The document is a presentation by Ian Lurie critiquing common mistakes in presentations. It begins by showing an example of a poorly designed presentation with issues like self-promotion, random colors and fonts, lack of structure. It then provides an annotated version explaining the problems with each slide and better alternatives. The overall message is to focus presentations on the audience, only include necessary information, and rehearse properly.
2. NEW BOLD COLOR!Hi. Iām Ian Lurie. CEO of an
overflowing-with-awesome internet
marketing agency called Portent.
@portentint
Ā
3. NEW BOLD COLOR!
This presentation is every bad
thing Iāve ever done when
creating a presentation. Read,
learn, and avoid my embarrassing
moments.
@portentint
Ā
4. NEW BOLD COLOR!Itās actually TWO presentations:
First, the bad presentation. Then
the same presentation, annotated.
@portentint
Ā
5. CATCHY
TITLEWITH SQUARED FONTS
Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
WHICH IS WONDERFUL, BUT NOW YOU NEED A SUBTITLE
SIMPLY TO EXPLAIN THE TITLE
17. ā¢āÆ Now Iām going to use bullets
ā¢āÆ So I can string stuļ¬ together
ā¢āÆ And because I got really tired
ā¢āÆ And because I didnāt rehearse, so Iām going to read this to
you
@portentint
Ā
18. ā¢āÆ OK but now
ā¢āÆ Iām using bullets because
ā¢āÆ I know people will
ā¢āÆ want to read this later and remember
ā¢āÆ what I talked about
@portentint
Ā
55. CATCHY
TITLEWITH SQUARED FONTS
Iām guilty of this.
Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
WHICH IS WONDERFUL, BUT NOW YOU NEED A SUBTITLE
SIMPLY TO EXPLAIN THE TITLE
59. SELF-PROMOTION
K now itās becoming a
problem. 5 minutes of self-
promotion in a 30-minute
presentation? Not OK.
@portentint
Ā
60. WITTY ANECDOTE!
Please, make it relevant
And not offensive
I once cracked a joke making fun of
economists and their fashion choices.
At an economics conference.
Guess what? They didnāt laugh. I felt
like an idiot for the rest of my talk.
Oh, see that? That was an anecdote.
@portentint
Ā
67. Oy. This is bloody awful.
Donāt use bullets as
punctuation, or to string
thoughts together
ā¢āÆ Now Iām going to use bullets
ā¢āÆ So I can string stuļ¬ together
ā¢āÆ And because I got really tired
ā¢āÆ And because I didnāt rehearse, so Iām going to read this to
you
@portentint
Ā
68. Still no.
Consider doing a separate
annotated version (like
what youāre reading now)
instead.
ā¢āÆ OK but now
ā¢āÆ Iām using bullets because
ā¢āÆ I know people will
ā¢āÆ want to read this later and remember
ā¢āÆ what I talked about
@portentint
Ā
73. F-BOMB!!!! SWEARING!
AUDIENCE LAUGHS, SO
IāLL DO IT MORE!!!
Not recommended,unless you
can really pull it off and
have the right audience.
The audience often
laughs because theyāre
uncomfortable with you
swearing like a sailor.
79. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
Ā
I have a habit of putting
the cool stuff at the start
and end, and then filling
the middle with endless
stuff.
Donāt do that. Otherwise it
goes onā¦
86. JOKE ABOUT HOW ITāS JUST BEFORE/AFTER
LUNCH/COFFEE/A BIG PARTY LAST NIGHT
Yeah, none of us have EVER
heard that one before.
Avoid it if you can.
Again, Iām guilty of this
one far too often.
88. HEY, LETāS GET POLITICAL!!!!!
BE CAREFUL. Especially in
the US. Iām a lefty pinko
liberal
I only make political jokes
after that disclaimer. And
I poke fun at everyone.
89. LAST YEARāS SLIDE
Donāt do 100% exact
repetition. Always bring
something new to a repeat
presentation.
@portentint
Ā
90. ANOTHER LAYOUT
Use alternate layouts to
delineate or emphasize
ideas. Not to āmake it
interesting.ā
AT RANDOM
You make it interesting.
Not your slides.
@portentint
Ā
91. STOCK PHOTO TO
āHUMANIZEā PRESENTATION
Were all these people grown
in vats?
Your audience will not
connect with this image
unless theyāre clones.
Donāt use stock images
unless theyāre truly
relevant and approachable.
92. BETCHA CANāT READ THIS
Youāve already blinded your
audience with the optic
yellow background.
Keep some contrast w/ a
transparent fill, or
something. Anything.
93. BETCHA CANāT READ THIS
Images must serve a purpose:
Elicit an emotional response,
or illustrate a specific
idea. Donāt use them just
because.
I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THIS IMAGE
SO IāM GOING TO USE IT DAMMIT.
94. I FORGOT
YOU USE 4:
Check your slide dimensions
against your A/V setup.
Otherwise, hilarity may
ensue.
@portentint
Ā
95. I have no words. Just go
read this presentation,
instead.
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Foobly
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Foobly
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101. DIFFERENT FONTS
BECAUSE ITāS ARTISTIC
TOO
Donāt make your slide look
like a ransom note. Unless
thatās what you want.
@portentint
Ā
102. WTF??! THIS ISNāT
KNOCKOUT BOLD!!!
You used a special font,
didnāt you? Now you get to
read your presentation in
poorly formatted Times.
Bring copies of your fonts,
or use a āsafeā font.
A nice list here.
103. LOOK! I GOT ALL
DESIGNY AND STUFF.
If you know how to do a good
gradient, cool! Go for it.
But itās important to
recognize your design
limitations and stay within
them.
If you want, Iāll show you my
presentation stick figures
sometimeā¦
104. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
logo here
phone
address
ļ¬rst-born male childās name
CONTACT ME!
PLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASE
When you list 12 different ways for
folks to contact you, it just confuses
them, and maybe sounds a little
desperateā¦? Keep it simple: E-mail,
Twitter, maybe website.
105. NEW BOLD COLOR!
Hereās my point: Your presentation has
a purpose. Everything you put in it
should work towards that purpose. So be
clear. Only use what you need. And
create for your audience, not for you.
@portentint
Ā
106. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
HAVE I COMMITTED OTHER
PRESENTATION HORRORS?
YES. PAY ME, AND I MIGHT TELL
YOU. I ACCEPT PAYMENTS IN
CHOCOLATE AND CASH.
Oh, also: Donāt try
to extort your
audience.