The document is a presentation by Ian Lurie critiquing common mistakes in presentations. It begins by showing an example of a poorly designed presentation with issues like self-promotion, random colors and fonts, lack of structure. It then provides an annotated version explaining the problems with each slide and better alternatives. The overall message is to focus presentations on the audience, only include necessary information, and rehearse properly.

1. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
PRESENTATION HORRORS: DON’T DO THESE THINGS

2. NEW BOLD COLOR!Hi. I’m Ian Lurie. CEO of an
overflowing-with-awesome internet
marketing agency called Portent.
@portentint

3. NEW BOLD COLOR!
This presentation is every bad
thing I’ve ever done when
creating a presentation. Read,
learn, and avoid my embarrassing
moments.
@portentint

4. NEW BOLD COLOR!It’s actually TWO presentations:
First, the bad presentation. Then
the same presentation, annotated.
@portentint

5. CATCHY
TITLEWITH SQUARED FONTS
Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
WHICH IS WONDERFUL, BUT NOW YOU NEED A SUBTITLE
SIMPLY TO EXPLAIN THE TITLE

6. SELF-PROMOTION
@portentint

7. SELF-PROMOTION
@portentint

8. SELF-PROMOTION
@portentint

9. SELF-PROMOTION
@portentint

10. WITTY ANECDOTE!
@portentint

11. NEW BOLD COLOR!
@portentint

12. SUMMARY OF WHAT
YOU’LL HEAR
@portentint

13. LIST
@portentint

14. OF
@portentint

15. POINTS
@portentint

16. BUT NO BULLETS
@portentint

17. • Now I’m going to use bullets
• So I can string stuff together
• And because I got really tired
• And because I didn’t rehearse, so I’m going to read this to
you
@portentint

18. • OK but now
• I’m using bullets because
• I know people will
• want to read this later and remember
• what I talked about
@portentint

19. COLORS USED
RANDOMLY
@portentint

20. COLORS USED
RANDOMLY

21. COLORS USED
RANDOMLY
@portentint

22. F-BOMB!!!! SWEARING!
AUDIENCE LAUGHS, SO
I’LL DO IT MORE!!!
@portentint

23. OOOOH, AAAH,
ANIMATED TEXT
@portentint

24. SELF-PROMOTION
@portentint

25. ACCIDENTAL
@portentint

26. ANIMATION
@portentint

27. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint

28. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint

29. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint

30. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint

31. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint

32. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint

33. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint

34. Look! Drop shadows!!!
@portentint

35. JOKE ABOUT HOW IT’S JUST BEFORE/AFTER
LUNCH/COFFEE/A BIG PARTY LAST NIGHT
@portentint

36. OBLIGTORY TYPO
@portentint

37. HEY, LET’S GET POLITICAL!!!!!
@portentint

38. LAST YEAR’S SLIDE
@portentint

39. ANOTHER LAYOUT
AT RANDOM
@portentint

40. STOCK PHOTO TO
‘HUMANIZE’ PRESENTATION

41. BETCHA CAN’T READ THIS

42. BETCHA CAN’T READ THISI PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THIS IMAGE
SO I’M GOING TO USE IT DAMMIT.
@portentint

43. I FORGOT
YOU USE 4:
@portentint

44. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1
2
3
4
5
Foobly
stuff
Foobly
stuff

45. SELF-PROMOTION
@portentint

46. OHGODI’MOUTOFTIME
SOIWILLRUSHTHROUGH
THELASTPARTSSOFAST
YOULEARNNOTHING
@portentint

47. TANGENT RANT THING
@portentint

48. @portentint

49. LOW-CONTRAST. IT’S
ARTISTIC AND STUFF.
@portentint

50. DIFFERENT FONTS
BECAUSE IT’S ARTISTIC
TOO
@portentint

51. WTF??! THIS ISN’T
KNOCKOUT BOLD!!!
@portentint

52. LOOK! I GOT ALL
DESIGNY AND STUFF.

53. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
logo here
phone
address
first-born male child’s name
CONTACT ME!
PLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASE

54. @portentint
Let’s analyze this
presentation, shall we?

55. CATCHY
TITLEWITH SQUARED FONTS
I’m guilty of this.
Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
WHICH IS WONDERFUL, BUT NOW YOU NEED A SUBTITLE
SIMPLY TO EXPLAIN THE TITLE

56. SELF-PROMOTION
OK, no problem
@portentint

57. SELF-PROMOTION
OK, no problem
@portentint

58. SELF-PROMOTION
Wait…
@portentint

59. SELF-PROMOTION
K now it’s becoming a
problem. 5 minutes of self-
promotion in a 30-minute
presentation? Not OK.
@portentint

60. WITTY ANECDOTE!
Please, make it relevant
And not offensive
I once cracked a joke making fun of
economists and their fashion choices.
At an economics conference.
Guess what? They didn’t laugh. I felt
like an idiot for the rest of my talk.
Oh, see that? That was an anecdote.
@portentint

61. NEW BOLD COLOR!
GAAAH My eyes!!!!
Try a natural color palette
for starters

62. SUMMARY OF WHAT
YOU’LL HEAR
I actually don’t suggest a
summary
Try going naturally from
one point to the next,
instead
@portentint

63. LIST
@portentint

64. OF
You’re avoiding bullets.
That’s great!!!!
But there is a place for
bullets in presentations
@portentint

65. POINTS
Bullets are meant for lists
If you have a real list
@portentint

66. BUT NO BULLETS
So use bullets for lists
@portentint

67. Oy. This is bloody awful.
Don’t use bullets as
punctuation, or to string
thoughts together
• Now I’m going to use bullets
• So I can string stuff together
• And because I got really tired
• And because I didn’t rehearse, so I’m going to read this to
you
@portentint

68. Still no.
Consider doing a separate
annotated version (like
what you’re reading now)
instead.
• OK but now
• I’m using bullets because
• I know people will
• want to read this later and remember
• what I talked about
@portentint

70. COLORS USED
RANDOMLY
@portentint

71. COLORS USED
RANDOMLY
@portentint

72. COLORS USED
RANDOMLY
Why? Use colors to
delineate sections or
different ideas
@portentint

73. F-BOMB!!!! SWEARING!
AUDIENCE LAUGHS, SO
I’LL DO IT MORE!!!
Not recommended,unless you
can really pull it off and
have the right audience.
The audience often
laughs because they’re
uncomfortable with you
swearing like a sailor.

