1.
10 tips
for making
BEAUTIFUL
SLIDESHOW
PRESENTATIONS
Edahn Small
www.AskEdahn.com
Edahn.Small@gmail.com
Credit: Jessica Castro, unwrittenmemories.com

2.
Tip #1
KNOW YOUR
GOAL
Be clear about the goal of your presentation
before your begin composing it.

3.
Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:

4.
Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly Beautiful
Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr

5.
Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly Beautiful
Just Kidding.
Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr

6.
Presentations fall into
two main categories:
Technical Persuasive
presentations presentations
teach people make people see
about a topic. The something (like
topic can be your brand) a
anything. certain way.

7.
Most presentations will combine
elements of both.

8.
Don’t bore them!
Be focused, but not too dull or repetitive.
It’s hard to communicate
when people are busy
playing on their phones...
trust me.

9.
Tip #2
PLAN IT OUT
Create an outline or storyboard of the major
topics you want to address.

10.
Sketch the basics
1 3
Outline Sequence
your main your slides
points effectively
2
Add detail
to your outline until
you figure out what
you want to say in
each slide

11.
Make sure your presentation follows a
logical or chronological sequence.

12.
Show restraint
Resist the urge to cram everything you
know about your topic into your show.

13.
If you
try and
tell them
everything,
they won’t
remember
anything.

14.
Tip #3
AVOID STOCK
TEMPLATES
Run away! Run away!

15.
Pop quiz, hotshot:
Which slide is more memorable?
(in a good way)
Exhibit A Exhibit B

16.
Trick question.
They’re both vomit.
And both templates.

17.
The Problems with Stock Templates
• They lead to infinite bullet point syndrome (IBPS)
• They discourage graphics
• Every slide ends up looking the same
• The designs are usually hideous
• The presentation looks like every slideshow
presentation you’ve ever seen
• Your audience will lose interest and focus after
slide number one zero
• It reminds people of the 90s (that’s bad)

18.
Build your own
theme instead.
But h-h-how?
Tip #4 Tip #5 Tip #6
Color Fonts Layout

19.
Tip #4
CHOOSE A
COLOR SCHEME
Choose 5 colors that look good together and
match the tone of your presentation.

20.
Pick 5 colors and
alternate them in your slides.
Choose one accent color that
stands out from the rest.

21.
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
ColourLovers.com

22.
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
Mellow and
modern
ColourLovers.com

23.
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
Mellow and
modern
Passionate and
aggressive
ColourLovers.com

24.
Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.
Mellow and
modern
Something
about
Passionate and scarves
aggressive
ColourLovers.com

25.
Websites to help you pick color schemes
(for free)
http://www.colourlovers.com
User-generated color palettes and more
http://kuler.adobe.com/
Similar to the above
http://www.colorschemedesigner.com/
Computer-generated color palettes
http://www.colorhunter.com/
Upload a picture and it pulls out the main colors

26.
Tip #5
CHOOSE A
FONT SCHEME
Don’t get too crazy with fonts.
Pick 3 and stick to them.

27.
Choose one font
for titles.
One font for body copy.
One font for body copy.
One font for body copy.
And one font for
accents.
Fonts on this page: Frutiger LT 95 UltraBlack (Title), Frutiger CE 45 Light (Body, Footnote), Airport (Accents)

28.
Like color, your fonts should also match
the tone of your presentation.
Not so good
Font name Good topic topic
Glamour The 50s Hockey
Chiller Horror Movies Daffodils, Ballet
Space, Tron, Estate Planning
Nasalization Techno Music

29.
Tip #6
CHOOSE A
LAYOUT SCHEME
Develop a few layouts and repeat them
throughout the presentation for
cohesion and clarity.

30.
Use the same layouts for slides
that have the same purpose.
transition
content
The layout tells your audience where
the slide fits into the big picture.

31.
You can sometimes get away with just
one layout, but in general, you’ll need a
few basic layouts:
Transitional slides
Image only slides
Text only slides
Mixed slides

32.
A few samples
Text Text Text Text
Big Text
Text Text Text Image
Big Text
Transition Impact Quote Impact Image
Title Challenge Title
Subtitle Subtitle
yourself to
Text Text Text Text Text
avoid using any
Text Text Image bullet points.
Text Text Text
Text Text
Content Content

33.
In addition to repeating layouts, you can
also repeat more subtle elements.
Remember me?
Yeah you do.

34.
Tip #7
USE IMAGES
(WISELY)
After a 30
60 minute presentation, no one’s
going to remember what you said; they’re going
to remember meaningful imagery and quotes.

