1. 17 Ways to Design a Presentation People Want to View
Jim MacLeod

2. boring.
PowerPoint presentations are
(and ugly)

3. They’re ineffective. Why do we keep
doing them the same old way?
This isn’t a guide that tells you how to add the perfect
drop shadow or beveled gradient to a text box (don’t
do that – it’s unprofessional). This eBook will give you
an overview of how to get people to
and keep them engaged.
pay attention

4. You’re giving a presentation
for a reason:
to get a sale or
impart information.

5. failed
If it’s boring, the viewer
tunes out and you’ve

6. We’ve all sat through these presentations, (and
worse, we’ve all created these presentations).
They’re painful and a waste of everyone’s time.
People don’t pay attention.
You need engagement before you get buy in.
But how do you get a viewer engaged who has
already seen presentations that are nearly identical?
design

7. People have been communicating with images for tens of
thousands of years longer than we have been communicating
with the written word. Visual communication had a 35,000 year
head start ahead of the written word1
. Our brains are better
equipped to comprehend and store visual information.

8. Visual communication is
and sticks in the memory far more effectively. An image
can create an instant emotional connection. If you can
link your message to the viewer’s emotional center,
you’ve already won the battle.
simply easier to understand

9. firstimpressions

10. If you’re in a sales pitch, it’s unlikely that this is the first
impression the viewer has of your company. But this is
the first impression the viewer has of you.
You wouldn’t wear shlubby clothes to a meeting like
this. Why dress up your pitch in an ugly suit? Wrap your
message in a professional package that shows that
1) you take this seriously 2) you know what you’re
talking about.

11. cover
the
The cover is the single
most important piece

12. For those of you giving a presentation, it’s possible that
your cover slide could be on display for the entire lead
up/introduction to the presentation. During this time, the
audience could be analyzing and dissecting your cover.
You might be giving a five minute overview of who you are
and what you’re going to cover. What you don’t want is the
audience to be distracted by a bad typeface or image. It’s
the first impression your audience will have of you and
what you have to say.

13. If you’re creating a presentation that will only
live online, the cover is the single most
important piece. The cover determines whether
the viewer clicks to view more or they ignore it.
You could have the answers to the greatest
questions in the universe, but if they’re hidden
behind a bad cover, nobody will ever find them.

14. visual
theme
have a
Each slide should look like it’s part of the same story.
A consistent design theme keeps the viewer engaged.

15. The cover will set the tone for your
presentation. Once you determine the
font and color palette (more on these
later), stick with it.
You’ve seen presentations where
it’s obvious that the deck was
Frankensteined together from other
decks. One or two great slides can
really ruin it for the rest of the slides.
Don’t give the viewer any excuse to stop
paying attention to your message.
If your presentation is broken up into
different sections, feel free to give each
section a related visual theme. By
slightly altering the color, you can let
the viewer know that they are now in a
different section, but it’s clearly part of
the same presentation. Think of these
as chapters of a book.
When to break this
rule: When you really
want a key point to
be recognized.
(like this)
Want to read more?
Check out the eBook at
ebri.us/PPTDesign