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Yup: a top selling point for this bad boy is how awesome it looks. Humans are shallow like that. (Source)
Throughout this unit, it seems like we've only been focused on one topic: visual aid design. And we've learned a whole lot about the rules and guidelines to follow when it comes to creating those visuals, especially when it comes to slideshows.
And this is crazy-important.
Think about different things you look for when you buy a car. You want to make sure the price is right for your budget, and you should definitely check to make sure that beauty hasn't been in any major accidents. But it's gotta fit your style, right?
As shallow as it seems, we care about looks. Paint color and interior have to be on point before we sign those papers.
But—to continue the new car metaphor—in this lesson, we'll talk more about what happens after you've made that purchase: how to change the oil, how to check the transmission fluid and tire tread, and what you should do if you get a flat tire. It's the nitty gritty details that are all coming into focus.
Let's get those wheels spinning in this lesson with some discussion on the details of a slideshow. We'll talk about specifics like text fonts and sizes, the colors that'll best emphasize your ideas, and the ways you might think about integrating images. Plus, we'll take a pit stop to explain the strategies you might use when you need to animate something within your presentation.
So grab those keys…we've got a drive ahead of us.
COLOR ME EXCITED
Want to know something cool about Google Slides/PowerPoint? It's got all these pre-made themes you can add to your presentation.
Want to know something not cool about Google Slides/PowerPoint? It's got all these pre-made themes that everyone has seen a million times.
Yes, the themes are convenient. Yes, the themes have nice color schemes. Yes, the themes are easy to add to any presentation. But, since these programs are so popular, everyone has seen these themes a million times. Don't be tempted to use them. That just tells your audience that you're either (A) lazy, or (B) not spending the amount of time you should be on your important presentation.
Instead, create something that's unique to your speech.
First, it's all about the color.
Avoid the headache. Maybe your favorite color is lime green—it's legit color to love. Just not on your slideshow. Skip the yellows, oranges, and other colors that belong in the "neon" category, and use the ones that'll give your slideshow a more professional look, like pastels and bolds.
Black and white = boring and boring-er. Sure, black and white can offer an elegant touch to your presentation if used sparingly and for emphasis. But, in general, just having black and white gives off the vibe that you didn't put much thought into your design. Break out those colors.
One color is for rookies. Instead, aim for a color theme. Ever heard of a little thing called Kuler? Grab hold of one of the antenna, and move it to a color you'd like to use. The other little arms will spin with it, creating a theme of five colors that'll work well together.
Certain topics go well with certain colors. For instance, when you think of technology, you probably think of shades of grey. Or, culinary topics tend to go well with reds. Money topics go well with hues of green. Consider that when you pick the colors of your presentation. Which shades fit best with your topic?
Contrast is a must. This is probably the most important tip in the bunch. You've got to have contrast between your words and the slide. Using a whole bunch of pastels layered over each other is only going to have one effect: forcing your audience to squint. Instead, try to use font colors that contrast with the background for maximum levels of visual clarity.
Resist the rainbow. Yes, colors are good. But, if you've got too many in there, your points will be lost in a sea of rainbow. Try to pick just two or three colors, and only use shades of those on your slide. If your slide has an image, take the dominant colors into account, too. You wouldn't want the picture to clash with your background.
Keep it consistent. We get it. You want the audience to know that you've put a ton of effort into your presentation. But, if you're creating a whole new theme and color scheme for every slide, you're going overboard. To create a unified presentation, use the same theme and colors on every slide in your show.
Who knew there was this much to consider when it comes to coloring our slideshow. Remember the good ol' days when we could just grab any crayon out of the box and do whatever we want?
Yeah. Those days are long gone.
IS "TEXTUALITY" A WORD?
If your slide has more words than what come out of your mouth, chances are that you're doing it wrong.
That's because your audience can't help themselves. They'll automatically read through whatever's on the slide first, meaning they'll miss whatever you've said while they were reading. Then, you'll still be talking about that first bullet point, and they've already read ahead to your next five points. You've made yourself unnecessary as a speaker.
Don't tempt them into being an inattentive audience; help them keep their listening ears on while you're speaking.
Let's talk about a few ideas surrounding text and your slideshow:
Less is more. If you follow the 10-20-30 rule, you'll have ten slides that last for a 20 minute presentation, and you won't use anything smaller than 30 point font. How many words can you really fit onto a slide using massive font like that? Not many. In fact, if you've got more than 30 words, you're running into dangerous territory. Keep things simple, and use the least amount of words possible to get your point across.
Focus on the font. Times New Roman isn't the only heavy lifter out there. In fact, TNR probably isn't even a good option for your slide at all. When you present your slides, you want to use fonts that are sans serif, meaning letters don't have that little extending flourish at the ends of lines. Something about that extra design makes words run together and harder to read on a projection screen, so we don't want those on our slides. Check out the difference.
Revisit color. We already mentioned this once in the previous reading, but it's important enough to say it again: make sure your text doesn't blend with the background. Make sure the contrast is high enough that everything can be easily read by your audience
Text is not a picture. It's a word. Don't try to decorate your text by adding 3-D features, word art, distortions, or shadows to it. Trust us. Your audience just wants the important points, not the important points covered in ribbons and bows.
