what is the visual presentation

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Graphic Design

15 Effective Visual Presentation Tips To Wow Your Audience

By Krystle Wong , Sep 28, 2023

So, you’re gearing up for that big presentation and you want it to be more than just another snooze-fest with slides. You want it to be engaging, memorable and downright impressive. 

Well, you’ve come to the right place — I’ve got some slick tips on how to create a visual presentation that’ll take your presentation game up a notch. 

Packed with presentation templates that are easily customizable, keep reading this blog post to learn the secret sauce behind crafting presentations that captivate, inform and remain etched in the memory of your audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What is a visual presentation & why is it important?

15 effective tips to make your visual presentations more engaging, 6 major types of visual presentation you should know , what are some common mistakes to avoid in visual presentations, visual presentation faqs, 5 steps to create a visual presentation with venngage.

A visual presentation is a communication method that utilizes visual elements such as images, graphics, charts, slides and other visual aids to convey information, ideas or messages to an audience. 

Visual presentations aim to enhance comprehension engagement and the overall impact of the message through the strategic use of visuals. People remember what they see, making your point last longer in their heads. 

Without further ado, let’s jump right into some great visual presentation examples that would do a great job in keeping your audience interested and getting your point across.

In today’s fast-paced world, where information is constantly bombarding our senses, creating engaging visual presentations has never been more crucial. To help you design a presentation that’ll leave a lasting impression, I’ve compiled these examples of visual presentations that will elevate your game.

1. Use the rule of thirds for layout

Ever heard of the rule of thirds? It’s a presentation layout trick that can instantly up your slide game. Imagine dividing your slide into a 3×3 grid and then placing your text and visuals at the intersection points or along the lines. This simple tweak creates a balanced and seriously pleasing layout that’ll draw everyone’s eyes.

2. Get creative with visual metaphors

Got a complex idea to explain? Skip the jargon and use visual metaphors. Throw in images that symbolize your point – for example, using a road map to show your journey towards a goal or using metaphors to represent answer choices or progress indicators in an interactive quiz or poll.

3. Visualize your data with charts and graphs

The right data visualization tools not only make content more appealing but also aid comprehension and retention. Choosing the right visual presentation for your data is all about finding a good match. 

For ordinal data, where things have a clear order, consider using ordered bar charts or dot plots. When it comes to nominal data, where categories are on an equal footing, stick with the classics like bar charts, pie charts or simple frequency tables. And for interval-ratio data, where there’s a meaningful order, go for histograms, line graphs, scatterplots or box plots to help your data shine.

In an increasingly visual world, effective visual communication is a valuable skill for conveying messages. Here’s a guide on how to use visual communication to engage your audience while avoiding information overload.

4. Employ the power of contrast

Want your important stuff to pop? That’s where contrast comes in. Mix things up with contrasting colors, fonts or shapes. It’s like highlighting your key points with a neon marker – an instant attention grabber.

5. Tell a visual story

Structure your slides like a storybook and create a visual narrative by arranging your slides in a way that tells a story. Each slide should flow into the next, creating a visual narrative that keeps your audience hooked till the very end.

Icons and images are essential for adding visual appeal and clarity to your presentation. Venngage provides a vast library of icons and images, allowing you to choose visuals that resonate with your audience and complement your message. 

6. Show the “before and after” magic

Want to drive home the impact of your message or solution? Whip out the “before and after” technique. Show the current state (before) and the desired state (after) in a visual way. It’s like showing a makeover transformation, but for your ideas.

7. Add fun with visual quizzes and polls

To break the monotony and see if your audience is still with you, throw in some quick quizzes or polls. It’s like a mini-game break in your presentation — your audience gets involved and it makes your presentation way more dynamic and memorable.

8. End with a powerful visual punch

Your presentation closing should be a showstopper. Think a stunning clip art that wraps up your message with a visual bow, a killer quote that lingers in minds or a call to action that gets hearts racing.

9. Engage with storytelling through data

Use storytelling magic to bring your data to life. Don’t just throw numbers at your audience—explain what they mean, why they matter and add a bit of human touch. Turn those stats into relatable tales and watch your audience’s eyes light up with understanding.

