1. SLIDESHOW
BEAUTIFUL
10 tips
for making
SLIDESHOW
PRESENTATIONS
Edahn Small
www.AskEdahn.com
Edahn.Small@gmail.com
Credit: Jessica Castro, unwrittenmemories.com

2. Tip #1
KNOW YOURKNOW YOUR
Be clear about the goal of your presentation
before your begin composing it.
GOAL

3. Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:

4. Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly Beautiful
Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr

5. Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly Beautiful
Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr
Just Kidding.

6. Presentations fall into
two main categories:
Technical
presentations
teach people
about a topic. The
topic can be
anything.
Persuasive
presentations
make people see
something (like
your brand) a
certain way.

7. Most presentations will combine
elements of both.

8. Be focused, but not too dull or repetitive.
Don’t bore them!
It’s hard to communicateIt’s hard to communicate
when people are busy
playing on their phones...
trust me.

9. Tip #2
PLAN IT OUTPLAN IT OUT
Create an outline or storyboard of the major
topics you want to address.

10. Sketch the basics
Outline
your main
1111
Sequence
your slides
3333
your main
points
Add detail
to your outline until
you figure out what
you want to say in
each slide
2222
your slides
effectively

11. Make sure your presentation follows a
logical or chronological sequence.

12. Show restraint
Resist the urge to cram everything you
know about your topic into your show.know about your topic into your show.

13. If you
try and
tell them
everything,everything,
they won’t
remember
anything.

14. Tip #3
AVOID STOCKAVOID STOCK
Run away! Run away!
TEMPLATES

15. Pop quiz, hotshot:
Which slide is more memorable?
(in a good way)
Exhibit A Exhibit B

16. Trick question.
They’re both vomit.They’re both vomit.
And both templates.

17. The Problems with Stock Templates
• They lead to infinite bullet point syndrome (IBPS)
• They discourage graphics
• Every slide ends up looking the same
• The designs are usually hideous• The designs are usually hideous
• The presentation looks like every slideshow
presentation you’ve ever seen
• Your audience will lose interest and focus after
slide number one zero
• It reminds people of the 90s (that’s bad)

18. Build your own
theme instead.
Color LayoutFonts
Tip #4 Tip #5 Tip #6
theme instead.
But h-h-how?

19. Tip #4
CHOOSE ACHOOSE A
COLOR SCHEME
Choose 5 colors that look good together and
match the tone of your presentation.

20. Pick 5 colors and
alternate them in your slides.
Choose one accent color that
stands out from the rest.

21. Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
ColourLovers.com

22. Mellow and
modern
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
ColourLovers.com

23. Mellow and
modern
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
ColourLovers.com
Passionate and
aggressive

24. Mellow and
modern
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
ColourLovers.com
Passionate and
aggressive
Something
about
scarves

25. http://www.colourlovers.com
User-generated color palettes and more
Websites to help you pick color schemes
(for free)
http://www.colorschemedesigner.com/
http://www.colorhunter.com/
http://kuler.adobe.com/
Computer-generated color palettes
Upload a picture and it pulls out the main colors
Similar to the above

26. Tip #5
CHOOSE ACHOOSE A
FONT SCHEME
Don’t get too crazy with fonts.
Pick 3 and stick to them.

27. Choose one font
One font for body copy.
One font for body copy.
for titles.
One font for body copy.
One font for body copy.
And one font for
accents.
Fonts on this page: Frutiger LT 95 UltraBlack (Title), Frutiger CE 45 Light (Body, Footnote), Airport (Accents)

28. Like color, your fonts should also match
the tone of your presentation.
Good topicFont name
Not so good
topic
Glamour
Chiller
Nasalization
The 50s Hockey
Horror Movies Daffodils, Ballet
Space, Tron,
Techno Music
Estate Planning

29. Tip #6
CHOOSE ACHOOSE A
LAYOUT SCHEME
Develop a few layouts and repeat them
throughout the presentation for
cohesion and clarity.

30. Use the same layouts for slides
that have the same purpose.
transition
The layout tells your audience where
the slide fits into the big picture.
content

31. You can sometimes get away with just
one layout, but in general, you’ll need a
few basic layouts:
Transitional slidesTransitional slides
Image only slides
Text only slides
Mixed slides

32. Text Text Text
Big Text
Big Text
Image
Text Text Text Text
A few samples
Big Text
Impact QuoteTransition
Subtitle
Title
Text Text Text
Text Text Text
Content
Impact Image
Image
Text Text
Text Text
Text Text
Content
Subtitle
Title Challenge
yourself to
avoid using any
bullet points.

