Three Good Reasons to Outsource PowerPoint Design

When it comes right down to it, we have three good reasons to outsource PowerPoint design.

1. So you look like a pro

There's more to PowerPoint design than choosing a slide design and inserting animation effects. It doesn’t take a design procession to tell the difference between a professional design and an amateur design. They may not know why one looks better than the other, but they do notice the difference. You have to ask yourself how you want to appear when you present to clients, investors, and others. We know that appearance leaves a huge impression; you wouldn't walk into a meeting with a tank top and shorts, so why would you present something that doesn't look professional? PowerPoint design affects non-verbal communication, which carries most of your message.

2. So you can focus on your business

You will make far better use of your time focusing on the message you want to deliver, than sweating the details of getting the latest version of PowerPoint to do what you want. By leaving the design and implementation to the experts, you can stop worrying about the graphic design, image selection, typography, and animation. You can leave all of that behind and still have a killer deck on presentation day.

3. So you can save money

Some businesses hire an in-house team to build their presentations, but unless you have a great deal of PowerPointing to do, this can be much more expensive than outsourcing. Depending on the amount and type of presentations design needed, it may be more cost effective to rely on a marketing agency. That way, you can be confident and proud of your presentation when you walk into a meeting, and happy you didn’t have to pay an exorbitant price for it.

To talk more about this, or any of your marketing needs, please contact us. Thanks.

3 Killer Apps to Boost Your Presentation Development

Professional presentations take time, organization, and engaging content to be effective. You know you've gotten it right when you get audience interaction, and signs that you've reached people with your message. One way to get people's attention is to change things up a little. Try something that looks a little different to what they're used to. Here are five online presentation apps that may be just the thing you need to shake things up a little.

1. Prezi. A Web-based app focusing on the aesthetic aspect of presentations, Prezi provides a unique way to deliver messages visually and make your audience sit up and take notice. Instead of slides, Prezi has you put all of your content on a giant virtual canvas. When it comes time to present, Prezi flies the audience over your canvas, rotating and zooming to show the next chunk of content. It's a bit hard to explain, but easy to understand once you see it in action. I suggest you check out some sample prezi's to get the idea. You can download the app, or create and edit presentations from virtually anywhere you have internet access, since Prezi is cloud-based.  

One of the sample presentation son the Prezi site.

2. Present.me. This web-service lets you build presentations that include you. It lets you present your ideas "face-to-face" even when you're not there to present them in person. You can think of it as a presentation you deliver on demand. It's a clever way to shake up the way people watch recorded presentations, and worth a look if you ever have to send your presentations to people unaccompanied.

Slides and video of presenter are always in sync so viewer can switch back and forth at their leisure.

3. PhotoSnack. Create artful and clean photo slideshows simply by logging into your Google, Facebook or Twitter account. Next, select and upload photos from your computer, or from photo sharing services like Flickr and Instagram. Photosnack helps you arrange your photos in themed presentation templates for a quick, easy, well designed presentation. The free version creates a small watermark on each picture in a presentation, while the paid version is watermark-free.

PhotoShack is a quick and easy way to create a photo-based presentation.

Creating a Winning Presentation Design

No one wants to sit through a boring presentation. End of story. A presentation that loses its audience by including wordy slides, lengthy lists, or too many statistics can easily miss the mark. The key to creating a winning presentation design is to get the audience excited about the topic or product, share your passion, and be involved. The way you do that isn’t hard, it just requires you to remember some important points when designing it. By keeping these points in mind, you can design a presentation that knocks their socks off.

Start on paper - While your first impulse may be to jump right in and start creating the presentation in PowerPoint or other presentation program, stop yourself. This can lock you into their design and their templates. Instead, get out your sticky notes and start there. Create a sticky note for each point you want to make and stick them onto a sheet of paper in the order you want. It’s common to reorder, add, or throw away ideas in this phase. But getting it right before you start can help you visualize the presentation and create a good flow.

One idea per slide - You may want to share every statistic you know about an item, or try to cram several thoughts in at once. But the key to a good presentation is having your audience remember what they hear and see. Pick a fact or statistic that is dramatic, big, or important and focus on that. Nail each slide with something important and the audience will remember it.

Use awesome graphics - Too flashy, too plain, too small, too big. Much like Goldilocks, you have to find the right graphic for each slide. Simple, uncluttered images work best. But don’t be afraid to use humor either. A simple comic that makes a point can be a winning point. One effective tool when choosing graphics that ties a good presentation together is to select a theme and stick to it for the whole presentation.

Tell a story - The same lessons you learned about writing a story in English class can apply to creating a great presentation. Make sure that the slides, the speech, the flow, all come together to tell a clear story. Including elements such as conflict and humor can add to audience engagement and involvement.

Provide a payoff - People are generally egocentric. They care about themselves and their lives. One of the biggest ways a presentation succeeds is by showing the audience how the product will help them make their lives better. People who can see themselves using the product will buy it. If they don’t see that payoff or benefit, the presentation will not have done its job.

Having a product you believe in and sharing it in the presentation isn’t enough. It is essential to create a presentation that engages and helps the audience feel the same way about the product. Following these key points can help you achieve that goal. A well designed presentation will have people asking question, talking about your product, and sharing it with others. For more information on how you can create winning presentation designs, as well as other marketing tools, contact us. We specialize in help you with all your marketing needs.