10. Use visuals wisely

Your visuals are the secret sauce of a great presentation. Cherry-pick high-quality images, graphics, charts and videos that not only look good but also align with your message’s vibe. Each visual should have a purpose – they’re not just there for decoration. 

11. Utilize visual hierarchy

Employ design principles like contrast, alignment and proximity to make your key info stand out. Play around with fonts, colors and placement to make sure your audience can’t miss the important stuff.

12. Engage with multimedia

Static slides are so last year. Give your presentation some sizzle by tossing in multimedia elements. Think short video clips, animations, or a touch of sound when it makes sense, including an animated logo . But remember, these are sidekicks, not the main act, so use them smartly.

13. Interact with your audience

Turn your presentation into a two-way street. Start your presentation by encouraging your audience to join in with thought-provoking questions, quick polls or using interactive tools. Get them chatting and watch your presentation come alive.

When it comes to delivering a group presentation, it’s important to have everyone on the team on the same page. Venngage’s real-time collaboration tools enable you and your team to work together seamlessly, regardless of geographical locations. Collaborators can provide input, make edits and offer suggestions in real time. 

14. Incorporate stories and examples

Weave in relatable stories, personal anecdotes or real-life examples to illustrate your points. It’s like adding a dash of spice to your content – it becomes more memorable and relatable.

15. Nail that delivery

Don’t just stand there and recite facts like a robot — be a confident and engaging presenter. Lock eyes with your audience, mix up your tone and pace and use some gestures to drive your points home. Practice and brush up your presentation skills until you’ve got it down pat for a persuasive presentation that flows like a pro.

Venngage offers a wide selection of professionally designed presentation templates, each tailored for different purposes and styles. By choosing a template that aligns with your content and goals, you can create a visually cohesive and polished presentation that captivates your audience.

Looking for more presentation ideas ? Why not try using a presentation software that will take your presentations to the next level with a combination of user-friendly interfaces, stunning visuals, collaboration features and innovative functionalities that will take your presentations to the next level. 

Visual presentations come in various formats, each uniquely suited to convey information and engage audiences effectively. Here are six major types of visual presentations that you should be familiar with:

1. Slideshows or PowerPoint presentations

Slideshows are one of the most common forms of visual presentations. They typically consist of a series of slides containing text, images, charts, graphs and other visual elements. Slideshows are used for various purposes, including business presentations, educational lectures and conference talks.

2. Infographics

Infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge. They combine text, images and graphics to convey complex concepts or data in a concise and visually appealing manner. Infographics are often used in marketing, reporting and educational materials.

Don’t worry, they are also super easy to create thanks to Venngage’s fully customizable infographics templates that are professionally designed to bring your information to life. Be sure to try it out for your next visual presentation!

3. Video presentation

Videos are your dynamic storytellers. Whether it’s pre-recorded or happening in real-time, videos are the showstoppers. You can have interviews, demos, animations or even your own mini-documentary. Video presentations are highly engaging and can be shared in both in-person and virtual presentations .

4. Charts and graphs

Charts and graphs are visual representations of data that make it easier to understand and analyze numerical information. Common types include bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and scatterplots. They are commonly used in scientific research, business reports and academic presentations.

Effective data visualizations are crucial for simplifying complex information and Venngage has got you covered. Venngage’s tools enable you to create engaging charts, graphs,and infographics that enhance audience understanding and retention, leaving a lasting impression in your presentation.

5. Interactive presentations

Interactive presentations involve audience participation and engagement. These can include interactive polls, quizzes, games and multimedia elements that allow the audience to actively participate in the presentation. Interactive presentations are often used in workshops, training sessions and webinars.

Venngage’s interactive presentation tools enable you to create immersive experiences that leave a lasting impact and enhance audience retention. By incorporating features like clickable elements, quizzes and embedded multimedia, you can captivate your audience’s attention and encourage active participation.

6. Poster presentations

Poster presentations are the stars of the academic and research scene. They consist of a large poster that includes text, images and graphics to communicate research findings or project details and are usually used at conferences and exhibitions. For more poster ideas, browse through Venngage’s gallery of poster templates to inspire your next presentation.

Different visual presentations aside, different presentation methods also serve a unique purpose, tailored to specific objectives and audiences. Find out which type of presentation works best for the message you are sending across to better capture attention, maintain interest and leave a lasting impression. 

