A few basic concepts to improve the standard PowerPoint type slide presentation

1. Make Your Slides
tink
(a little)
ess

2. A Very Bad Slide
A simple measurement of slide suckage is based
upon the amount of text and visual elements. The
worst slides are essentially text, and LOTS of it, like
this one. These kind of slides are basically just a
word document, turned sideways and put in 20+ pt
font. If you have a compelling need to create slides
like this, please just print them out and give them to
the audience. These aren’t even visual
presentations, so why would you even project
them? Having said that, it is perfectly fine if your
slides START this way as you are developing your
presentation. Just don’t let them end this way!

3. Bullet points
• PowerPoint defaults to bullet points
• May help to reduce text
• Can separate your ideas
• Like posting your main speaking points

4. Good visual elements engage
more parts of the
brain
visual, social, emotional,
face recognition,
imagination
The problem is
execution

5. Clipart is a problem
• Is this slide any better with a “visual” element?
• Clipart is small, cartoony, and usually trite
• Most clipart does not appear professional
• Consider photographic images instead

6. Image problems
• Small images don’t help much
• Images without emotion don’t help much

7. Big emotionalforce
images
more parts of
the brain to pay
attention

8. Ideally, the image
illustrates a
concept or a
congruent emotion

9. Big images prevent stinky slides by
encouraging less text per slide

10. So, why don’t we do
this?

11. We put too
much on one
slide because
we are trying to
deliver a
document,
rather than an
emotion or
concept

12. Slides areFREE , use
as many as you want!

13. Is it complicated?

14. The easiest way
is to add images
with white
space

15. But, these
usually have to
be purchased

16. You can use any
image with a
substantial
single color
component

17. You can use almost
any full screen
image, if you keep
your text readable

18. Let’s use this image
as an example

19. It is not the same dimension as the
slide, so we will expand it and crop

20. Writing directly on the image
doesn’t give good contrast

21. But, we can move to a darker part
of the image and use white text

22. For more contrast, we can bold and
add a black “glow” text effect

23. We can try darkening the picture a
bit

24. Or brighten it, and
reverse colors

25. We can leave a text banner at the
bottom

26. Or use a 50% transparency fill to
darken our text area

27. Or a try a solid color box

28. Or, we
could
use a
note
image.

29. PowerPoint:
Picture
tools>
format>
color> set
transparent
color> click
background
color of note
image

30. Finding copyright legitimate images
Advanced search

31. I want to use an
image that is the
wrong shape for
full screen
landscape. Now
what?

32. One option:
Split the screen
between image
and text

33. Another option:
Copy, flip, cut and stretch

34. First
copy
the
image

35. Next, flip the new image to mirror
the old one

36. Now crop the “non background”
part of the new image

37. leaving this
“extended
background”

38. Then stretch the new
piece to cover the screen

39. Or, make multiple
mirror image copies of
the new piece, flipping
One option:
each to match the
Split the screen
seams, like this
between image
and text

40. It isn’t photoshop
perfect, but it is quick
and easy!

42. When might you
want to use
drawings or
clipart instead of
a single, large
image?

43. For complex
concepts with
multiple
simultaneous
components, you
may want to
build your own
integrated
illustration

44. Some complex concepts
may be easier if seen all
at once Insurance Inc.
Creation or
Transfer of
New Policy Death
Benefit
to
Charity
2010
Gifts to be used for premiums
Gifts are
deductible if
donor keeps
no rights in
the policy
2011 2012 2013 2014 … Death

45. Visualize changes by
change elements from
the base slide Insurance Inc.
Creation or
Transfer of
New Policy Death
Benefit
to
Charity
2010
Premium Payments
Gifts are
deductible if
donor keeps
no rights in
the policy
2011 2012 2013 2014 … Death

46. If you need more room
for text, put it on
multiple slides Insurance Inc.
Creation or
Transfer of
New Policy Death
Benefit
to
Charity
2010
Premium Payments
Gifts are
deductible if
donor keeps
no rights in
the policy
2011 2012 2013 2014 … Death

47. For intimidating concepts,
use illustrations to break it
down into simple
components

48. Example of
illustrating an
intimidating
concept:
The hemodynamic
response function
in functional
magnetic
resonance brain
imaging

49. An fMRI picture of the
brain is made up of
thousands of boxes, called
voxels, just like me!
● ●

50. We voxels
are small –
usually
about the
size of one ● ●
peppercorn

51. Inside each
of us
voxels are
thousands
of neurons
● ●

52. When a lot of
these neurons
start to fire,
the body
rushes in
● ● oxygen to help

53. This rush of
oxygen comes
through the
blood and
makes me
● ● start to
change color

54. As my blood
oxygen
increases, I
get redder
● ●

55. And redder
● ●

56. If this keeps
going, I will be
totally red
from all of the
oxygen in my
● ● blood

57. But then, if
the neurons
don’t keep
firing, the
body will stop
● ● rushing oxygen
to me

58. And my color
will start to
return to
normal
● ●

59. I can get a bit
blue at the end
if my oxygen
drops too low,
right before it
● ● returns to
normal

60. In 20 seconds
after the
neurons fired,
I will be back
to my normal
● ● color again

61. This whole
color change
process is
called my
hemodynamic
● ● response

62. “Hemo” means
blood. “Dynamic”
means change.
● ●
So, hemodynamic
response is my
“blood-change”
Blood Oxygen Level
● ● ● ●
response.
● ● ● ●
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
● ●
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
SECONDS after neurons fire

63. When we model
this change with
math, we call it a
● ●
hemodynamic
response function
Blood Oxygen Level
● ● ● ●
● ● ● ●
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
● ●
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
SECONDS after neurons fire

64. To get better, look
at great slide
decks and steal
their ideas!

65. Read cool books

66. View cool
presentations
http://www.slideshare.net/ssod

67. Story
Dialogue
Monologue