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www.tipresentations.nl Let's face it, most presentations are boring. This usually happens through information overload. Talbott International Presentations (TIP) has a mission to make the world interesting one presentation at a time. Here are a few tips for avoiding information overload, thereby creating simple slides that keep your audience from falling asleep.
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Here’s a way to keep your audience from falling asleep.
Look at a typical PowerPoint
slide like this one.
Title of this slide
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
X Y Z C o m p a n y , s i n c e 1 9 8 4 !LOGO
Cognitive scientists say
that most people can only
process around 5 to 7
pieces of information at
one time.
More than that, they start
getting confused.
Title of this slide
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
X Y Z C o m p a n y , s i n c e 1 9 8 4 !LOGO
How much information is
on that typical slide?
Let’s count.
6 large elements:1. The t i t le
2. The graph
3. Big bul let 1
4. Big bul let 2
5. The company name
6. The company logo
6 smaller elements:1. The labels on the x-axis
2. The labels on the y-axis
3. The labels on the colors
4. The bars on the graph
5. The 3 bul lets under big point 1
6. The 5 bul lets under big point 2
There are 5 kinds of color.
Title of this slide
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
X Y Z C o m p a n y , s i n c e 1 9 8 4 !LOGO
There are 5 different fonts
and one emphasized text.
Title of this slide
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
X Y Z C o m p a n y , s i n c e 1 9 8 4 !LOGO
And there is a mixture of
shapes (bullets, logo, bars
on graph, etc.)
Title of this slide
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2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
X Y Z C o m p a n y , s i n c e 1 9 8 4 !LOGO
You can count as well as I can.
Way more than 7 pieces of
information.
No wonder audiences
are getting confused
and falling asleep.
What to do?
Remove the logo and the
company name.
You showed them a t the beg inn ing , you ’ l l
show them a t the end , they ’ re on your
handouts and your bus iness cards , and
you were in t roduced. I t ’s j us t ex t ra
i n fo rmat ion a t th is po in t .
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
Title of this slide
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
Remove the title.
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
Make a tit le slide.
I f you fee l i t i s necessary to have a
t i t l e , make a t i t l e s l ide .
Then ge t on to the con ten t .
Title of this section
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
Remove some of the bullets.
Why are the bu l le t po in ts there?
I f you rea l l y want the aud ience to read
them, then keep them.
I f they a re fo r the p resen te r to read ,
wel l ,
wr i te them on a no tecard…
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Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Put the graph on its own
slide.
I f you a re ta lk ing about the g raph ,
then ta lk abou t the g raph .
Make i t b ig enough fo r everyone to see .
Make i t c lear.
What i s impor tan t about the g raph?
Exp la in i t w i th no d is t rac t ions .
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Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
Give the graph a tit le.
Otherw ise , peop le ge t con fused.
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Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
title of the graph
Put the bullets on their own slide.
Make the tex t la rge enough to read f rom the back
of the room.
Remember tha t we can rea l l y on ly comfor tab ly
process 5 th ings a t a t ime. Make sure there a re
never too many po in ts .
Group them in an unders tandab le way.
• This is the text
• important point 1
• another important thing
• really important!
Change to an easy font.
Sans ser i f f on ts can be read eas i l y f rom fa r.
They a lso work be t te r w i th weaker beamers o r
when there i s too much l igh t in the room.
This is the text
• important point 1
• another important thing
• really important!
Keep the audience with you.
Put the bu l le t po in ts on a ser ies o f s l ides so
t ha t they appear when you are ready to ta lk
about them.
This is the text
This is the text
important point 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
The idea is to communicate,
rather than to confuse.
So,
The next time you see this on
your screen.
Title of this slide
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
This is the text
important point 1
another important thing
really important!
Things I want to say
point 4
point 5
point 6
point 7
point 8
X Y Z C o m p a n y , s i n c e 1 9 8 4 !LOGO
Please change it.
Or, you could just pass out
pillows and blankets in order
to help your audience sleep
better.