To make a good presentation , it’s crucial to be aware of common mistakes and how to avoid them. Without further ado, let’s explore some of these pitfalls along with valuable insights on how to sidestep them.

Overloading slides with text

Text heavy slides can be like trying to swallow a whole sandwich in one bite – overwhelming and unappetizing. Instead, opt for concise sentences and bullet points to keep your slides simple. Visuals can help convey your message in a more engaging way.

Using low-quality visuals

Grainy images and pixelated charts are the equivalent of a scratchy vinyl record at a DJ party. High-resolution visuals are your ticket to professionalism. Ensure that the images, charts and graphics you use are clear, relevant and sharp.

Choosing the right visuals for presentations is important. To find great visuals for your visual presentation, Browse Venngage’s extensive library of high-quality stock photos. These images can help you convey your message effectively, evoke emotions and create a visually pleasing narrative. 

Ignoring design consistency

Imagine a book with every chapter in a different font and color – it’s a visual mess. Consistency in fonts, colors and formatting throughout your presentation is key to a polished and professional look.

Reading directly from slides

Reading your slides word-for-word is like inviting your audience to a one-person audiobook session. Slides should complement your speech, not replace it. Use them as visual aids, offering key points and visuals to support your narrative.

Lack of visual hierarchy

Neglecting visual hierarchy is like trying to find Waldo in a crowd of clones. Use size, color and positioning to emphasize what’s most important. Guide your audience’s attention to key points so they don’t miss the forest for the trees.

Ignoring accessibility

Accessibility isn’t an option these days; it’s a must. Forgetting alt text for images, color contrast and closed captions for videos can exclude individuals with disabilities from understanding your presentation. 

Relying too heavily on animation

While animations can add pizzazz and draw attention, overdoing it can overshadow your message. Use animations sparingly and with purpose to enhance, not detract from your content.

Using jargon and complex language

Keep it simple. Use plain language and explain terms when needed. You want your message to resonate, not leave people scratching their heads.

Not testing interactive elements

Interactive elements can be the life of your whole presentation, but not testing them beforehand is like jumping into a pool without checking if there’s water. Ensure that all interactive features, from live polls to multimedia content, work seamlessly. A smooth experience keeps your audience engaged and avoids those awkward technical hiccups.

Presenting complex data and information in a clear and visually appealing way has never been easier with Venngage. Build professional-looking designs with our free visual chart slide templates for your next presentation.

What software or tools can I use to create visual presentations?

You can use various software and tools to create visual presentations, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Prezi and Venngage, among others.

What is the difference between a visual presentation and a written report?

The main difference between a visual presentation and a written report is the medium of communication. Visual presentations rely on visuals, such as slides, charts and images to convey information quickly, while written reports use text to provide detailed information in a linear format.

How do I effectively communicate data through visual presentations?

To effectively communicate data through visual presentations, simplify complex data into easily digestible charts and graphs, use clear labels and titles and ensure that your visuals support the key messages you want to convey.

Are there any accessibility considerations for visual presentations?

Accessibility considerations for visual presentations include providing alt text for images, ensuring good color contrast, using readable fonts and providing transcripts or captions for multimedia content to make the presentation inclusive.

Most design tools today make accessibility hard but Venngage’s Accessibility Design Tool comes with accessibility features baked in, including accessible-friendly and inclusive icons.

How do I choose the right visuals for my presentation?

Choose visuals that align with your content and message. Use charts for data, images for illustrating concepts, icons for emphasis and color to evoke emotions or convey themes.

What is the role of storytelling in visual presentations?

Storytelling plays a crucial role in visual presentations by providing a narrative structure that engages the audience, helps them relate to the content and makes the information more memorable.

How can I adapt my visual presentations for online or virtual audiences?

To adapt visual presentations for online or virtual audiences, focus on concise content, use engaging visuals, ensure clear audio, encourage audience interaction through chat or polls and rehearse for a smooth online delivery.

What is the role of data visualization in visual presentations?

Data visualization in visual presentations simplifies complex data by using charts, graphs and diagrams, making it easier for the audience to understand and interpret information.

How do I choose the right color scheme and fonts for my visual presentation?

Choose a color scheme that aligns with your content and brand and select fonts that are readable and appropriate for the message you want to convey.

