10 tips

for making
BEAUTIFUL
SLIDESHOW
PRESENTATIONS
Edahn Small
www.AskEdahn.com
Edahn.Small@gmail.com
Credit: Jessica Castro, unwrittenmemories.com
 Tip #1
KNOW YOUR
GOAL
Be clear about the goal of your presentation
before your begin composing it.
Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly Beautiful

Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr

Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly Beautiful

Just Kidding.

Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr

 Presentations fall into
two main categories:

Technical Persuasive
presentations presentations
teach people make people see
about a topic. The something (like
topic can be your brand) a
anything. certain way.
Most presentations will combine
elements of both.
Dont bore them!
Be focused, but not too dull or repetitive.

Its hard to communicate

when people are busy
playing on their phones...
trust me.
 Tip #2
PLAN IT OUT

Create an outline or storyboard of the major

topics you want to address.
Sketch the basics
1 3
Outline Sequence
your main your slides
points effectively
2
Add detail
to your outline until
you figure out what
you want to say in
each slide
Make sure your presentation follows a
logical or chronological sequence.
Show restraint

Resist the urge to cram everything you

know about your topic into your show.
 If you
try and
tell them
everything,
they wont
remember
anything.
 Tip #3
AVOID STOCK
TEMPLATES
Run away! Run away!
Pop quiz, hotshot:
Which slide is more memorable?
(in a good way)

Exhibit A Exhibit B
 Trick question.
Theyre both vomit.
And both templates.
The Problems with Stock Templates
They lead to infinite bullet point syndrome (IBPS)
They discourage graphics
Every slide ends up looking the same
The designs are usually hideous
The presentation looks like every slideshow
presentation youve ever seen
Your audience will lose interest and focus after
slide number one zero
It reminds people of the 90s (thats bad)
Build your own
theme instead.
But h-h-how?

Tip #4 Tip #5 Tip #6

Color Fonts Layout
 Tip #4
CHOOSE A
COLOR SCHEME
Choose 5 colors that look good together and
match the tone of your presentation.
 Pick 5 colors and
alternate them in your slides.

Choose one accent color that

stands out from the rest.
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

ColourLovers.com
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

Mellow and
modern

ColourLovers.com
 Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

Mellow and
modern

Passionate and
aggressive

ColourLovers.com
 Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

Mellow and
modern

Something
about
Passionate and scarves
aggressive

ColourLovers.com
Websites to help you pick color schemes
(for free)

http://www.colourlovers.com
User-generated color palettes and more

http://kuler.adobe.com/
Similar to the above

http://www.colorschemedesigner.com/
Computer-generated color palettes

http://www.colorhunter.com/
Upload a picture and it pulls out the main colors
 Tip #5
CHOOSE A
FONT SCHEME
Dont get too crazy with fonts.
Pick 3 and stick to them.
 Choose one font
for titles.
One font for body copy.
One font for body copy.
One font for body copy.

And one font for

accents.

Fonts on this page: Frutiger LT 95 UltraBlack (Title), Frutiger CE 45 Light (Body, Footnote), Airport (Accents)
 Like color, your fonts should also match
the tone of your presentation.

Not so good
Font name Good topic topic

Glamour The 50s Hockey

Chiller Horror Movies Daffodils, Ballet

Space, Tron, Estate Planning

Nasalization Techno Music
 Tip #6
CHOOSE A
LAYOUT SCHEME
Develop a few layouts and repeat them
throughout the presentation for
cohesion and clarity.
Use the same layouts for slides
that have the same purpose.

transition

content

The layout tells your audience where

the slide fits into the big picture.
 You can sometimes get away with just
one layout, but in general, youll need a
few basic layouts:

Transitional slides

Image only slides

Text only slides

Mixed slides
 A few samples
Text Text Text Text
Big Text
Text Text Text Image
Big Text
Transition Impact Quote Impact Image

Title Challenge Title

Subtitle Subtitle
yourself to
Text Text Text Text Text
avoid using any
Text Text Image bullet points.
Text Text Text
Text Text

Content Content
In addition to repeating layouts, you can
also repeat more subtle elements.