Beware the Dreaded “Frankendeck”

A mob of angry men stride purposefully through the dark wielding torches that flicker menacingly as they bob to and fro. It’s an all too familiar scene. Only this time they’re not after the monster in the castle.This time, they’re after you!

Sure, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but today is Halloween so it seems a fitting way to revisit the evil monster that continues to threaten conference rooms across the nation — the dreaded Frankendeck.

Are you guilty of releasing Frankendecks on your audiences? You know the ones. Presentations that look like they were assembled from unrelated parts — parts that just don’t belong together.

These monsters are often born in the rush to assemble a new presentation from slides purloined from other decks you or your team created for other purposes. Or they might result from having too many cooks in the kitchen while the deck is being brewed.  

Either way, the result is the same. An abomination that nobody wants to see.

So how do you avoid them? It all starts with a story. Think you’re not a natural story teller? Don’t be so sure.  I’ll bet that when you’re relaxing with your friends, you tell all kinds of stories that keep people engaged, entertained, and informed. But how do you apply story telling to fend off a Frankendeck? Not so obvious. Fortunately, there’s help. 

Check out Cliff Atkinson’s Beyond Bullet Points method, or the Slides that Rock techniques, and you’ll find that you can craft a story for your next PowerPoint presentation. All it takes it spending a bit more time at the outset, before you start creating and assembling slides. The first time you do it, it’ll probably feel like you’re wasting time, but stick with it. I promise you it’s worth the effort. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll be the envy of the office. Here are some of the benefits you’ll enjoy:

1. You’ll need fewer slides to get your message across
2. Your audience will stay awake, and even pay attention to your presentation
3. You will become a celebrity and have adoring fans far and wide

Ok, maybe I’m over selling things a bit with that last point, but I promise you that if you make an effort to learn about telling stories with your presentations, you’ll be very happy you did. And so will the people you present to.  

So after you’ve made the rounds of your neighborhood tonight and had your fill of candy, why not take a vow never to create another Frankendeck. 

Tips for Using Media in Your PowerPoint Presentation

All presentations should tell a story. Storytelling with PowerPoint requires different elements than writing prose or scripting a video. The text in your presentation isn important, but has to be clear and concise. If you want to write an essay, choose another medium. 

Who says PowerPoint has to be boring? By paying special attention to the interplay of all the media  PowerPoint makes available to you -- graphics, images, type, sound, and motion -- you can weave together a powerful, compelling story. 

Text

Use text sparingly. The ideas is to capture key points in your message, and not to deliver every detail. Always use short bulleted paragraphs. People digest information much better when it’s presented in small chunks. If you feel you need to have long paragraphs on your slides, step back and reevaluate what you’re trying to day. There is always a way to convey the essentials without turning your slide into a page of text.

Images

Photography has become a popular way to add visual interest to slides. The two watchwords to keep in mind here are: big and hight-quality. Never “borrow” images from other places on the web unless you have explicit permission to use the. Images are copyrighted, and using them without permission could leave you open to legal action. So where should you get your images from? If you’re a good photographer, consider using your own. If photography isn’t your cup of tea -- of if you’re pressed for time -- don’t worry. There are plenty of high-quality, legal images available to you. 

Royalty-free images are an easy to find, and affordable option. Check out istockphoto.com, shutterstock.com, and pond5.com to get an idea of the range of images available, and what they cost. 

Another alternative is photo stock offered under the creative commons license. Depending on which creative commons license the photographer has applied, you can generally use these images for free, as long as you give attribution and provide a link to the original photo. You can find these on Flickr.com and other photo sites, but a great way to search for them and get the right attribution and links all in one place is photopin.com

Typography

A good way to add a little style and visual interest to your next PowerPoint presentation is to try a different font. Choosing the right font can change the entire feel of a presentation. Some fonts bring a friendly, casual look to your slides. Others convey a more business-like quality. Choosing the right font is an art in itself, but do yourself a favor and experiment a little with your next deck.

There are plenty of high-quality, professional fonts available from traditional type foundries like Adobe Type, Linotype, and Monotype.

There are plenty of lower cost, and free fonts available too. Sites like FontShop.com, Fonts.com, Google Fonts are good places to get started. 

You should know that if you’re not going to be presenting from your own computer, the font you choose may not be available and PowerPoint will substitute an available font. This will change the entire look of your slides.  

Animation & Transitions

Putting your presentation in motion can be very effective, but too much can be more of a distraction than an attention grabber. PowerPoint provides a wide range of slide transitions, and animation effects for elements within a slide. However, you shouldn’t let the fact that there are dozens to choose from lead you to think you should use them all. Stick to one or two subtle transitions, and use them for the whole deck. And animate slide objects only when the animation adds to the clarity of the points being made. 

Movement for movement’s sake is not the path to effective message delivery. I like to think that animation is to PowerPoint as spices are to cooking. Choosing the right ones, and applying them in judiciously gives better results than a ham-fisted approach. 

Sound

PowerPoint is truly a multi-media tool, but most people overlook the use of sound. Except for special applications -- like self-running canned presentations for something like a museum display -- you should probably use sound sparingly. Avoid the temptation to use zany, cartoony sound effects to a business presentation. But if you’re careful, you can use sound effects to bring attention to a sound byte, play background music, or use sounds to illicit a laugh from your audience.

photo credit: Saad Faruque via photopin cc