How can I measure the effectiveness of my visual presentation?

Measure the effectiveness of your visual presentation by collecting feedback from the audience, tracking engagement metrics (e.g., click-through rates for online presentations) and evaluating whether the presentation achieved its intended objectives.

Ultimately, creating a memorable visual presentation isn’t just about throwing together pretty slides. It’s about mastering the art of making your message stick, captivating your audience and leaving a mark.

Lucky for you, Venngage simplifies the process of creating great presentations, empowering you to concentrate on delivering a compelling message. Follow the 5 simple steps below to make your entire presentation visually appealing and impactful:

1. Sign up and log In: Log in to your Venngage account or sign up for free and gain access to Venngage’s templates and design tools.

2. Choose a template: Browse through Venngage’s presentation template library and select one that best suits your presentation’s purpose and style. Venngage offers a variety of pre-designed templates for different types of visual presentations, including infographics, reports, posters and more.

3. Edit and customize your template: Replace the placeholder text, image and graphics with your own content and customize the colors, fonts and visual elements to align with your presentation’s theme or your organization’s branding.

4. Add visual elements: Venngage offers a wide range of visual elements, such as icons, illustrations, charts, graphs and images, that you can easily add to your presentation with the user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.

5. Save and export your presentation: Export your presentation in a format that suits your needs and then share it with your audience via email, social media or by embedding it on your website or blog .

So, as you gear up for your next presentation, whether it’s for business, education or pure creative expression, don’t forget to keep these visual presentation ideas in your back pocket.

Feel free to experiment and fine-tune your approach and let your passion and expertise shine through in your presentation. With practice, you’ll not only build presentations but also leave a lasting impact on your audience – one slide at a time.

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices The #1 rule for improving your presentation slides

by Tom Rielly • May 12, 2020

When giving presentations, either on a video conference call or in person, your slides, videos and graphics (or lack of them) can be an important element in helping you tell your story or express your idea. This is the first of a series of blog posts that will give you tips and tricks on how to perfect your visual presentations.

Your job as a presenter is to build your idea -- step-by-step -- in the minds of your audience members. One tool to do that is presentation graphics, such as slides and videos.

Why graphics for your presentation?

A common mistake is using slides or videos as a crutch, even if they don’t actually add anything to your presentation. Not all presentations need graphics. Lots of presentations work wonderfully with just one person standing on a stage telling a story, as demonstrated by many TED Talks.

You should only use slides if they serve a purpose: conveying scientific information, art, and things that are hard to explain without pictures. Once you have decided on using slides, you will have a number of decisions to make. We’ll help you with the basics of making a presentation that is, above all, clear and easy to understand. The most important thing to remember here is: less is more.

Less is so much more

You want to aim for the fewest number of slides, the fewest number of photos, the fewest words per slide, the least cluttered slides and the most white space on your slides. This is the most violated slide rule, but it is the secret to success. Take a look at these examples.

As you can see in the above example, you don’t need fancy backgrounds or extra words to convey a simple concept. If you take “Everything you need to know about Turtles”, and delete “everything you need to know about” leaving just “turtles”, the slide has become much easier for your audience to read, and tells the story with economy.

The above example demonstrates that a single image that fills the entire screen is far more powerful than a slide cluttered with images. A slide with too many images may be detrimental to your presentation. The audience will spend more mental energy trying to sort through the clutter than listening to your presentation. If you need multiple images, then put each one on its own slide. Make each image high-resolution and have it fill the entire screen. If the photos are not the same dimensions as the screen, put them on a black background. Don’t use other colors, especially white.

Your slides will be much more effective if you use the fewest words, characters, and pictures needed to tell your story. Long paragraphs make the audience strain to read them, which means they are not paying attention to you. Your audience may even get stressed if you move on to your next slide before they’ve finished reading your paragraph. The best way to make sure the attention stays on you is to limit word count to no more than 10 words per slide. As presentation expert Nancy Duarte says “any slide with more than 10 words is a document.” If you really do need a longer explanation of something, handouts or follow-up emails are the way to go.

Following a “less is more” approach is one of the simplest things you can do to improve your presentation visuals and the impact of your presentation overall. Make sure your visuals add to your presentation rather than distract from it and get your message across.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks.

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

Engage your audience with powerful visual presentations.

