Your presentation is meant to guide and enhance your speech — not replace it. That said, it needs to elevate your speech— meaning it can’t be distracting. An influx of visuals, loud sound effects, and dense blocks of text can confuse the audience and take their attention away from what you’re trying to say.
A presentation is meant to help the audience follow your speech — not confuse them as to what it is that they are supposed to be focusing on.
With the help of an experienced PowerPoint design company, you will be able to armor your speech with effective slides that provide context, convey the message you are trying to distill and can help guide you and your audience throughout your demonstration.
The right PowerPoint design agency will provide you with the tools and resources necessary to createa presentation that won’t take away from that killer speech you’ve been working on.
Next time you prepare a presentation, be aware of the elements that can be distracting to your audience:
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· Scattered Ideas
If your presentation is scattered, your speech will be too. A good rule of thumb is to split your presentation into three sections; this will help you organize your ideas and them easier for your audience to follow.
It’s essential to identify not only what you want to talk about, but when you want to touch on these concepts.
PowerPoint design agencies often offer story boarding services to plan out the sequence of your slides. This ensures that your touch points flow properly, are easy to follow, and tell a story that will resonate with your audience. When you stop by Stinson Design, you can learn more about how a PowerPoint design agency’s story boarding services can help make your presentation the ultimate tool for your demonstration.
· Too Much Text
The text on your slide should be carefully selected. Too much text can be distracting as audience members tend to try to read all of this text instead of listening to what you’re saying.
Having text on slides helps to provide context and support ideas conveyed in your speech – however, paragraphs can easily overwhelm your audience. It’s a good idea to work with a PowerPoint design agency that will offer copywriting services to help you keep your text succinct.
· Inconsistency
Slides do not need to be identical, but there is a level of design consistency that is essential for your aesthetic – particularly if it’s in a corporate setting with brand guidelines to adhere to.
For example, while it may be a good idea to bold some key terms on a slide, you don’t want to use multiple fonts in different sizes. Keeping things like font, sizes and colors consistent makes for a clean and concise demonstration.
A PowerPoint presentation agency can provide you with slides that boasts continuity and follows any company style guides.
· Blurry Images
Of course, visuals are essential for engaging slides — but blurry and low-resolution images are detrimental. Make sure to work with an agency that can offer photo sourcing services to ensure your photos are high quality and appropriate for your messages.
Work with the right PowerPoint design company to help you strategize and build your slides and to ensure that if you are incorporating graphic elements that they aren’t distracting. The goal is for your presentation to subtly elevate the message you are trying to convey with your speech.