PRESENTATION
ZEN
• Introduction
[1] Presenting in Today’s World
• Preparation
[2] Creativity, Limitations, and Constraints
[3] Planning Analog
[4] Crafting the Story
• Design
[5] Simplicity: Why It Matters
[6] Presentation Design: Principles and Techniques
[7] Sample Slides
• Delivery
[8] The Art of Being Completely Present
[9] Connecting With an Audience
• The Next Step . . .
[10] The Journey Begins
Design
When in doubt . . . add more ???
Many people confuse simple with simplistic &
simplism—something that is “dummied-down”
to the point of being deceptive or misleading
Simple also is seen as oversimplification of an
issue, which ignores complexities & can create
outright falsehoods
The kind of simplicity needed comes from an
intelligent desire for clarity that gets to the
essence of an issue
Creating messages & visual designs that are
“simple” doesn’t mean taking shortcuts, or
ignoring complexities, or endorsing meaningless
sound bytes & shallow content
Simplicity =
clarity
directness
subtlety
essentialness
minimalism
The simple solutions
are not necessarily
the easiest
BUT
the results may end up
being the “easiest” to
use for the end user
The best visuals are often ones designed with an
eye towards simplicity
The specifics of a visual presentation, though,
will depend on the content & context
• Simplicity is often used as a means to greater
clarity
• Simplicity can also be viewed as a consequence
– A consequence of our careful efforts to craft a story
& create supporting visuals that focus on our
audience’s needs in a clear & meaningful way
Steve Jobs
• Jobs was clear & to the point
• His presentations generated a lot of buzz about the
content
– His content was easily grasped & remembered by both the
media & regular customers
– There was both a verbal & visual clarity—this is what
leaders do!
– In Jobs’s slides you can see evidence of restraint, simplicity,
& powerful yet subtle use of empty space
– He used slides to complement his talks—the visuals didn’t
overpower him but they were a necessary part of the talk
– He told a story & he interacted with the audience in a
natural way, rarely turning his back on the audience
Simplicity means the achievement of maximum
effect with minimum means
When you look at your visuals, can you say that
you are getting the maximum impact with a
minimum of graphic elements?
Principles to apply:
– Simplicity
– Subtlety
– Elegance
– Suggestive rather than the descriptive or obvious
– Naturalness (i.e., nothing artificial or forced)
– Empty (or negative) space
– Stillness/Tranquility
– Eliminating the nonessential
Learning from the Art of Comics
• Cartooning is a form of ‘amplification through
simplification’ because the abstract images in
comics aren’t so much the elimination of
detail as they are an effort to focus on specific
details
• Simple style doesn’t necessitate simple story
• Most people haven’t been exposed to the idea
of making a visual stronger by stripping it
down to its essence
• Less always equals less in some people’s eyes
Advice to live by:
– All that’s needed is the desire to be heard
– The will to learn
– And the ability to see
Simplicity is Not Easy
Time is a constraint for us, but when planning a
presentation, what if we took the notion of
“timesaving” & looked at it from the point of
our audience instead of our own personal
desires to do things more quickly & save time?
Your audience will be happy if you are a speaker
who is engaged, has done your homework, has
prepared compelling visuals which add rather
than bore, & generally make them happy that
they attended!
Save time for your audience by not only not
wasting their time but instead by sharing
something important with them
Summary
• Simplicity is powerful & leads to greater clarity,
yet it is neither simple nor easy to achieve
• Simplicity can be obtained through the careful
reduction of the nonessential
• As you design slides, keep the following concepts
in mind:
– Subtlety
– Grace
– Understated elegance
• Good designs have plenty of empty space—
think “subtract” not “add”
• While simplicity is the goal, it is possible to be
“too simple”—your job is to find the balance
most appropriate to your situation
Design
Without a good knowledge of the place &
circumstance, & the content & context of a
presentation, it is difficult to say what is
“appropriate” & that is “inappropriate”
necessarily, let alone to judge what is “good” or
“bad”
What is meant by design?
Presentation Design
• Design is necessary & a way to organize
information in a way that makes things clearer
• It is also a medium for persuasion
• Design is more about subtraction than
addition
– Visually, we don’t want to include too much,
nor do we want to exclude too much
It might be tempting to show how smart,
knowledgeable, & well-prepared you are by
showering the audience with details—but if that
information doesn’t really help you tell your
story, & doesn’t help the audience understand
your main points, then it just gets in the way
You will force the audience members to search
for the information-bearing needle in the
haystack of your words & graphics—
& they will probably just give up!