33. In addition to repeating layouts, you can
also repeat more subtle elements.
Remember me?
Yeah you do.Yeah you do.

34. Tip #7
USE IMAGESUSE IMAGES
(WISELY)
After a 30 60 minute presentation, no one’s
going to remember what you said; they’re going
to remember meaningful imagery and quotes.

35. Let the images
tell the story

36. If you’re using a
full page image,
find some room
in the picture
where the text
can contrast
against the
background.

37. If an image is too “busy” add a
semi transparent background
behind the text for contrast.

38. If an image is too “busy” add a
semi transparent background
behind the text for contrast.
Like This!

39. Use images where the
background of the
image blends into the
background of the
page. The white space
around it makes it look
clean and makes the
image pop.
If you can see theIf you can see the
background, the effect is
ruined. (In this case, you
might consider making
the background black.)
Protip: In Google images, you can filter images by color in
the left hand column. Choose white and you’re more
likely to find images with white backgrounds. You can
also try searching for “<query> white background.”

40. http://www.sxc.hu/
Stock exchange has beautiful images.
Sites with free high quality stock images
http://www.everystockphoto.com/
http://flickr.com/creativecommons
http://www.morguefile.com
Compiles images from other sites.
Requires that you include an attribution.
Almost no restrictions on these files.
Don’t forget to give
credit when required.

41. Tip #8
15 WORDS15 WORDS
OR LESS
For live presentations

42. In general,
if you’re giving a
presentation
live
keep your slides to
15 words
or less.

43. Limit one main
point per slide.point per slide.

44. Limit one main
point per slide.
When you start to
overload a slide…
point per slide.overload a slide…

45. Limit one main
point per slide.
When you start to
overload a slide…
point per slide.overload a slide…
Your audience can
get distracted…

46. Limit one main
point per slide.
When you start to
overload a slide…
And may begin to
wonder…
point per slide.overload a slide…
Your audience can
get distracted…

47. Limit one main
point per slide.
When you start to
overload a slide…
And may begin to
wonder…
What the hell 60
Pomeranians…
point per slide.overload a slide…
Your audience can
get distracted…

48. Limit one main
point per slide.
When you start to
overload a slide…
And may begin to
wonder…
What the hell 60
Pomeranians…
Are doing in a
slideshow about
point per slide.overload a slide…
Your audience can
get distracted…
slideshow about
slideshows anyway

49. And then your
main point is lost.main point is lost.

50. Tip #9
PLAY WITHPLAY WITH
TYPOGRAPHY
It’s an easy way to spice up slides with text

51. Content is what the text says; typography is
how it appears. By manipulating attributes like
Typography
how it appears. By manipulating attributes like
color, font, size, weight, and position
you can enhance the impact and visual interest
of your slides and create hierarchy.

52. Impact
A quote splashed
across the screen
breaks up thebreaks up the
monotony and
looks interesting.

53. Interest
By moving
you
can
create
text around
interesting effects
create

54. By moving text around
you can create
Interest
interesting
effects

55. Interest
By moving
you can create
text around
interesting effects
you can create

56. Hierarchy
color, and placement
of the text affects
Changing the type,
of the text affects
how it’s interpreted
and the order in
which it’s read.

57. Tip #10
DON’TDON’T
OVERDO IT
Remember white space

58. Design like
the Google
Not like
Yahoo

59. http://thedegreys.blogspot.com/
A slide can’t function right
if there’s too much stuff on it.

60. The white space that surrounds the
object adds emphasis and gives the
page a clean, fresh feeling.
Credit: Ramzi Hashisho

61. The white space that surrounds the
object adds emphasis and gives the
page a clean, fresh feeling.
X X X X XX X X XX
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X Credit: Ramzi Hashisho

62. Summary
1. Know your goal | make each slide count
2. Plan it out | in some detail
3. Avoid templates | they have the uglies
4. Choose a color scheme | 4 colors, 1 accent4. Choose a color scheme | 4 colors, 1 accent
5. Choose a font scheme | match tone
6. Choose a layout scheme | comprehension
7. Use images (wisely) | they’re more memorable
8. 15 words per slide | this slide had 16 words
9. Play with typography | impact, interest, hierarchy
10.Don’t overdo it | white space

63. And remember…And remember…

64. BREAK THE RULES
don’t be afraid to

65. Edahn Small is a content manager and writer in
Los Angeles, California.
About the author
Email: edahn.small@gmail.com
Web: http://www.AskEdahn.com
Twitter: @askedahn

66. The End.The End.