Visual tools are critical to have in any presentation as they’re one of the key presentation aids that will help enhance your overall presentation .

We’ll give you tips on how to develop a sense of good presentation design whether you’re using PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Slides or any presentation software under the sun. The secret to creating a great presentation does not lie in a superior software, but understanding a few universal design concepts that can applied for all types of visual presentations.

Don’t be afraid to use a few presentation templates – there are ways to make the presentation ideas in those templates your own ideas and advance it in several different ways. Let’s make your next presentation on point and designed beautifully.

Presentations Are The Visual Communication Tool To Your Story

In the age of information, people remember facts faster through stories. Keep your bullet points and information short. You can use a rule of thumb to not put more than a paragraph and 3 points per slide to start.

Make your presentation the visual component of your story, but not something your audience has to read. Something that is short and succinct on screen will capture your audience’s attention and make sure they retain the main points of your message.

This does not mean incomplete slides. A common mistake presenters make is putting too little information on a slide in the name of simplicity when in fact they’re leaving out the main context.

A well designed visual presentation has a great story behind it and a well rehearsed voice telling it as well. Engaging the audience is also a great way to associate meaning or connection to the content of your slide decks. Ask questions and tell stories while showing off a great visual presentation! Think of writing the copy like writing for social media – you only have a certain amount of characters to use and a short audience attention span.

General Tips For Visual Presentations

Before you begin creating your presentation, you first need to know what makes effective presentations – storytelling. Such presentations target the audience’s emotions leading to a stronger connection to the audience member and the main point of the presentation.

Below are some storytelling tips for your slides, but remember to keep the presentation itself simple and practice makes perfect. And again, these are more for your spoken component that accompanies the visual component. These tips can be useful because they can be applied to all your presentations in general.

Step 1 is to ask yourself who your audience is and how to convey the key message you have in mind to them. Once you settle on your message, you can start designing your slides with that direction in mind.

You may wonder how to connect with an audience with your slides. Look to your own experiences, your own speaking style and tailor your message to what you know. Not many people want to hear others recite facts with no real meaning driving the story. Ask yourself, “Why does this matter to the audience and why should they care?”.

There is a lot of trust that can be built when the audience has a genuine connection to the presenter. Overall, if you have something that can solve a problem or teach someone complex things, that is enough to form a connection with your audience.

Think of the last app you used, the last email you read or perhaps the last business you purchased from. What was the content or visual elements that pulled you in?

Are you making a PowerPoint, Prezi or other form of visual presentation but it’s taking too much of your time? Enlist the help of Presentation Geeks and consider outsourcing your presentation design . Outsourcing your presentation slides allows you to free more of your time while still getting the results of an interesting presentation. You’ll have the support of expert slide designers who know what presentation visuals work and don’t work thanks to years of presentation feedback and background knowledge.

Color Design Tips For Presentation Slides

When designing your presentation, make sure you take into consideration the colors you’re using. We’ve listed a few background color combinations you might want to consider when developing the overall slide deck and the font to use.

Color Wheel Alignments:

Primary Colors: Red, yellow, blue

Secondary Colors: Green, orange, purple

Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green

Analogous Colors: These are any three colors which are side by side on a color wheel. (Think green, lime green, yellow)

Complementary Colors: These are colors that are directly opposite of a color wheel. (Think green vs. purple, red vs. blue)

Monochromatic Colors: This is when you use one color and various shades or hues of it. It works well for minimal looks.

Color moods:

Red/Orange/Yellow: Generally these convey a sense of energy, are warm colors and catch your attention. Yellow is a happy warm color on one end and red is very striking and can warn of danger, and symbolizes importance, passion and sometimes violence.

Blue/Purple/Green: These colors are calming, reserved, elegant and often used for corporate slides. Think of how indigo blue is used for many large corporate entities. Green often is branded with earth or medical brands. Purple often conveys a sense of royalty, money and creativity.

Use The Power Of Photography Or Video

Pictures and videos are great visuals to incorporate into any presentation. Remember the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, it’s true! Photos help visualize complex information. You’ll often come across a lot of photos in research presentations as they help the audience understand examples better.

They can also save you from having to put a thousand thoughts into the PowerPoint presentation slide!

