In presentation design one of the biggest pitfalls is overloading your slides with text, bullet points and extraneous information. Truly powerful presentations don't speak for themselves, instead supporting what you have to say with high impact images that reinforce rather than recapitulate your key content.
The best PowerPoint slides follow a simple rule: keep it visual. In today's short article from the design team at ProPoint Graphics we take a look at some key advice on how to make your presentations a visual feast, rather than an overcrowded mess.
Photo credit: Andres Rodriguez
Presentation design tips: keep it visual
Everyone has seen the classic dry PowerPoint presentation, the one with slide after slide of boring text. Well, wake up! In the right hands, PowerPoint does not have to be dull. In fact, PowerPoint presentations should be visual and compelling business tools.
How can a simple PowerPoint presentation evolve into a tool that can help you sell your product, push your message, or gather a crowd around your tradeshow booth? The key is images, photos, illustrations, diagrams and more. Animated or static, stock images or drawings created custom just for you, images can change an average PowerPoint into an attention-grabbing, memorable, effective means of communication and promotion.
PowerPoint presentation design - a picture NOT a thousand words
The proper use of images and graphics is essential to effectively relaying the message of your PowerPoint presentation. The following tips and examples can help you communicate for faster understanding, longer message retention, and better business results.
Make your point with images in your PowerPoint presentation
Engage your audience and use your valuable presentation time most efficiently by incorporating an array of relevant, business-appropriate visual elements into your sales presentation or trade show presentation. In addition, images can serve as recognizable cues on a slide, reminding the presenter of a point to elaborate on or perhaps a hot button issue for the prospect.
Incorporate PowerPoint presentation design elements such as:
- Pictures and photographs
- Diagrams and charts
- Bar and pie Charts, flow-charts, organizational charts and graphs
- Graphical elements including hand drawn illustrations
Avoid text overload in your sales presentations
PowerPoint slides should augment the speaker's message, not reiterate it. A common mistake seen in business presentations is a series of text-heavy, repetitive slides. Although not every point or concept can be presented as an image, the goal is to strike a balance between the use of meaningful graphics and descriptive text.
Using screen after screen of text is not only a bore to your audience -- it is also an obstacle to successful persuasion or instruction.
- Text-heavy slides create monotony and redundancy
- The audience sees the speaker as superfluous. That he is simply reading a script that they could have easily read on their own
- A text-heavy presentation lacks variation and energy and lends itself to time-consuming explanations
Design your PowerPoint for faster message processing and longer retention
In order to persuade your audience, they first have to understand your message quickly and completely. Then they have to remember and retain that information. Longer message retention is essential when audience members must discuss and make decisions about a presentation hours or days after a meeting.
- Our brains process images more quickly than text
- Less effort is required of an audience when pictures support a message
- Good graphics are attention-grabbers - they keep the audience awake, listening, and engaged
- Memories created by images are retained longer and remembered in greater detail
Communicate complex concepts
Diagrams and illustrations can help to communicate clearly and instantly a series of complex concepts. Instead of speaking or writing 1000 words, harness the power of graphics for a concise, effective explanation.
Use your corporate presentation to help achieve your business goals
- Use presentation design to send the right message about your business's capabilities and credentials
- Reinforce important points in your PowerPoint Presentation with compelling images
- Convey your company's strengths and highlight growth areas with graphs and charts
- Strong Images leave strong impressions - the right one's can help close sales
Every presentation is a chance to make a positive impression
A thoughtfully executed, visual presentation will captivate your audience and help you achieve your goals.
Each month the ProPoint Graphics team of experts will provide you with tips and tricks to make your presentation the best that it can be. Of course, if you would like ProPoint Graphics to create a custom PowerPoint or Flash presentation for you, fill out this form for a free estimate.
Originally published as PowerPoint Presentations Should be Visual by ProPoint Graphics
About ProPoint Graphics
ProPoint Graphics specializes exclusively in presentation services. They have expertise in corporate presentation design, rapid production, multimedia, and animation, with software expertise in PowerPoint, Flash, and graphic design application such as Photoshop and Illustrator.
