Articles: Design - 12 views
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The best slides may have no text at all.
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mnollsch on 15 Jul 14NO words at all will challenge me since I am so verbal. But I can see the value in it.
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kbelland21 on 16 Jul 14I agree. I thought this point was interesting. I never thought of not having any text on a slide.
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Kristina Dvorak on 17 Jul 14No words?! This is good though, I have often thought how I can encourage my to take notes and I hate giving out my presentations. This will do it!
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Evan Abbey on 20 Jul 14No words is definitely outside of the box type thinking. It also requires you to have a great interplay with your visuals.
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fshellabarger on 22 Jul 14I LOVE this! It would be great for setting a stage for a story with a single image. No words needed! If there's no text, your audience can really listen to your words while taking in the image instead of trying to read and listen.
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tjbudd on 22 Jul 14I'm lucky enough to have access to good images (photography is a family hobby) and access to photoshop. This is much tougher without the right tools.
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nettiemarie on 03 Aug 14this is challenging but an interesting thought... would work for a dramatic statement
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pattyharris123 on 04 Aug 14I am very verbal, also, but also put a great deal on slides. This is going to be a good challenge for me!
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But if they are good slides, they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content.
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try to highlight the main point of each bullet point. Try to bold only the key parts of each point — limit it to as few words as possible.
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Good tip. I found in looking at many of my presentations I had already highlighted key words. So why did I add all the other text?
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I agree - this is a really logical way to pair down my wordy slides without loosing important content. It also encourages note taking in the right way for students.
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Occasionally, I have highlighted text on a slide, but I thought I was only putting relevant information on the slide with lots of bullets. Ugh. I could have probably gotten by (I now know I could have) with only putting the hightlighted word and another word or two on the slide, instead.
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So much about PP I don't know how to do! I think it's time to take an advance PP class.
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I have realized the same. I thought I knew PP pretty well, but starting to work on these new slides (and all the new information) has almost blown me away! I have a friend who just aced a college PP class - I am hoping she can help me work through some of the "new" stuff to me. I don't want PP to be too time comsuming, but I want them to be effective.
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I often use images of people in my slides, as photography of people tends to help the audience connect with the slide on a more emotional level.
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People should be able to comprehend each one in about three seconds.
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3 seconds - will be a challenge.I will really have to try to think about the audience and what might attract their attention..
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If it takes longer, then I think a presenter should be quiet and give them time. It isn't that we can't give some silent time to read... it is just that we don't like to, I think.
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Three seconds seems like a good time to transition anyway. 3 seconds of quite between slides, audience gets the glance and then the presenter talks...
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I struggle with this when I present charts and graphs. The takeaway is to simplify the graph or chart to highlight what I'm trying to say.
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We shouldn't need the time to read with only a few words on the slide. I like to give that "wait time" AFTER I have spoken. Still work work the same way - giving the audience time to comprehend.
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Remember the golden rule of PowerPoint presentations — always do what is right for your audience.
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It’s okay to cover details verbally that are not reflected in your bullet points.
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convert each bullet point into a separate image
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Think of your slides as billboards. When people drive, they only briefly take their eyes off their main focus — the road — to process billboard information
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So when adding elements to your slides, have a good reason: Does the audience need to see your logo on each slide to remember who you work for? Does that blue swoosh add meaning? If not, leave it off
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If they fall below 24 pt then you might be on to something. Also, look at the number of lines you use for your bullet points. If you use more than two lines anywhere, then they’re definitely leaning text heavy.
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Follow these steps to reduce and simplify your text-heavy bullet points
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I like the steps used in this process. I think the most challenging part of designing presentations is figuring out what is most important. This seems so helpful in making those decisions.
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The most challenging part of design would be figuring out what to use to engage the audience (ie photograph). If we have the end design in mind, and know what our main points are, the text should be easily simplified.
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Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content.
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Use high-quality graphics including photographs.
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Even coming from a very non-artistic person... this is GREAT advice! I couldn't make art when I try, but I can make crap... which means I know crappy visuals when I see them :)
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This IS great advice, but...I will miss the cutesy graphics. (Just kidding.) Looking for the higher quality graphics that are appropriate is going to take some time.
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The right color can help persuade and motivate.
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video clips to show concrete examples promotes active cognitive processing, which is the natural way people learn.
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Spend time in the slide sorter
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There is a first time for everything. I have not ever done this, but it makes good sense, so I will start using it.
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I think this is true for many people. Power Point used to not let you re-arrange slides from the normal view (via that sidebar). You had to go to this view to re-arrange things. Then it got easier to use. The slide sorter is a tool that encourages a creative look at the big picture of one's presentation
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extras actually take away meaning
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including a healthy amount of white space sharpens viewers’ focus
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This is all too common.
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Another thing I am guilty of although I usually just don't use these, but I'm not sure how to do this correctly.
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I see this very commonly. Presenters don't take the time to find quality images. They google a topic and pull very low resolution photos to include in their presentation. The resolution is fine for a website but grainy when displayed large.
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what's your intention?
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Your slides should have plenty of “white space” or “negative space.”
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Best if you limit the bars to 4-8.
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You can achieve this through consistent type styles, color, image treatment, and element placement throughout the slide deck
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relevant
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Have a visual theme, but avoid using PowerPoint templates
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mage is lame & has nothing to do with content
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Presentation software gives us many shiny, seductive elements to work with
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bullet points in your slides are way too text heavy?
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Remove all extraneous copy from bullet points
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The software was designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation.
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use no more than two-three different types of transition effects and do not place transition effects between all slides
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Again, if it is included in the software, your audience has seen it a million times before.
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You can give a good presentation without any images at all, but if you do use images in slides, try to keep these eleven tips in mind.
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Here’s an “after” slide to illustrate:
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The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become.
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decrease the opacity and add a Gaussian Blur or motion filter in Photoshop
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the image is still a cliché
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This is good to note. It is time for us to step away from cliche pictures that will prevent our instruction from making an original, meaningful connection with our audience.
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Presenters and teachers get in a hurry to create their visuals and use anything to fill the page. What I'm learning is that these images do more damage than good by distracting our audience.
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help you remember what to cover but won’t make it easier for the audience to digest it.
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Focus on the main phrases
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Even worse is to take a free comp from a photo website and stretch it out
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the star, of course, is your audience
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If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.
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And this is even better…
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You can take your own high-quality photographs with your digital camera
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You clearly need a consistent visual theme throughout your presentation, but most templates included in PowerPoint have been seen by your audience countless times (and besides, the templates are not all that great to begin with).
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Fonts communicate subtle messages in and of themselves, which is why you should choose fonts deliberately.
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Sometimes I'm like a kid when it comes to fonts and spend lots of times looking for a "cool" one. I need to always remember that simple is better!
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The thing is some kids have trouble with some of the letters in the fonts suggested. I use comic sans because I like the way the a and the g look. For special ed students with moderate disability, it looks more familiar to the way they are learning to print.
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Think like a designer when you arrange slide elements.