Remember me?
Yeah you do.
 Tip #7
USE IMAGES
(WISELY)
After a 30960 minute presentation, no ones
going to remember what you said; theyre going
to remember meaningful imagery and quotes.
Let the images
tell the story
If youre using a
full page image,
find some room
in the picture
where the text
can contrast
against the
background.
If an image is too busy add a
semi9transparent background
behind the text for contrast.
 Like This!

If an image is too busy add a

semi9transparent background
behind the text for contrast.
Use images where the
background of the
image blends into the
background of the
page. The white space
around it makes it look
clean and makes the
image pop.


If you can see the
background, the effect is
ruined. (In this case, you
might consider making
the background black.)

Protip: In Google images, you can filter images by color in


the left%hand column. Choose white and youre more
likely to find images with white backgrounds. You can
also try searching for <query> white background.
 Sites with free high quality stock images

http://www.sxc.hu/
Stock exchange has beautiful images.

http://www.morguefile.com
Dont forget to give Almost no restrictions on these files.
credit when required.
http://www.everystockphoto.com/
Compiles images from other sites.

http://flickr.com/creativecommons
Requires that you include an attribution.
 Tip #8
15 WORDS
OR LESS
For live presentations
 In general,
if youre giving a
presentation
live
keep your slides to
15 words
or less.
Limit one main
point per slide.
Limit oneoverload
main
When you start to
a slide
point per slide.
Limit oneoverload
main
When you start to
a slide
pointYour audience
percan slide.
get distracted
 And may begin to
wonder

Limit oneoverload
main
When you start to
a slide
pointYour audience
percan slide.
get distracted
 And may begin to
wonder
What the hell 60
Limit one main
Pomeranians When you start to
overload a slide
pointYour audience
percan slide.
get distracted
 And may begin to
wonder
What the hell 60
Limit one main
Are doing in a
slideshow about
Pomeranians When you start to
overload a slide
pointYour audience
percan slide.
slideshows anyway

get distracted
 And then your
main point is lost.
 Tip #9
PLAY WITH
TYPOGRAPHY
Its an easy way to spice up slides with text
 Typography

Content is what the text says; typography is

how it appears. By manipulating attributes like
color, font, size, weight, and position
you can enhance the impact and visual interest
of your slides and create hierarchy.
Impact

A quote splashed
across the screen
breaks up the
monotony and
looks interesting.
Interest

By moving
you
text around can
create
interesting effects
Interest

By moving text around

you can create

interesting
effects
Interest

By moving
text around
you can create
interesting effects
Hierarchy

Changing the type,

color, and placement
of the text affects

how its interpreted

and the order in
which its read.
 Tip #10
DONT
OVERDO IT
Remember white space
Design like Not like
the Google Yahoo
 http://thedegreys.blogspot.com/

A slide cant function right

if theres too much stuff on it.
The white space that surrounds the
object adds emphasis and gives the
page a clean, fresh feeling.

Credit: Ramzi Hashisho

 The white space that surrounds the
object adds emphasis and gives the
page a clean, fresh feeling.

X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
Credit: Ramzi Hashisho
 Summary
1. Know your goal | make each slide count
2. Plan it out | in some detail
3. Avoid templates | they have the uglies
4. Choose a color scheme | 4 colors, 1 accent
5. Choose a font scheme | match tone
6. Choose a layout scheme | comprehension
7. Use images (wisely) | theyre more memorable
8. 15 words per slide | this slide had 16 words
9. Play with typography | impact, interest, hierarchy
10.Dont overdo it | white space
And remember
 dont be afraid to
BREAK THE RULES
About the author

Edahn Small is a content manager and writer in

Los Angeles, California.

Email: edahn.small@gmail.com
Web: http://www.AskEdahn.com
Twitter: @askedahn
The End.