• In the world of design, there is more than 1
solution to a single problem
• Ultimately, you need to look for the most
appropriate solution for the problem, given
the context of your information
• Design is about making conscious decisions
about inclusion & exclusion
General Design Principles
• There are 7 interconnected design principles
that are fundamental to good slide design
• The first 2
– Signal vs. Noise Ratio
– Picture Superiority Effect
Are quite broad concepts but with practical
applications to slide design
• The 3rd (Empty Space) helps us look at slides in a
different way & appreciate the power of what is
not included to make visual messages stronger
• The final 4 principles are grouped together in
what is called “The Big 4” of basic design
principles:
–
–
–
–
Contrast
Repetition
Alignment
Proximity
[1] Signal vs. Noise Ratio
• Borrowed from radio & electronic
communications
– Applied to design & communication problems in any
field
• The ratio of relevant to irrelevant elements or
information in a slide
• The goal is to have the highest signal-to-noise
ratio possible
– Means communicating (designing) with as little
degradation to the message as possible
Degradation to the message:
• Selection of inappropriate charts
• Using ambiguous labels & icons
• Unnecessarily emphasizing items such as lines,
shapes, symbols, & logos that don’t play a key
role in support of the message
• If the item can be removed w/o compromising
the visual message, then strong consideration
should be given to minimizing the element or
removing it altogether
– Examples:
• Lines in grids or tables can be made quite thin, lightened,
or even removed
• Footers & logos can usually be removed w/good results
“The Smallest Effective Difference”
• Make all visual distinctions as subtle as
possible but still clear & effective
• If the message can be designed w/fewer
elements, then there is no point in using more
Examples – p. 123-125
But Is the Nonessential Always “Noise”?
– It is generally true that unnecessary elements decrease the
design’s efficiency & increase the possibility of unintended
consequences – a minimalist approach can be the most
efficient
– Efficiency itself is not necessarily an absolute good or always
the ideal approach
• Display designs that include the highest SNR possible w/o any
adornment
• Use a lot of photographic images in presentations
• When you use a chart or table, don’t place any other elements on the
slide
• It is OK to place a chart or table over a background image as long as
there is proper contrast
• There are other times when you will want to
add or keep elements that serve to support
the message at a more emotional level
• Clarity should be your guiding principle
• Balance is important & the use of emotional
elements depends on your particular
circumstance, audience, & objectives
Examples – p. 126
The 1st slide is simple
The last slides have “nonessential elements”
added that make the slide more interesting, but
do not necessarily increase clarity
Any of the designs may be appropriate,
however, depending on the situation
Examples – p. 127
• A simple bar chart w/o the use of an image
• The same simple data w/an image added—the
image complements the underlining theme –
save the planet – w/o getting in the way of the
chart
2-D or Not to 2-D?
• Taking 2-D data & creating a 3-D chart doesn’t
simplify it
• The idea is that 3-D may add emotion, but when
it comes to charts & graphics, you should aim for
simple, clean, & 2-D
(for 2-D data)
• What is essential & what is extra is up to you to
decide, but stripping away the extra ink in 3-D
charts is a good place to start
• A 3-D representation of 2-D data increases the
“ratio of ink-to-data”
– 2-D charts & graphs will almost always be a better
solution
– 3-D charts appear less accurate & can be difficult
to comprehend—the viewing angle of 3-D charts
often makes it hard to see where data points sit
on an axis
– If you do use 3-D charts, avoid extreme
perspectives
Examples – p. 129
Who Says Your Logo Should Be on Every Slide?
• “Branding” is one of the most overused &
misunderstood terms in use today
– Many people confuse the elements of brand identity
with brand or branding
– If you are presenting for an org. , try removing logos
from all except the 1st & last slide
– If you want people to learn something & remember
you, then make a good, honest presentation
– The logo won’t help sell or make a point, but the
clutter it brings does add unnecessary noise & makes
the presentation visuals look like a commercial
Slide real estate is limited as it is, so don’t clutter
it with logos & trademarks, footers, & so on
If you want people to hear & understand your
visual message, the answer is not to add more
clutter but to remove it all
A Word About Bullet Points
The 1-7-7 Rule: What is it?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Have only one main idea per slide
Insert only seven lines of text maximum
Use only seven words per line maximum
The question is through: does this work?
Is this method really good advice?
