A captivating PowerPoint presentation can have a powerful impact on the audience. It can transfer your passion for that topic or be that final drop you need to seal the deal. Even if you aren’t the best speaker in the world, a good PPT can mask your insecurities and direct people’s attention to the screen.
Now that you understand the immense power that PPT has, are you ready to learn some tips and tricks that will turn you into a real pro?
If the answer is yes, roll up your sleeves, take a pen and paper, and note down the following utmost tips which will keep your audience hooked.
Keep it simple
First of all, let’s clarify one thing. If you are ever having doubts about the amount of content, remember that less is more.
The point is to provide guidance for the message you want to convey. Both for you and your audience.
An overly crowded presentation will confuse the audience and avert them from paying attention.
It is better to have more slides with less content on them than vice versa.
Simplify the text for the best effect. Even if you have a complex thought, break it down to two slides rather than cramming everything in one.
Be bold with color contrast
It is up to you whether you want to use a solid color for a background, an image, or an existing design template.
However, whichever option you go for, make sure that the text and the background are contrasted.
Take a look at the following example:
This presentation is created by Mark Schaefer, an internationally-acclaimed speaker, educator, a best-selling author, and business consultant. Based on his achievements, we have to admit that the man knows what he is doing.
You can see how the bright red and white perfectly stand out against the black background. Now, this is what we call an attention-grabbing color contrast.
Try out 5 by 5 Rule
Have you ever heard about this rule? If the answer is no, it is high time that someone tells you about it.
The rule goes like this: “5 by 5 keeps a presentation alive!”
This refers to bullets you use on the slide. Meaning, that you shouldn’t have more than 5 bullets on one slide. Each bullet should have no more than 5 or 6 words.
In case you have to present a longer list, spread it over two or more slides.
Of course, don’t apply the rule to every slide because no one wants to look at endless slides of lists.
Slip in some visuals
According to the Willy Network report, around 50-80% of the human brain is dedicated to visual processing such as vision, visual memory, colors, shapes, movement, patterns, spatial awareness, and image recollection. Which explains why people who follow directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than those who follow directions without illustrations.
If you have about 3 to 4 pages of text in a row it is time to mix it up. Break up the text with some visuals, graphs, or infographics.
The following slide will show you how a simple image boosts its effectiveness.
Visuals will make your slides more interesting and keep the audience’s attention.
Maintain consistency
For your presentation to have a nice flow, you should aim for consistency.
What needs to be consistent is:
- font theme
- font size
- language style
- transition effects
- animation
- background
Changing up the background is also possible if you want to use different pictures instead of a solid color or template. But in any other case, keep the background the same.
If you mix and match, the variety will confuse the audience.
You need to pull the people in with an effective design and keep their attention by following through.
Considering that not all of you are language experts and may have a difficult time keeping the consistent tone and language style, there is a simple solution. Just team up with some editing services such as Studicus and let them perfect your content.
Be careful with animations and effects
All the possibilities with transition options, animation of text and images, and different effects can steer you in the wrong direction.
If you have words and visuals bouncing all over the screen it will be hard for the audience to concentrate on the message.
When creating a serious, business presentation is it recommendable that you skip the whole animation shenanigans.
In case you do want to apply them, keep it nice and simple. Use the same animation or effect throughout the presentation.
Let’s wrap it up…
Creating a PPT presentation is a creative process. Accordingly, the way you construct it will highly depend on your inspiration and the subject of the presentation.
However, these helpful tips can be applied to a presentation of any sort. Simple tricks such as these will keep you away from overdoing it and help you to evoke interest in the audience.
About The Guest Author:
Melanie Sovann, born in 1990 in the greater LA area, is a seasoned writer and blogger, passionate about a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from technology to sociology. She is currently a writer and editor at BestEssay Education and an avid contributor to 3to5marketing blog and loves every second of it.
