3 Tips to Spring Clean Your Slides
It’s officially spring! And in honor of spring cleaning, it’s time to dust off those old PowerPoint slides and create fresh, digestible, and consistent decks for your audiences to follow. Here are some quick tips you can use to give your presentations a fresh new look:
One Idea per Slide
We often have a lot to share and may be tempted to slather our slides with text. This can cause cognitive overload and our audience may lose track of our story.
- TIP: Limit content to one idea per slide. Break your content down into easily digestible bits so your audience can quickly grasp and retain your message.
- PRO TIP: Capture your key takeaway in your title.
Apply the Guide of 5
When you do need to use text, limit how much you use. It can be tempting to communicate too much, but audiences can better digest your information if you keep it short and to the point. Remember, your audience should focus on you, not your slides.
- TIP: To keep your audience engaged, apply the guide of 5. Limit each of your slides to 5 bullet points, with 5 words or less per bullet.
- PRO TIP: Each slide should focus on one core message, so make sure your bullet points contribute to the key take away of the slide.
Picture It
The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than words. If you fill your slide with text, your audience will spend time reading that slide instead of listening to you and your message.
- TIP: Replace text with images when possible to quickly convey your point. Pictures, graphs, and icons can make your slides not only visually appealing, but also easier to process and remember.
- PRO TIP: Use a bar or column chart to compare the value of several items or reflect changes in a single item over time. Use graphs to show trends, such as growth or decline in sales.
Applying these techniques will spruce up your slides so your PowerPoints don’t just look cleaner – they also better support your message. Ah, what a refreshing way to start the spring! Follow us on LinkedIn for tips on PowerPoint and more!