Is this really an appropriate, effective “visual”?
This slide has just seven bullet points!
• A series of text-filled slides w/plenty of charts
or tables shows that you are a “serious
employee”
• Never mind that the audience can’t really see
the detail in the slides well (or that the
executive board doesn’t really understand
your charts” – if it looks complicated it must
be “good”
• No one can do well w/slide after slide of bullet
points
• Bullet points work well when used sparingly in
documents to help readers scan content or to
summarize key points
• Bullet points are not usually effective in a live
talk
How Many Bullet Points per Slide?
A good general guideline is to use bullet points
only very rarely & only after you have
considered other options for displaying the
information in a way that best supports your
point visually
– Sometimes bullet points may be the best choice
depending on your content, objectives, &
audience
– Use of bullet points should be a rare exception
Example 1: Bulleted slide
Example 2: No bullets
Remember these six aptitudes:
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•
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Not just function, but also DESIGN
Not just argument, but also STORY
Not just focus, but also SYMPHONY
Not just logic but also EMPATHY
Not just seriousness, but also PLAY
Not just accumulation, but also MEANING
DESIGN
STORY
SYMPHONY
not only function
not only argument
Not only focus
EMPATHY
PLAY
MEANING
not only logic
not only seriousness
not only accumulation
• The 1st slide is a bullet list of information
• The 2nd slide uses about ½ the text to
summarize the key points in a more engaging,
visual way
Picture Superiority Effect
• Pictures are remembered better than words,
especially when people are casually exposed
to the information & the exposure is for a very
limited time
– When information recall is measured just after
exposure to a series of pictures or a series of
words, the recall for pictures & words is about
equal
– The ‘picture superiority effect’ applies when the
time after exposure is > 30 seconds
• Use the picture superiority effect to improve
the recognition & recall of key info.
• Use pictures & words together , & ensure that
they reinforce the same info. for optimal
effect
• The effect is strongest when the pictures
represent common, concrete things
The picture superiority effect is used widely in
marketing communications
– Posters
– Billboards
– Brochures
– Annual reports
• The effect should be kept in mind too when
designing slides (images & text) that support a
narrative
• Visual imagery appears to be a powerful
mnemonic tool that helps learning & increases
retention compared to witnessing someone
read words off a screen
Going Visual
• Images are a powerful & natural way for
humans to communicate
• Use visuals to tell a story or prove a point
• “Going Visual” is about using images to
improve communication & business
Example:
You could write or talk about how a recent fire
impacted production – but wouldn’t it be far
more powerful to send pictures with a smaller
amount of text (or spoken words) to describe
the situation?
What would be more memorable?
Which would have more impact?
• Slides – p. 133
The slide serves to enhance the presenter’s spoken words, &
since people aren’t reading, they can actually listen to you!
Using images is an effective way to compare &
contrast images
– What information are you representing w/the
written word on a slide that you could replace w/a
photograph or other appropriate image or
graphic?
• Use text for labeling
– If you are using text on a slide for describing
something, you could probably use an image
instead more effectively
• Images are powerful, efficient, & direct
• Images can also be used very effectively as
mnemonic devices to make messages more
memorable
If people can’t listen & read at the same time,
why do most PPT slides contain far more words
than images?
– Originally – due to limitations of technology
Modern presentations w/slides & other
multimedia have more in common w/cinema &
comics than they do w/written documents
Today’s presentations have more in
common w/a documentary than an
overhead transparency
• Slides p. 136 - 139
• Long bullet points aren’t very effective as a
“visual enhancer”
• Displaying quotations can be a very powerful
technique
– Conclusions are much more credible when backed up
w/great sources
– A simple quote is a great springboard from which you
can launch your next topic or weave into your
narrative to support your points
– Quotes should be short
Text Within Images
• When using a quote, using a graphic element will
add more visual interest, & enhance the effect of
the slide
• Consider placing the text w/in a larger photo
– Use an image that is at least as large as your slide
dimensions for your background
– Look for an image that supports the point you are
making w/the quotation
– The image should have plenty of empty space so your
text can fit comfortably in the slide w/good contrast
• Slides p. 142-143
Empty Space
AKA negative space or white space
– Implies elegance & clarity
– Conveys a feeling of high quality, sophistication, &
importance
– Has a purpose
– Gives a design air & lets the positive elements breathe
– Is not “nothing”
– The emptiness is a powerful design element itself
– The more we add, the more diluted & less effective
the design of our graphic becomes
Using Empty Space
• Break a slide w/6 bullets into 6 slides
w/graphics
• Don’t put all of the words that are spoken on
the slide
• Guide the viewer’s eyes
– When a new slide is revealed, the eye will be
naturally drawn to the image 1st then go to the
text element
Directing the Eye With Images
– If the text element is the highest priority, make
sure the images guide your eyes toward the
element
– Does it look harmonious?
