How to properly design a presentation so that you are heard?

“A presentation is an important communication tool that allows you to convey information and ideas to your audience. One of the key aspects of a successful presentation is its visual design. High-quality and beautiful presentation design can help to retain the attention of viewers and improve the perception of information.

In this article, we will look at some tips on how to design a presentation to make it more effective and attractive.

1. Text and font

Choosing the right font is important to ensure that your presentation is easy to read. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or Verdana fonts are usually good choices for most presentations.

Avoid accent, ornate fonts for texts so that excessive decorativeness does not distract from the content.

Don't overuse bold in text blocks, but don't forget about visual hierarchy.

Structure your text to avoid monotony in your narrative. The largest and boldest headings, slightly smaller subheadings, and then the text itself. Highlight key words or phrases. Use bold, italics, or underlining to highlight key points or focus on main ideas. But be careful not to overload the slide with a lot of highlighted text.

Make sure the font you choose is large enough to be readable from a distance. Generally, it is recommended to use a font size of at least 24 points for headings and 18 points for text.

2. Order and structure

A very important point in presentations is the order of information delivery. A clear structure helps organize information and makes it easier for the audience to understand.

Make a plan for your story, divide the presentation into sections and subsections. Large blocks of text can be difficult to read and digest. Divide the presentation into logical parts and supplement them with subsections, do not forget about paragraphs.

Follow the rule: 1 thought = 1 slide, 1 paragraph = 1 thought. This will help the audience better navigate and perceive the information step by step.

3. Color

Color can be a powerful tool for setting the mood and emotional connection with the audience. Use a color scheme that matches the topic and scope of the presentation. Avoid bright and irritating colors for large blocks (background), and opt for more neutral and muted shades. Keep the background neutral to avoid creating unnecessary visual tension. Accents can be highlighted more vividly, but it is important not to overdo it.

4. Images

Visual elements such as images, icons, graphs and charts help visualize information and make the presentation more interesting and understandable. Try to use images in the same color tone (warm-cold, lighting) so that the visual series looks cohesive.

5. Volume

Limit the amount of text on your slides. A presentation is not a book spread, and a slide should not be completely filled with text.

Use short phrases or keywords, points that will help you remember the content and present it to the audience. Supplement the slide with the presentation text with your explanations and comments.

6. Animation

You can add some animation and transitions between slides, moderate use of animation and transitions can make the presentation more dynamic and allow you to focus the audience's attention on certain points, but it is important not to get carried away with special effects so as not to distract the audience from the main content.

7. Literacy

Check your presentation for errors and typos. This will help avoid misunderstandings.

8. Alignment

Where would we be without it! In any unclear situation, align the elements vertically, along the left edge.

For small portions of text (2-3 lines, for example, the advantage of the subject), you can align it by the vertical center, but do not use this alignment for large text blocks, because the uneven edge will make it difficult to perceive by eye. Make sure that all components of the slide are aligned relative to each other

Now let's look at how to correct typical mistakes when designing presentations:

1) A lot of information – it is difficult for viewers to concentrate on one thing, there is a lot of data to focus on.

Solution: split into several semantic blocks-slides, reduce the information, present some of the information schematically, explain it with a voice

2) Color/tone contrast. Insufficient – the background and text merge, difficult to read text. Or a sharp contrast – so sharp that it causes visual rattling of the letters against the background.

Solution: Maintain optimal contrast, light on dark – dark on light, and prohibit the use of color wheel combinations opposite to each other for the background and text

3) Monotone, when there is a lot of text and 0 hierarchy.

Solution: we break the text into key points, write concisely and briefly, and supplement the information with examples during the presentation. We introduce a visual hierarchy – headings, subheadings, paragraph-text, footnotes, theses. We remember about paragraphs, and do not get carried away with participial and adverbial participial phrases.

4) Abundance of pictures. Usually images serve two purposes – to explain and to distract. Make sure that the image fits the meaning of the narrative. Or use humorous inserts to relieve tension when presenting complex information. This is not always appropriate, but as one of the techniques it can be used, it allows you to enhance emotional perception, and therefore contributes to greater understanding and memorization.

Solution: do not overload the slide with visuals. Try to select images in the same style or adjust their color scheme and warm-coldness in one of the graphic editors for visual unity.

5) Each slide has a new style. If you are not a professional designer, I advise you to abandon this idea and not to disturb the integrity of the presentation with jumps in color and ideas. Choose a uniform color scheme, icons and images in the same style, and a simple, easy-to-read, concise font. Let the slides fit together into a beautiful, harmonious puzzle.

Code in the presentation

Useful tips for formatting code in presentations:

1. Use a font that is appropriate for the environment.

2. Highlight keywords and syntactic elements. Underline keywords and syntax elements to make them stand out from the rest of the code. This can be done by changing the color, such as making keywords bold or highlighting comments in a different color.

3. Use indents. Use indentation to visually separate blocks of code.

4. Use syntax highlighting. Syntax highlighting helps you highlight different code elements such as strings, variables, functions, etc.

5. Avoid lines that are too long. Break up very long lines of code into multiple lines to avoid horizontal scrolling. This helps keep your code readable and less cluttered.

6. Insert comments. If the code needs to be explained or described in detail, insert comments next to the relevant parts of the code. Use a different color or font style to distinguish the comments from the code itself.

7. Use line numbers. If you need to refer to specific lines of code during a presentation or discussion, it is recommended to include line numbers next to the code. This will help you navigate and point to specific parts of the code.

8.You can also supplement the code with a visual exampleexplaining its functionality, if possible (website screenshot/gif of the function/mobile app screen). This will help your audience better understand and absorb the information you are presenting.

Remember that the code design should be balanced and easy to read. Do not overload the slides with code, keep it structured and understandable. Design the code close to the development environment, use the font accepted for a particular environment, color indication of syntax, interface elements.

The visual design of your presentation should support your message and help you achieve your communication goals with your audience. Follow these tips and experiment to create a beautiful and effective presentation that will be memorable and impressive!