Designing

Presentations
-Dr. K. N. Adhikari
Designing Presentations
 Two types of Presentations
 Only Oral Presentation (no visual aid)
 Visual Presentation (uses visual aid)
A Chinese Proverb:
“Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I
understand.”
 The aim is to make the audience understand what
you say/show, and behave accordingly.
 The most effective presentations contain 85 % of
visual aids, and 15 % oral explanation.
Usefulness of Visual Aids
 They emphasize and clarify main points, and thus improve
comprehension and retention
 They increase audience interest
 They make the presenter appear more professional, better
prepared, and more persuasive.
 Visual aids may shorten meetings.
 Visual aids are particularly helpful for inexperienced speakers
because the audience concentrates on the aid rather than on
the speaker.
 But, be careful not to be eclipsed or upstaged by the
slideshows.
 Good visuals also serve to jog the memory of a speaker, thus
improving self-confidence, poise, and delivery.
Visual Aids
 Many forms of visual media available.
 While deciding the type of visual media, consider-
 the cost,
 the ease of preparation,
 the degree of formality desired,
 potential effectiveness.
Types of Visual Aids
 Multimedia slides
 Overhead transparencies,
 Handouts/Speaker’s notes
 Flipcharts/White Boards
 Videos
 Props
Pros and Cons of Visual Aids
Type Pros Cons
Multimedia Slides Create professional Present potential
appearance with many incompatibility issues.
color, art, graphic, and Require costly
font options. Easy to projection equipment
use and transport via and practice for
removable storage smooth delivery. Tempt
media, Web download, user to include razzle-
or e-mail attachment. dazzle features that
Inexpensive to update. may fail to add value.
Overhead Give professional Appear to some as an
Transparencies appearance with little outdated
practice. Easy to (a) presentation method.
prepare, (b) update Hold speaker
and maintain, (c) captive to the
locate reliable machine. Provide poor
equipment, reproduction of photos
and (d) limit and some
information shown at graphics.
Pros and Cons of Visual Aids
Type Pros Cons
Handout/Speakers’ Encourage audience Increase risk of
notes participation. Easy unauthorized
to maintain and duplication
update. Enhance recall of speaker’s material.
because audience Can be difficult to
keeps reference transport. May cause
material. speaker to lose
audience’s attention.
Flipchart/Whiteboards Provide inexpensive Require graphics
option available at talent. Difficult for
most sites. Easy to larger audiences to
create and modify, to see. Prepared
record flipcharts are
comments from the cumbersome to
audience, and to transport
combine with more and easily worn with
high-tech visuals in the use.
same presentation.
Pros and Cons of Visual Aids
Type Pros Cons
Videos Give an accurate Creates potential for
representation of the compatibility issues
content; strong related to computer
indication of video formats.
forethought and Expensive to create
preparation. and update.
Props Offer a realistic Lead to extra work and
reinforcement of expense in
message transporting and
content. Increase replacing worn objects.
audience participation Limited use with larger
with close observation. audiences.
Preparing Slides
 Analyze the situation and purpose (speaker’s notes,
distribute hard copies?)
 Anticipate your audience preference/response
 Use bold-colour background for the slides (blue, green,
and purple, etc.) The messages that colors convey can
vary from culture to culture
 In the United States-
 blueis the color of credibility, tranquility,
conservatism, and trust.
 green relates to interaction, growth, money, and
stability.
 purple conveys spirituality, royalty, dreams, and
humor.
 Text and Colour Selection
 Most suitable design is the 6x6 rule:
 Six bullets per screen, max; six words per bullet, max.
(This rule cannot always be followed)
 Adjust the colors based on the place of presentation.
 Lighttext on a dark background for presentations in
darkened rooms.
 Dark text on a light background for presentations in
lighted rooms.
 Avoid using a dark font on a dark background (such as
red text on a dark blue background)
 Avoid using a light font on a light background (such as
white text on a pale blue background)
Organising the Slides
 Prepare a Blueprint Slide with the main points.
 Near the beginning, the blueprint slide provides
an overview of your points.
 Later, it will provide transitions as you move from
point to point.
 Finally, the blueprint slide can be used near the
end to provide a review of the key points.
 Use the main points as slide-headlines
Composing the Slides
 Use short bullets (follow 6X6 rule, if possible)
 Use of pictures, charts will be useful
 Use Diagram Gallery
 Numeric data are easy to understand
 Avoid excessive formatting and programming
Composing the Slides…
 Create a Slide only if it-
 generates interest in what you are saying and
helps the audience follow your ideas
 highlights points you want the audience to
remember
 introduces or reviews your key points
 provides a transition from one major point to the
next
 illustrates and simplifies complex ideas
Revising, Proofreading, and
Evaluating the Slideshow
 Rearrange, insert, and delete slides during the
revision process.
 Check to find spelling, grammar, punctuation, and
other errors.
 Use same patterns throughout the slides
(Capitalisation, highlighting, punctuation, etc.)
 Consider the font size so that the persons at the
back can see the slides clearly.
 Make sure you can finish presentation in the
available time