Balance
– 1 way to achieve good balance & clarity w/a design is
through the intelligent use of “empty space”
– A well-balanced design has a clear, single, unified
message
– A well-designed slide has a clear starting point &
guides the viewer through the design
– The viewer shouldn’t have to think about where to
look
– A visual must never confuse anyone
What is the most important, less important, &
least important parts of the design can be
clearly expressed by having a clear hierarchy & a
good balance of the display elements
• Empty space can be dynamic & active through
careful placement of positive elements
• Conscious use of empty space can even bring
motion to your design
– The empty space isn’t passive but active
If you want to bring a more dynamic feel &
interest to your slide design, then consider using
an asymmetrical design
– Active empty space & make your design more
interesting
– More informal & are dynamic, w/a variety of sizes
& shapes
Symmetrical designs have a strong emphasis
along a central vertical axis
– Vertically centered & is equivalent on both sides
– More static than asymmetrical designs & invoke
feelings of formality or stability
– Nothing wrong w/centered, symmetrical designs,
although empty space in such designs is generally
passive & pushed to the side
• Design is about seeing & manipulating shapes
• If we don’t see the empty space in a slide as a
shape, then it will be ignored & any use of
empty space will be accidental
– The results won’t be as powerful
Good presentations will incorporate a series of
presentation visuals that have a mix of slides that are
symmetrical & asymmetrical
• Pics p. 149 - 150
Grids & the Rule of Thirds
• Artists & designers have introduced a
proportion called the “golden mean” or
“golden ratio” found in nature into their works
– The golden section rectangle has a proportion of
1:1.618
– We are naturally drawn to images that have
proportions approaching the golden section
rectangle
• The Rule of Thirds is derived from the golden
mean
– A basic design technique that can help you add
balance (symmetrical or asymmetrical), beauty, &
a higher aesthetic quality to your visuals
Photographers learn for framing their shots
• Subjects placed exactly in the middle make for an uninteresting
photo
• A viewfinder can be divided by lines so that you have 4
intersecting lines or crossing points & 9 boxes
– The 4 crossing points are called power points
– Might place your main subject here, rather than in the center
• There is no liberty in “absolute freedom”
when it comes to design
– You need to limit your choices so that you don’t
waste time adjusting every single design element
to a new position
– Virtually every website & every page in a book or
magazine is built atop a grid
– Grids can save you time & ensure that your design
elements fit more harmoniously on the display
Using grids to divide your slide canvas into
thirds, is an easier way to at least approach
golden-mean proportions, & you can use the
grids to align elements that give the overall
design balance, a clear flow & point of focus, & a
natural overall cohesiveness & aesthetic quality
that isn’t accidental but is by design
• Slides p. 152
The Big Four
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•
•
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Contrast
Repetition
Alignment
Proximity
Understanding these simple related concepts &
applying them to slide design can make for far
more satisfying & effective designs
Contrast
• Simply means difference
• What we notice & what gives a design its
energy
• Make elements that aren’t the same clearly
different, not just slightly different
One of the most powerful design concepts because
any design element can be contrasted with another
– Manipulation of space
Near & far; empty & filled
– Color choices
Light & dark; cool & warm
– Text selection
Serif & Sans Serif; bold & narrow
– Positioning of elements
Top & bottom; isolated & grouped
Making use of contrast can help you create a design
in which 1 item is clearly dominant
– Helps the viewer “get” the point of your design
quickly
– Every good design has a strong & clear focal point &
having a clear contrast among elements (w/1 being
clearly dominant) helps
– If all items in a design are of equal or similar weight
w/weak contrast & w/nothing being clearly dominant,
it is difficult for the viewer to know where to begin
Designs w/strong contrast attract interest
– Helps the viewer make sense of the visual
Weak contrast can be boring & confusing
Every single element of a design such as line,
shape, color, texture, size, space, type, etc., can
be manipulated to create contrast
• Slide examples p. 154
Repetition
The principle of repetition means the reusing of
the same or similar elements throughout your
design
Brings a clear sense of
– Unity
– Consistency
– Cohesiveness
Contrast is about showing differences
Repetition is about subtly using elements to make sure
the design is viewed as being part of a larger whole
– Gives a professional & unified look
– Using stock templates that have a consistent background &