The first tip we can give to make a great visual presentation is to choose all your photos before you start. This way you can keep the consistency of the images across your slide deck and make sure they’re somewhat alike in terms of composition, mood and brand.

Use free stock photos

You don’t have to take the photos or videos yourself.

There are plenty of free resources and web pages for stock photos online – Unsplash , Pexels , Pixabay , Free Range , Creative Commons and some photos from Freepik are free to use with some accreditation.

Effective photo use

Make sure you pick an image that will focus on the main theme of the slide. One image is usually enough if the image choice is very relevant to the slide. If you have multiple photos, avoid poor or loose placement of photos all over the slide. Try to use a grid or gallery placement and it will immediately enhance the layout of the slide.

If you pick great images, making presentations can be faster. Instead of having to create an elaborate template with multiple elements, a photo with a couple of bullet points can go a long way in terms of capturing attention and making your presentation slides look professional. This is true on any presentation design platform – whether its PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.

You can also embed videos whether they’re located on your computer, YouTube, Vimeo or other major video streaming sites. If you’re feeling nervous about your presentation or have a complex message that would be hard to condense in one slide, a video is a dynamic way of conveying your message in any type of presentation.

The Typography You Use Matters

Typography is how you will arrange and present the words in your presentation. An audience can engage when text is readable, functional and works well with the other elements in the presentation. Fonts and sizing are a good place to start establishing the tone of your presentation.

Overview of Font Choices

Elegant fonts often denote a sense of luxury or lifestyle tone. Use script fonts sparingly, but as titles they immediately give this polished and high-end look. This should not be used as body text or something lengthy to read. Think about if you sent an email in that text – it would be tedious to read. However, maybe if it were a title or a way to name email, the choice may be more correct.

Corporate fonts often are traditional, serif fonts or clean sans serif fonts that evoke a sense of trust and a clear message. Think of the fonts Lato, Helvetica or Arial – they’re go-to fonts that are easy to read, and work across many systems. This is especially helpful if you are working across teams when creating content or having to approve the content, idea or visuals.

Of course, you can incorporate more stylistic or playful fonts if you want to give your presentation a personal feel. Much like the scripted font, when used sparingly but in large titles, this choice of font can be very effective at conveying a certain personality.

Adding Symbols & Icons To Your Presentation

You can consolidate information by using symbols or icons to direct your eye to information such as an arrow symbol. What if you used a symbol instead of a bullet point? Think of symbols as anchors for the eye to quickly find information. You can collect symbols off free stock sites or use the built-in ones in PowerPoint that are free to use!

Depending on if your presentation is formal or informal , you may also want to consider adding emojis! Emojis are fun ways to express different emotions and can help connect with a younger demographic.

Overall Branding, Tone of Voice & Consistency

Another tool you may have at your disposal is if your brand, business or company has brand guidelines. It will be the guide and compass to your presentation’s information that goes within it. By keeping consistent you can achieve a polished look even if it looks very simple.

Use your business voice to communicate ideas and set the tone for your presentation. Are you in an investment banking business and want people to rely on the information given to you? That would inform perhaps using blues and purples, which are calmer colors and a cleaner look. Are you an influencer who’s buying power and spending choices matter to your audience? Maybe choosing bright colors with personal touches will make the connection. Are you designing an innovative app? Maybe more interactive slides would do the trick.

Use these questions to make sure your text and tone is consistent as this is a foundation of a well articulated brand or personal identity.

Consistent Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is how you will arrange objects and text in relation to one another to guide your user and not confuse the objects and how they should read them in your slides. Setting rules helps differentiate and prioritize what’s important in order.

Look at the difference between these two.

Snoop Dogg just launched a wine and it’s coming to Canada

Daily hive branded content | aug 11 2020, 6:30 am.

Australian winery 19 Crimes recently announced that its new Cali Red wine, created in collaboration with Entertainment Icon, entrepreneur, and hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg, will be hitting shelves across Canada later this summer.

The collaboration offers a refreshing take on celebrity partnerships as the apparent shared values and history between the brand and famous rapper make for a perfectly organic pairing.

Comment Name:

By browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. see our user agreement for the use of cookies..

