues
C-Level Presentation Tip #1: Start with Conclusions

Photo Credit:
flickr/Visit Anchorage PR  C.C. 2.0

 

Book Review: 5 Steps To Conquer 'Death by PowerPoint'

Anyone who reads this blog knows my viewpoint on PowerPoint in presentations: it's generally used as a crutch by most business presenters to make sure they remember what to say, rather than as a mechanism to add additional clarification and depth to the presentation content for the audience.

So it won't surprise you that I am in violent agreement with author Eric Bergman when he states in his new book, Five Steps to Conquer 'Death by PowerPoint': Changing the world one conversation at a time,

"...slides are not working. They stifle discussion. They impede understanding. They hinder decision making.They crush audience participation. They smother critical thinking. They leave boredom and lost productivity in their wake."

Right on, Eric!

Bergman shows his understanding of the pervasiveness of the PowerPoint epidemic early on in the book by citing ten assumptions that people use to justify their practice of mixing the spoken word and the written word in presentations: [It = PowerPoint]

1. Everyone Uses It.
2. It's Expected.
3. People Have Different Learning Styles.
4. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.
5. My Slides Are My Notes.
6. The Audience Can Take Notes.
7. They Can Share the Presentation with Others.
8. People Will Remember Our Key Messages.
9. The Focus is Off Me.
10. It Saves Time.

Then with stories, examples and research, Bergman debunks each of the assumptions and provides a different perspective.

"Stepping off the PowerPoint treadmill requires courage," says Bergman, and to help guide us in this new direction, he provides a 5 step model:

1. Put Your Audience First by tailoring the discussion to the audience's specific needs.
2. Structure the Conversation by using a framework to put ideas into context.
3. Minimize Visual Aids by questioning the value of each and every slide used.
4. Convey Your Message & Personality by creating a relaxed two-way conversational exchange.
5. Answer Questions Throughout by keeping answers short to enhance interaction and interest.

Not new advice, but Bergman fleshes out each one of the steps with lots of background rationale and specific suggestions, making them easy to apply. For further illustration he takes a mock presentation [the Barking Dog] and works it through some of the steps.

One thing I particularly liked about the book was Bergman's assertion that audiences should take some responsibility in this epidemic by demanding better presentations. To this end, he includes an "Audience Manifesto' in the final chapter with recommendations on how to communicate it and a downloadable poster at www.FiveStepstoConquer.com/manifesto.html.

Whether this is the first time you're hearing about an alternative to bullet point-laden slides or whether you've already joined the revolution, Five Steps to Conquer 'Death by PowerPoint' will offer you something to make your presentations more compelling.

New Tools for Your Presentation Toolbox

Just like a carpenter has a box of tools, each appropriate for a certain job, we speakers have access to a presentation tool kit filled with things that can help us to better communicate our message and engage our audiences.

Some of these tools are techniques we draw on like eye contact, body language, stories and voice inflection. And some of the tools are actual products that we can use to enhance and enliven our presentations.

Here are a couple cool products I've come across recently:

PollToGo is a web and mobile application that allows you to quickly and easily create a short poll, have your audience respond and share the results, all by using cell phones (even older ones), smart phones, tablets or laptops instead of dedicated voting devices.

Using a very simple interface, you can create the poll(s) in advance, choosing the type of poll (yes/no, rating, multiple choice, text response) and the duration of the poll (from 1 minute to no limit). Or for even greater audience involvement, you could create the poll during your presentation with the audience suggesting the questions. You then provide the audience with a short URL that they type into their web browser or a QR code that can be scanned by smartphones. Once everyone has voted, you can display the results on a screen and also allow the audience to see the results on their own devices.

At this time, a poll with up to 20 votes is free. You can buy credits for more votes (200 votes for 99 cents) if you have a larger audience.

PollToGo is a great way to take your audience's pulse on an issue, solicit suggestions or use the audience's opinions to reinforce some of the content of your presentation. And since it's so easy to use, you can ask the audience's views several times throughout your presentation to maximize their engagement.  ::www.polltogo.com::

Diagrammer is a brilliant new offering from the queen of visual storytelling for business presentations, Nancy Duarte of Durate Design. Diagrammer offers 4,000 diagrams that "convey variations on key concepts and messages commonly used in presentations and talks."

No more cobbling together PowerPoint shapes for your presentation or foregoing a chart or diagram because it's too difficult or time consuming to create. According to Duarte, "Diagrammer is a unique visual taxonomy that enables communicators to understand their ideas in a more nuanced and accurate way, and guides them to find more evocative and harder-hitting means of conveying their messages."

The diagrams are arranged in five categories, based on the type of relationship(s) you want to show: Flow/Movement; Join/Interconnection; Network; Segment; and Stack. Within each category there are numerous variations to choose from.

Each diagram is 99 cents and, once purchased, may be downloaded into PowerPoint or Keynote and customized as necessary. There is also a robust tutorial and Help section to assist you with changes and customization.  ::www.diagrammer.com::

In your never-ending quest to make your presentations more interesting and impactful for your audiences, consider whether one of these tools would be a useful addition to your presentation toolbox.

 

Photo Credit:
flickr/ChewyHooey  C.C. 2.0

A Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I know you are terribly busy at this time of year building and packing all the toys, motivating the elves, polishing the sleigh and grooming the reindeer. But I could really use your help.
 
Business presenters all over the globe need to make better presentations so that the power of their messages will be truly heard and their audiences will be engaged and take action. Here are the gifts I send to presenters everywhere this holiday season. And Santa, any assistance you could provide in getting these presents distributed would be greatly appreciated.
 
Gift #1: Commitment to The Audience: an unshakable belief that an audience deserves your absolute best and an unwavering focus on making each presentation a valuable experience for those listening to you.
 
Gift #2: Minimal Use of PowerPoint Bullets: the time and energy to develop more visually meaningful and helpful slides to support audience comprehension and retention plus the courage to NOT use PowerPoint when you, the presenter, can communicate the message more powerfully.
 
Gift #3: Management of Presentation Nerves and Anxiety: a willingness to invest the time in learning how to manage the fear of speaking in front of a group so your audiences can benefit from the full impact of your message.
 
Gift #4: Acceptance of the Value of Rehearsing: the resolve to commit the necessary time to practicing every presentation so that your audience gets your most competent performance.
 
Thanks, Santa, for helping presenters everywhere to be their best! And do be careful on those slippery roof tops.
 
 
Professionally Speaking... will be on hiatus for the next three weeks, resuming publication the week of January 10, 2011. 
 
May you all have a very happy holiday season, filled with peace and joy, compassion and generosity.

Photo Credit:
Flickr/docjohnboy's photostream  C.C. 2.0