Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Great PowerPoint Design


Keep It Simple

The KISS rule is the key rule to creating great PowerPoint design. Keep It Simple Stupid, or KISS, is an excellent way to remind yourself that the most effective presentation is the most simple presentation. All the bells and whistles you are tempted to include can add up to a huge distraction.

Unfortunately, there is no simple formula for keeping your design simple. What makes one PowerPoint simple may make another one confusing. Clear and concise simple graphics on the human genome will not appear so simple to anyone not familiar with the field.

Practice Makes Perfect

How can you become a PowerPoint design pro? Is it possible to learn what makes a great PowerPoint or is it intuitive?

Fortunately, there are tips and exercises that will help you design great presentations. However, nothing can replace a creative eye. If you have this you are already a step ahead in the game.

The best way to learn great PowerPoint design is practice. By this, I do not mean you have to design hit or miss presentations for the next year as you practice your skills. Instead, pull out your old PowerPoint presentations and get to work on them.

If you are unhappy with your design ability your old presentations will offer you a wealth of opportunity to practice and fine-tune your skills.

Consider a slide that contains a cartoonish graphic which makes it difficult to interpret data and four lines of text. How can this be reworked to become a powerhouse slide?

To change this slide you must start from scratch. Toss out cartoon-y graphics and hard to read graphics. Do away with lengthily text boxes. Replace these items with a simple graph such as a two color pie chart and one line of explanatory text.

Context is Key
As you practice making edits and when you create real PowerPoint designs always know your audience. The context of the presentation is an important design element.

Technical presentations will tend to require more data and charts than other types of presentations. Marketing and human resource presentations succeed with clear and concise slides.

Keeping a few easy rules in mind can make your next PowerPoint design a winner. Keep it simple and remember your audience to make the best connection.



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