You can see a clear distinction in the example below:

Think of hierarchy of a form of narration or story structure. Your eye goes to the title, then to the subtitle, then to the body copy in a logical manner. Where the eye travels is one of those things we don’t think about often. But you can also utilize eye lines in photos. Is your subject in the photo looking left or right? Consider placing text to where your subject is looking and see how effectively your eye travels to that text.

We’ll look at hierarchy strictly as sizing of words for now, but note you can establish hierarchy with type, white space, alignment, etc. As a general rule of thumb, you should have consistent sizing for your Header (or title slide / slide title), your subtitles and your body text. That’s it! If the sizing in your PowerPoint is consistent, your words will look uniform and clean. Everything will be much easier to read and the eye will be trained to move each slide.

Don’t Forget Your Own Style

Also don’t forget to incorporate your own style and what kind of visuals you like. Even if your early visuals may seem simple, build up that design muscle with the basics and design techniques that look clean and consistent.

You’ll find as you design these basics, you’ll probably start noticing other visuals and things you like in other mediums and presentations. Keep a note or screenshot the presentation that inspired you. Create a mood-board that you can refer to in the future for quick idea inspiration. Copying gets a bad rap, but learning how to design something you like even if it’s a clone copy will teach you many things about design. Build a collection of images that informs everything you do: for your color scheme, your designs, the cadence of images, etc.

That being said, you can also use free stock websites like Freepik for some design layouts inspiration. Creative Market is a paid website but the site offers a ton of design inspiration. This site has design templates for what’s currently in and trending. You can subscribe to an email newsletter on either site to get bite sized design influence each day that goes straight to your inbox.

However, don’t be afraid to try something new!

Once you get to a level of comfortable designing, these new ideas will be much easier to execute with the technical knowledge you amassed when you started. You could even try using a new app to design your ideas to keep your knowledge fresh! (Keep in mind that most online apps like SlideShare use cookies to improve functionality and performance.)

Ask your friends or people at your organization to give you feedback and critique, as that’s also crucial to honing your design skills. The people around you also represent different audiences!

The above image looks boring, right?

That’s because there are no visual elements!

Powerful visual presentations can engage audiences psychologically with both the presentation itself and the energy of the presenter. By understanding a few universal design concepts, you can begin your journey creating wonderful visual presentations and becoming a better presenter ! Thanks for reading this blog post, tell us your tips in the comments below.

Author:  Content Team

Related posts.

FREE PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

Subscribe for free tips, resources, templates, ideas and more from our professional team of presentation designers.

2024’s Must-See Visual Presentation Examples to Power Up Your Deck

Anh Vu • 05 Apr 2024 • 6 min read

Keep on reading because these visual presentation examples will blow your boring decks away! For many people, delivering a presentation is a daunting project, even before it turns to hybrid and virtual displays due to the pandemic. To avoid the Death By PowerPoint phenomenon, it is time to adopt new techniques to make your presentations more visual and impressive.

This article tries to encourage you to think outside of the slide by providing essential elements of a successful visual presentation, especially for the new presenter and those who want to save time, money, and effort for the upcoming presentation deadline.

Table of Contents

What is a visual presentation.

• Types of Visual Presentation Examples

How to Create a Visual Presentation

• What Makes a Good Presentation Visual?

Frequently Asked Questions

How ahaslides supports a good visual presentation.

As mentioned before, you need a presentation tool to make your presentation more visual and engaging. The art of leveraging visual elements is all intended visual aids make sense and kick off audiences’ imagination, curiosity, and interest from the entire presentation.

The easiest way to create interaction between the presenter and the audience is by asking for rhetorical and thought-provoking quizzes and quick surveys during the presentation. AhaSlides , with a range of live polls , live Q&A , word clouds , interactive questions, image questions, creative fonts, and integration with streaming platforms can help you to make a good visual presentation in just a second.

• Types of Presentation
• College Presentation
• Creative Presentation Ideas
• AhaSlides Free Public Templates

Start in seconds.

Get free templates for your next interactive presentation. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!

So, what are the visual presentation examples? When providing as much information as possible, many presenters think that text-heavy slides may help, but by contrast, they may lead to distraction. As we explore the characteristics of good presentations, illustrations and graphics play an important role in delivering compelling content and turning complex concepts more clearly, precisely, and instantly to understand. A visual presentation is the adoption of a range of visual aids on presentation to ensure information is easier to understand and memorize. 