74. OOOOH, AAAH,
ANIMATED TEXT
Please, no. Ask: Does it
serve a communications
purpose? No? Forget it.

75. SELF-PROMOTION
…
@portentint

76. ACCIDENTAL
@portentint
Whereever possible, keep
text in the same position…

77. ANIMATION
@portentint
…from slide to slide. Don’t
disrupt chain of thought.

78. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Don’t ‘plow through’
material. Mix it up! Tell
stories that support your
point. Reinforce stuff.
@portentint

79. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
I have a habit of putting
the cool stuff at the start
and end, and then filling
the middle with endless
stuff.
Don’t do that. Otherwise it
goes on…

80. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
…and on…

81. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
…and on.

82. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
Your stretched, blurred
screen capture is not
helpful. Be sure to get the
original right.

83. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
Point out one thing per
slide, not 5.

84. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
Use drop shadows when they
help, not because you can.

85. Look! Drop shadows!!!
@portentint
Here, the drop shadow blurs
the text. Ew.

86. JOKE ABOUT HOW IT’S JUST BEFORE/AFTER
LUNCH/COFFEE/A BIG PARTY LAST NIGHT
Yeah, none of us have EVER
heard that one before.
Avoid it if you can.
Again, I’m guilty of this
one far too often.

87. OBLIGTORY TYPO
Can’t avoid ‘em all.
But at least proofread.

88. HEY, LET’S GET POLITICAL!!!!!
BE CAREFUL. Especially in
the US. I’m a lefty pinko
liberal
I only make political jokes
after that disclaimer. And
I poke fun at everyone.

89. LAST YEAR’S SLIDE
Don’t do 100% exact
repetition. Always bring
something new to a repeat
presentation.
@portentint

90. ANOTHER LAYOUT
Use alternate layouts to
delineate or emphasize
ideas. Not to ‘make it
interesting.’
AT RANDOM
You make it interesting.
Not your slides.
@portentint

91. STOCK PHOTO TO
‘HUMANIZE’ PRESENTATION
Were all these people grown
in vats?
Your audience will not
connect with this image
unless they’re clones.
Don’t use stock images
unless they’re truly
relevant and approachable.

92. BETCHA CAN’T READ THIS
You’ve already blinded your
audience with the optic
yellow background.
Keep some contrast w/ a
transparent fill, or
something. Anything.

93. BETCHA CAN’T READ THIS
Images must serve a purpose:
Elicit an emotional response,
or illustrate a specific
idea. Don’t use them just
because.
I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THIS IMAGE
SO I’M GOING TO USE IT DAMMIT.

94. I FORGOT
YOU USE 4:
Check your slide dimensions
against your A/V setup.
Otherwise, hilarity may
ensue.
@portentint

95. I have no words. Just go
read this presentation,
instead.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1
2
3
4
5
Foobly
stuff
Foobly
stuff

96. SELF-PROMOTION
…
@portentint

97. OHGODI’MOUTOFTIMES
OIWILLRUSHTHROUGHT
HELASTPARTSSOFASTY
OULEARNNOTHING
For Heaven’s sake: Rehearse.
Get your timing right.
@portentint

98. TANGENT RANT THING
Sometimes, this is OK. I
don’t suggest riffing on
health care at a marketing
conference, though.
@portentint

99. Seriously?
@portentint

100. LOW-CONTRAST. IT’S
ARTISTIC AND STUFF.
This might be invisible on a
projector.
@portentint

101. DIFFERENT FONTS
BECAUSE IT’S ARTISTIC
TOO
Don’t make your slide look
like a ransom note. Unless
that’s what you want.
@portentint

102. WTF??! THIS ISN’T
KNOCKOUT BOLD!!!
You used a special font,
didn’t you? Now you get to
read your presentation in
poorly formatted Times.
Bring copies of your fonts,
or use a ‘safe’ font.
A nice list here.

103. LOOK! I GOT ALL
DESIGNY AND STUFF.
If you know how to do a good
gradient, cool! Go for it.
But it’s important to
recognize your design
limitations and stay within
them.
If you want, I’ll show you my
presentation stick figures
sometime…

104. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
logo here
phone
address
first-born male child’s name
CONTACT ME!
PLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASE
When you list 12 different ways for
folks to contact you, it just confuses
them, and maybe sounds a little
desperate…? Keep it simple: E-mail,
Twitter, maybe website.

105. NEW BOLD COLOR!
Here’s my point: Your presentation has
a purpose. Everything you put in it
should work towards that purpose. So be
clear. Only use what you need. And
create for your audience, not for you.
@portentint

106. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
HAVE I COMMITTED OTHER
PRESENTATION HORRORS?
YES. PAY ME, AND I MIGHT TELL
YOU. I ACCEPT PAYMENTS IN
CHOCOLATE AND CASH.
Oh, also: Don’t try
to extort your
audience.

107. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
OTHER PRESENTATIONS I’VE DONE
(PRETTY MUCH HORROR-FREE)