How to design slides like a pro and make a wow PPT..!!

Experimenting with PowerPoint has been one of my peculiar favourites. Right from getting creative with templates, inserting cliparts, adding charts etc., powerpoint has been an absolute staple tool.

As beautiful, attractive and appealing the tools appear, they also tend to distract viewers from the essence of your presentation, if you add too much of those beautification.

Beautifying and decorating slides can be done as a recreation, but for an official purpose, they are a big NO.

All of us know to create slides and they are super easy to make. But, before you really want to prepare professional looking slides, you need to learn the viewer's psychology also.

No basics here; this blog post primarily concentrates on the mistakes you should never make while making an official PPT...!

• TOO MUCH TEXT:

  Look at the slides below, 

Do you even find these slides attractive?
How do you expect your audience to view a mess like this?
Is this a few minute presentation or a Ph.d thesis? That's what I call too much of text.

• NOT ENOUGH TEXT:

  Now the opposite (i.e)not enough text is also a problem.
 Look at the slides below;

                        

  

                                

What do these slides convey? Don't confuse your audience with such blank slides.
So, what's the right one?
Below is a clean, vibrant and to-the-point slide. 

The slide has crisp points marked in numbers with a simple picture by the side.

Now!Stop..! 
Is that enough for a professional PPT?
Simply bullet points, pictures, adequate spacing doesn't make it professional.

• It must contain structures.
Don't places texts and pictures in an unusual & random fashion.
Create structures to your slides.

How can you add structures? Look below;
This is an unstructured, rough slide. 

 Now, this is a perfectly structured slide. 

Yes..!Can you note the difference?
A structured slide is more appealing and attractive to watch.
Don't place pictures by the side always, use them to structurise your slides.

But wait...!! Slides are also prepared keeping in mind the number of audience.

In a meeting with less than 10 people, a slide like this is advisable;

You can explain everything directly. 

But if you're presenting where 10-50 people are present, then structurise and present like the one below;

Lastly, if the audience are huge, increase the size of the image and make it one per slide. 

The rule of thumb here is :
" MORE PEOPLE = LESS TEXT "

• ANIMATIONS:

  I know these are obviously entertaining.

 But, when it comes to making official PPTs, animations have no good job here. 

Don't distract your audience by showing them dancing texts and jumping images. It makes them tired and lose interest on your presentation. 

• TOO MUCH DECORATION:

  Too much of shadows, eye-striking bright colors, effects, gradients, reflection can divert the functionality of your presentation. 

 Of course, you can use Bolds, Italics, Underline texts, add different colors to keywords. 

'Less is always more'

Lastly I'd always want you to remember 3 important points;

1. Concentrate on the functionality:

    Remember the purpose of the presentation. Add relevant images, bar diagrams, charts and remove unwanted texts to make it look simpler. 

2. Add a fun element:

   Give appropriate realtime examples, make few comparisons and if possible add some humor content. Narrate a story or even use quotes.

Your listeners will love it. 

3. Professional look:

   Give your audience that professional vibe. Display your ideas and showcase your skills.

 1 PPT is enough to prove who you are. 

If you can correct these simple mistakes, I'm damn sure you can prepare & present a fabulous presentation. Put on those creative caps and rock.

This is Part 1 to the PPT series on 'How to design slides'. 

If you'd want to know 'How to present a PPT before the audience', wait & subscribe to the blog.
Let me know your queries and feedback in the comments below.

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PS: The images of the PPT slides used in this blog are entirely self-made and doesn't owe any source to the internet. 

If you want me to write more on such topics, feel free to write to me. Check the contacts page for details.

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