consistent use of type adds unity
– Be careful of overused stock designs & tiring elements of
being used too much
– Occasionally shift size & location in harmony w/content of
different slides in a subtle way that doesn’t interfere w/the
primary message
Alignment
• Obtaining unity among elements of a single
slide
– Nothing in your slide design should look as if were
placed there randomly
– Every element is connected visually via an invisible
line [use grids]
– When placing elements on a slide, try to align
them w/another element
Most people fail to make an effort to apply the
alignment principle  elements being almost
aligned but not quite
– These kinds of slides look less sophisticated &
overall less professional
– Slides that contain elements in alignment look
cleaner
Proximity
Moving things closer or farther apart to achieve a
more organized look
– Related items should be grouped together so that
they will be viewed as a group, rather than as several
unrelated elements
– Audiences will assume that items that aren’t near
each other in a design aren’t closely related
– Audiences will naturally tend to group similar items
that are near to each other into a single unit
People shouldn’t have to “work” at trying to
figure out which caption goes w/which graphic
or whether or not a line of text is a subtitle or a
line of text unrelated to the title
Do not make audiences “think” about the wrong
stuff – like trying to decipher your slide’s
organization & design priority
We must be conscious of where our eye goes 1st
when we step back & look at our design
What path does your eye take?
• Slides pgs 158-161
Summary
• Design matters
– Design is about communication as easy & clear for the
viewer as possible
• Signal vs. Noise principle
– Remove all non-essential elements
– Remove visual clutter
– Avoid 3-D effects
• People remember visuals better than bullet
points – always ask yourself how you can use a
strong visual—including quantitative displays—to
enhance your narrative
• Empty space is not nothing; it is a powerful
something
– Learn to see & manipulate empty space to give
your slide designs greater organization, clarity, &
interest
• Use the principle of contrast to create strong
dynamic differences among elements that are
different – if it’s different, make it very
different
• Use the principle of repetition to repeat selected
elements throughout your slides – this can help
give your slides unity & organization
• Use the principle of alignment to connect
elements visually (through invisible lines) on a
slide
– Grids are very useful for achieving good alignment
– This will give your slide a clean, well-organized look
• Use the principle of proximity to ensure that
related items are grouped together
– People will tend to interpret items together or
near to each other as belonging to the same group
Design
In this chapter, you can review slides from
several different presenters who make
presentations often in “the real world”
It is difficult to judge the effectiveness of a slide
design w/o seeing how the visuals are used in a
live talk
Though the content & circumstances are
different in each case, what the slides in this
chapter have in common is that they are simple,
highly visual, & served (or could serve) a
successful supportive role in a live talk,
augmenting the presenter’s narrative & helping
to make things clear
Your slides should be engaging & “part of the
show,” but they must also be easy to understand
quickly
– If you need to explain something quite complex,
then build (animate) the parts of your chart of
diagram in steps in a way that is logical & clear
– Simplicity, restraint, & harmony are important
considerations when designing slides or other
multimedia
• The goal is not to make slides “look good”
• The goal is clarity
However, if you design slides while always
mindful of the principles of simplicity &
restraint—as well as the basic design concepts
outlined in the last chapter—your slides will
indeed look attractive
Garr Reynolds: Sample Slides – Before & After
Garr Reynolds: How to Present Data [2:21]
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Differentiation (p. 166-167)
Shift Happens (p. 168-169)
The Sustainable Food Lab (p. 170-171)
Truemors (p. 172)
My Declaration of Independence (p. 173)
Aromatic Chemistry (p. 174-175)
Presenting on Animal-Based Issues (p. 176-177)
Inbox Zero (p. 178)
Summary
A good visual will enhance the speaker’s
message
What you design your slides or other visuals to
look like depends completely on your unique
situation & your audience, but keep the
following in mind:
• Create visuals that are simple with clear
design priorities that contain elements which
guide the viewer’s eye
• Have a visual theme but avoid tired, overused
software templates
• Limit bullet points or avoid them completely
• Use high quality graphics
• Build (animate) complex graphics to support
your narrative
• Think
“maximum effect with minimum means”
• Learn to see empty space, & learn to use it in
a way that brings greater clarity to visuals