by Philip Yaffe


I was recently invited to a presentation by an accomplished speaker. Needless to say, his speech was fit structured, his system relaxed and confident, his eye contact and target talking excellent, etc. He usually spoke without slides, on the contrary this era he felt they would reinforce and decorate his message. They didnв t. In fact, they were expanded of a hindrance than a help.


This is not an loney case; it is typical. Over almost 40 elderliness as a notice consultant, I posses seen countless essentially positive speakers cede a especial agreeable uttered presentation, individual to undermine it with slides that detract rather than add.


Why does this happen?


Besides recurrently speakers fail to spot that slides are an integral chunk of the presentation, not an add-on. Likewise, they fail to identify that the customary and practices that underpin the verbal element of the presentation are essentially the equivalent as those that should underpin the visual component.


As a result, the slides seem to be conceived with no corporeal cogitation or structure. Having no coherent schema or checklist to cicerone them, otherwise accomplished speakers develop to comp their slides according to whatever pleases them. They practise dinky battle to в pleaseв the listeners, i.e. exaggerate the communication, which is the solitary positive brain for using slides in the elementary place.


So how can you conception and account slides that add to your presentation rather than detract from it?


Before you can end anything well, you occasion to be aware why you are doing it. Slides should adjust two essential objectives.

1. Benefit the speaker deliver a improved presentation

2. Comfort the listeners more desirable catch the presentation


Both criteria must be taken fully into account. It is not sufficiently for the speaker to be в satisfiedв with the slides. You must besides be sure that they testament indeed hand your listeners catch on and assimilate what you are trying to communicate.



Basic Principles


There is a false admission that most slides - provided not all of them - should be illustrated. Whether your mark is to display the attraction of a tourist destination, the endowment of an architectural concept, the complication of a manufacturing procedure, etc., then illustrations constitute sense. However illustrations can be distracting and for detrimental.


Don't hold it? Then stab this experiment. Extensive a newspaper or periodical to any leaf with a photo. Effort looking exclusive at the upper left handwriting corner of the photo and nowhere else. It is practically impossible. The mo the eye is confronted with a photo, drawing, diagram, etc., there is a characteristic proneness to wander all over it.


Crowded speakers commit the wrongdoing of using illustrations when they indeed aren't needed. Think a speaker telling the audience to glance lone at the centre of a photograph or composite diagram, by reason of that is the alone baggage he wishes to descant about. Nevertheless while he is talking approximately the center, yet of the age the audience will be looking somewhere else, owing to they can't cooperate it. This fixed movement enclosing the counterpart results in split attention, diminishing the blow of the speaker's comments.


The truism that "a picture is payment a thousand words" is undeniably true. On the other hand this is true the problem. An facsimile usually says all the more augmented than what the speaker wants. So while you may itch to manipulate peerless 300 or 400 of those "words" to build your point, the audience will be absorbing all one thousand of them. You keep no sense how they may be interpreting - or misinterpreting - this extraneous information. But you can be persuaded that whatever it is, it is not helping your cause


In short, if your presentation does not naturally phone for images, illustrated slides should be avoided. If it does naturally telephone for images, custom slides with as brief extraneous content as possible.


In the argument "to illustrate" or "not to illustrate", the query invariably arises: Aren't passage slides boring? In a word: No. For two reasons:


1. Matter is visual. The reality that the audience is looking at it makes it a altruistic of illustration. Therefore, entire keeping should be taken to arrange the content on the slide to maximize attractiveness and confirm readability.

2. One shot the speaker can be boring. The market price of slides - text, illustrated, or combined в " completetly depends on how effectively the speaker designs and uses them.


Elements of Compelling Contents Slides


Cogent topic slides generally consist of two parts.


1. Heading

The heading announces the adult to be discussed, thereby preparing the listeners for the material they are about to receive.


2. Body

The entity serves to observe particular aspects of the male announced in the heading. This is the concrete polestar of the slide, and where the most affliction must be taken.


Whenever possible, the oppose should inaugural construct a usual statement, which serves to indicate a unmarried solution idea. The rest of the thing should then reinforce the fundamental conclusion by supporting or enlarging on the habitual statement. This generally takes the conformation of bullet points.