35.
Let the images
tell the story

36.
If you’re using a
full page image,
find some room
in the picture
where the text
can contrast
against the
background.

37.
If an image is too “busy” add a
semi
transparent background
behind the text for contrast.

38.
Like This!
If an image is too “busy” add a
semi
transparent background
behind the text for contrast.

39.
Use images where the
background of the
image blends into the
background of the
page. The white space
around it makes it look
clean and makes the
image pop.
If you can see the
background, the effect is
ruined. (In this case, you
might consider making
the background black.)
Protip: In Google images, you can filter images by color in
the left hand column. Choose white and you’re more
likely to find images with white backgrounds. You can
also try searching for “<query> white background.”

40.
Sites with free high quality stock images
http://www.sxc.hu/
Stock exchange has beautiful images.
http://www.morguefile.com
Don’t forget to give Almost no restrictions on these files.
credit when required.
http://www.everystockphoto.com/
Compiles images from other sites.
http://flickr.com/creativecommons
Requires that you include an attribution.

41.
Tip #8
15 WORDS
OR LESS
For live presentations

42.
In general,
if you’re giving a
presentation
live
keep your slides to
15 words
or less.

43.
Limit one main
point per slide.

44.
Limit oneWhen youa slide…
main
overload
start to
point per slide.

45.
Limit oneWhen youa slide…
main
overload
start to
point audience can slide.
Your
per
get distracted…

46.
And may begin to
wonder…
Limit oneWhen youa slide…
main
overload
start to
point audience can slide.
Your
per
get distracted…

47.
And may begin to
wonder…
What the hell 60
Limit one main
Pomeranians… When you start to
overload a slide…
point audience can slide.
Your
per
get distracted…

48.
And may begin to
wonder…
What the hell 60
Limit one main
Are doing in a
slideshow about
Pomeranians… When you start to
overload a slide…
point audience can slide.
per
slideshows anyway
Your
get distracted…

49.
And then your
main point is lost.

50.
Tip #9
PLAY WITH
TYPOGRAPHY
It’s an easy way to spice up slides with text

51.
Typography
Content is what the text says; typography is
how it appears. By manipulating attributes like
color, font, size, weight, and position
you can enhance the impact and visual interest
of your slides and create hierarchy.

52.
Impact
A quote splashed
across the screen
breaks up the
monotony and
looks interesting.

53.
Interest
By moving
you
text around can
create
interesting effects

54.
Interest
By moving text around
you can create
interesting
effects

55.
Interest
By moving
text around
you can create
interesting effects

56.
Hierarchy
Changing the type,
color, and placement
of the text affects
how it’s interpreted
and the order in
which it’s read.

57.
Tip #10
DON’T
OVERDO IT
Remember white space

58.
Design like Not like
the Google Yahoo

59.
http://thedegreys.blogspot.com/
A slide can’t function right
if there’s too much stuff on it.

60.
The white space that surrounds the
object adds emphasis and gives the
page a clean, fresh feeling.
Credit: Ramzi Hashisho

61.
The white space that surrounds the
object adds emphasis and gives the
page a clean, fresh feeling.
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
Credit: Ramzi Hashisho

62.
Summary
1. Know your goal | make each slide count
2. Plan it out | in some detail
3. Avoid templates | they have the uglies
4. Choose a color scheme | 4 colors, 1 accent
5. Choose a font scheme | match tone
6. Choose a layout scheme | comprehension
7. Use images (wisely) | they’re more memorable
8. 15 words per slide | this slide had 16 words
9. Play with typography | impact, interest, hierarchy
10.Don’t overdo it | white space

63.
And remember…

64.
don’t be afraid to
BREAK THE RULES

65.
About the author
Edahn Small is a content manager and writer in
Los Angeles, California.
Email: edahn.small@gmail.com
Web: http://www.AskEdahn.com
Twitter: @askedahn

66.
The End.