Not everything will be the same size. Remember those hierarchies we talked about during our lesson on slide design and placement? That comes into play here. Make the most important stuff big, and make the less important stuff smaller. But, don't get too crazy. At most, use three different text sizes. Otherwise, your slide will become too complicated to be effective.
Consistency is a thing. Yes, you'll flip from one slide to the other, and no, the audience won't be coming up to measure your text size with a ruler. But, it's important to keep the text sizes you use pretty consistent throughout your slideshow. Otherwise, you might accidentally overemphasize or underemphasize one of your main points.
Mix it up. You don't have to stick to a single font for your entire presentation. You can integrate one or two different fonts to create a little more visual variety, or even to help emphasize something. Moderation is key, though. Use a max of two to three different fonts, and be sure to keep them consistent across slides.
As you can see, there are quite a few decisions and options when it comes to designing the text of your slide. Who knew there was so much more to your words than just what you wanted to say?
GET THE PICTURE?
Nothing screams slideshow presentation quite like the perfect picture to illustrate your point. But, we don't just want to slap a picture over the entire slide and call it "finished."
There are some general "Please Don't Do This" kind of guidelines we want to call your attention to:
Don't use clip art. It's cheesy and doesn't add value.
Skip the corny stock photos.
Pictures with watermarks or other text not relevant to your presentation aren't a good option.
Instead, here are some strategies you might use when utilizing images in your slideshow presentation:
Use high resolution images. That way, you won't be stuck with a grainy or pixelated giant version blown up on the wall behind you. Quality matters, friends.
Size matters. If your image is super tiny, people are going to be squinting. Make it big so everyone, even the ones way in the back, can easily see the image.
Low quantities are key. A collage of pictures covering a slide is going to come across as cluttered. Stick to a max of three or four images, but know that a single image is going to have the most impact on your audience.
Amputations are a no-no. Are there people in your picture? Make sure you don't accidentally crop off an arm or head in the process of fitting the image to your slide.
Stretching is for yoga, not pictures. Sometimes, when we pull on the edges of pictures to resize them, it ends up stretching and distorting the image. Avoid that by only pulling from the corners, which will keep the length-to-width ratio consistent and the picture stretch-free.
Avoid blocking your important info. Maybe you want to add the silhouette of a businessperson over your line graph showing the progress of a business. That's totally on-topic, and it's a cool effect. But, it's distracting. Stay on-focus, and just show the graph.
Keep movement and eye direction in the slide. Is the person in your picture running? Place the picture so that they're running toward the center of the slide. Are they looking away from the camera? Turn their eye line into the slide. It'll keep the focus on the content of your slide, as opposed to running or looking away from your visual aid.
Stay consistent. If you're using cartoon-like pictures, stick with them. Are you using images of real people? Maintain continuity and only use those types throughout the whole slideshow.
Ever heard of a technique called Pecha Kucha? No, it's not a slideshow type Pokémon. It's a way of displaying several images in quick succession to illustrate a point. And it only uses pictures.
Check out this demonstrative video on what goes into a Pecha Kucha and see what one looks like in action, amazing photos and all.
Where are all those amazing images hiding, though? Where can you find the perfect picture for your slideshow? Check out a few of the following sites:
• Flickr
• Pixabay
• Unsplash
You don't have to use someone else's photo, though. If you just can't find exactly what you're looking for, you might have to break out your own camera to get what you need. That's creativity at its finest.
MOVIN' TO THE GROOVIN'
In today's world, we love our gadgets. Anything that can move or talk of its own accord always seems to fascinate us. And, when we get on a roll with a PowerPoint presentation, those animations beg for us to use them. They're so cool, right?
Well…maybe not.
First, let's define these terms.
An animation is when something within the slide moves. Text can appear or fly in from the side, or an image can appear to be moving. On the other hand, a transition is the movement that happens when you switch from one slide to the next. It's the animation in the middle.
We hate to break it to you, but transitions and animations are actually another opportunity to distract the audience from the actual content of your speech. And, if your presentation hangs in the balance with the only hope for salvation being a bunch of random transitions, you probably need to head back to the drawing board.
Basically, animations and transitions pull away from the simplicity of your visual aid. When things get too complex, we end up competing with our visual aid for the audience's attention. That's no bueno.
Here's some ideas that'll help keep the attention where it should be: right on that beautiful mug of yours.
The animation should have a purpose. For instance, if you have two parts of an image, but they don't fit well on a single slide, use the transition function in a "push" motion to make it look like you're simply panning across the picture, as opposed to using two sides. Another option might be to hide information or an image until a certain point in your speech. That's one of the basic rules of visual aids: hide it until you're ready to talk about it.
Speed affects the understanding. If you want to create the sense of excitement, energy, or passion, a faster speed is a great way to do that. But, if you want to create a sense of nostalgia or mimic the passage of time, use slower transitions and animations.
Stay as consistent as possible. This isn't as strict of a rule as being consistent in your text font or color scheme, but it's still pretty important to maintain a uniform sense of movement in your slideshow. If you use one transition style in the beginning and feel the need to add another later, see if you can make the same transition work for the new spot.
Again, try to limit your use of these transitions and animations. They're just a tool, not a "wow" factor. You are the "wow" factor.
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