Heading


Accepted Statement
в Flotation info
в Abutment info
в Cooperate info
в Device info


Writing the Text


Letв s concede that the second the slide appears on the screen, humanity will longing to discover it. Letв s very conform that they interpret at differential rates, so some will stop sooner than others. Finally, letв s grant that those who finish rapidly are possible to let their minds wander to thoughts other than the presentation.


This implies loss of attention, which is the at the end part you thirst to happen. So how cook you prevent it?


One course is to grasp the number of subject on the shade to an positive minimum. The less persons accept to read, the extra feasible they will finish deeper or less together, so there is less circumstance for their minds to wander.


Minimal subject on the screen confers another expressing advantage. It encourages community to now re-focus their interest on the speaker for elaboration of what they compass condign read. To abuse a metaphor, you could deliver the slide is the appetizer and what you assert about it is the leading course. What could be exceptional than that!


Almighty short words is repeatedly referred to as в telegraph styleв , owing to this is how clan wrote telegrams in the former to save bread on the digit of words. it basically resources employing sentence fragments rather than filled sentences, eliminating certain articles, using abbreviations, etc. Some speakers yet delete still customary punctuation, notably periods, commas and semicolons at the stop of bullet points. Envisage this example.


A. Conventional


Style of the Text


The style of the paragraph should be telegraphic (key words) in course to:

в Minimize how even paragraph the audience has to peruse on the screen

в Refocus the audience's control on the speaker so that he can elaborate on what they obtain scan on the screen



B. Telegraphic


Style of Text


Telegraphic (key words) to:

в Minimize issue the audience must read

в Refocus audience worry on speaker for elaboration



Both of these slides allow essentially the corresponding information; however, they cause not admit the duplicate impact. Paradigm A is weighty and tedious, and takes appreciable date to read. Action B is fluorescent and crispy, and takes isolated moments to read. Over a series of 20 - 40 slides, which would you prefer?



Election of Colors


Commensurate every other attribute of a slide, its colours should benefit understanding. Colors must not be chosen for their в aesthetic valueв , whereas this oftentimes impedes understanding. Three of the most average mistakes are:


1. Colour combinations that damage readability


The classic excuse is immaculate letters on a blooming background. The cerise tends to в swallowв the white, forming the words backbreaking to read. Other typically flat broke combinations are chalky on blue, low on blue, low on yellow, and bloodshot on black.


Choose color combinations that reinforce readability.


2. As well bounteous colors


Abounding colors on the screen may be в attractiveв , but they are and confusing. In general, column colors to three or four. Any and than this is nearly trustworthy to be detrimental.


3. Color coding


Color coding is the training of identifying related counsel on graphs and charts by assigning them the identical color. This is a commendable concept in books, but not on slides.


First, it almost invariably requires bounteous than four colors, ofttimes salient to in need combinations for readability (e.g. ghastly on blue, copper on black, etc.).


Enhanced importantly, it causes the eye to hint gone the antithetic color trails on the slide while the speaker is talking. This wealth the listeners will not in truth be listening to what you are saying, for their concern will either be split or totally somewhere else.


Backgrounds


The terms в foregroundв and в backgroundв clearly display their purpose. The foreground contains materials deposit up front where they can be easily seen, due to they are the stars of the slide.


The background is there to back the foreground, not to compete with it. In particular, the background should reinforce the text. Inasmuch as conduct the background simple. Avoid confused patterns and other в estheticв artifices that:

в Compete with the text for listener attention

в Assemble the text hard - and sometimes impossible - to recite


Animation


Until quite recently, slides were either 35 mm or overhead transparencies. By their as well nature, they were constant and couldnв t move. With todayв s pc slide software, animation is not apart possible, it is temptingly easy.


Donв t be lured. Handle animation to spotlight vital ideas, not to entertain.


If you are showing a flow chart, animation can affirm the flow. If you are showing bullet points, animation can reinforce the caliber of the popular statement and then everyone group of information supporting it.


Animation used for entertainment normally distracts from the doctrine or ideas the slide is supposed to convey. Flashing lights, spinning texts, cartoon characters stirring in the background, and other в theatrical effectsв may charm the eye, but they damage comprehension.


Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Diary and a marketing comment consultant. He currently teaches a plan in capital writing and bully speaking in Brussels, Belgium. In the в Iв of the Storm: the Incomplex Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) adore a Professional, his recently published book, is available from Anecdote Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).


For also information, contact:

Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: 32 (0)2 660 0405
phil.yaffe@yahoo.com