The Power of Visuals: Creating Impactful Slide Decks for Effective Presentations


 

When you are delivering a presentation, you should always have an impactful slide deck. It will offer much-needed support to make your presentation successful and memorable. But you must be deliberate and creative with your deck, so it complements your message and doesn’t distract from it. This is why you should follow these tips and create an impactful slide deck.

Limit Text and Prioritize Images

Resist the urge to fill slides with full sentences and bullet points. This is one of the most important tips shared during presentation skills training. Too much dense text overwhelms audiences and undercuts the speaker’s message. Prioritize impactful charts, infographics, or visuals related to key points. Utilize the picture superiority effect: Visuals boost retention and engagement. Leave ample blank space around elements to avoid confusion.


Use Quality Graphics and Branding

Images should be high-resolution and visually appealing. Find photos that connect emotionally and illustrations that amplify important ideas. Maintain brand consistency with logos, fonts, color schemes, and design elements from marketing materials. Well-designed custom graphics look polished and build credibility. Executive presentation training highlights the importance of this.
 

Guide the Narrative 

Slides support the presenter in telling a compelling story, not the other way around. Your visuals should uplift your narrative arc and fit into the overall flow. Limit slides to essential points so audiences remain focused on the speaker. Seamlessly advance slides to avoid disruptive technical glitches and smoothly transition between ideas.

Maximize Readability 

Font choices significantly impact readability. Sans-serif fonts like Arial work best for slide text. Use a minimum of 24 pt. size for body text and 36+ pt. for titles. Dark text on light backgrounds provides the greatest legibility. Avoid busy backgrounds behind the text. Craft short, concise phrases to enable easy scanning and lessen distractions.

Stand Out with Smart Animations 

Subtle animations can spotlight certain elements to streamline information processing. For example, building charts column by column instead of presenting a complex graph improves readability and ensures the audience has enough time to process each new piece of information. Reveal bullets one by one rather than simultaneously. Fly-ins draw attention and build anticipation. But don’t overdo it; use animations sparingly and intentionally.

Check Accessibility Settings 

Ensure font, color, and layout choices work for audience members with visual impairments. Enable screen reader functionality to vocalize slide contents. Provide alt text descriptions of any images. Designing presentations accessibly expands your reach and inclusive.

Final Words 

Well-crafted visuals amplify the power of the spoken word in presentations. Follow these tips to create decks that inform, inspire, and impress audiences.

Ref: https://medium.com/@moxieinstituteinc/the-power-of-visuals-creating-impactful-slide-decks-for-effective-presentations-8a27d35424f8  

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