In addition, visual aids can also help to keep presenters on track, which can be used as a cue for reviving a train of thought. They build better interaction and communication between presenters and the audience, making them notice more deeply what you are saying.

Types of Visual Presentation Examples 

Some possible visual presentations include infographics , charts, diagrams, posters, flipcharts, idea board , whiteboards, and video presentation examples. 

An infographic is a collection of different graphic visual presentations to represent information, data, or knowledge intended more visually quickly and clearly to grab the audience’s attention.

To illustrate quantitative data effectively, it is important to make use of graphs and charts. For both business use and research use, graphs and charts can show multiple and complex data in a way that is easy to understand and memory.

When it comes to presenting information systematically and logically, you can use diagrams. A diagram is a powerful tool for effective communication and brainstorming processes. It also is time-saving for people to read and collect information.

A poster, especially a research project poster, provides brief and concrete information about a research paper straightforwardly. The audiences can grab all important data knowledge and findings through posters. 

A flipchart and whiteboard are the most basic presentation aids and work best to supplement lecture slides. Excellent whiteboard and flipchart composite of well-chosen words, and clear diagram will help to explain complex concepts.

A video presentation is not a new concept, it is a great way to spread ideas lively and quickly attract the audience’s attention. The advantages of a video presentation lie in its animation and illustration concepts, fascinating sound effects, and user-friendliness. 

In addition, we can add many types of visual aids in the presentations as long as they can give shapes and form words or thoughts into visual content. Most popular visual aids include graphs, statistics, charts, and diagrams that should be noted in your mind. These elements combined with verbal are a great way to engage the listeners’ imagination and also emphasize vital points more memorable.

It is simply to create more visual presentations than you think. With the development of technology and the internet, you can find visual presentation examples and templates for a second. PowerPoint is a good start, but there are a variety of quality alternatives, such as AhaSlides , Keynote, and Prezi.

When it comes to designing an effective visual presentation, you may identify some key steps beforehand:

Visual Presentation Examples – Focus on Your Topic

Firstly, you need to determine your purpose and understand your audience’s needs. If you are going to present in a seminar with your audience of scientists, engineers, business owners… They are likely to care about data under simple charts and graphs, which explain the results or trends. Or if you are going to give a lecture for secondary students, your slides should be something fun and interesting, with more colourful pictures and interactive questions.

Visual Presentation Examples – Animation and Transition

When you want to add a bit of excitement to a slideshow and help to keep the listener more engaged, you use animation and transition. These functions help to shift the focus of audiences between elements on slides. When the transition style and setting are set right, it can help to give fluidity and professionalism to a slideshow.

Visual Presentation Examples – Devices for Interactivity

One of the approaches that improve communication between audiences and the use of visual aids is using technology assistance. You don’t want to take too much time to create well-designed visual aids while ensuring your presentation is impressive, so why not leverage a presentation app like AhaSlides ? It properly encourages participant engagement with interactive visual features and templates and is time-saving. With its help, you can design your presentation either formally or informally depending on your interest.

Visual Presentation Examples – Give an Eye-catching Title

Believe it or not, the title is essential to attracting audiences at first sight. Though don’t “read the book by its cover”, you still can put your thoughts into a unique title that conveys the topic while piquing the viewer’s interest. 

Visual Presentation Examples – Play a Short Video

Creative video presentation ideas are always important. “Videos evoke emotional responses”, it will be a mistake if you don’t leverage short videos with sound to reel in and captivate the audience’s attention. You can put the video at the beginning of the presentation as a brief introduction to your topic, or you can play it as a supplement to explain difficult concepts. 

Visual Presentation Examples – Use a Prop or Creative Visual Aid to Inject Humour

It is challenging to keep your audience interested and engaged with your audience from the whole presentation. It is why to add a prop or creative visual aid to pull your audience’s focus on what you say. Here are some ideas to cover it:

• Use neon colour and duotones
• Tell a personal story
• Show a shocking heading
• Use isometric illustrations
• Go vertical

Visual Presentation Examples – Rehearsal and Get Feedback

It is an important step to make your visual presentation really work out. You won’t know any unexpected mirrors may come out on D-day if you don’t make the rehearsal and get feedback from a reliable source. If they say that your visual image is in bad-quality, the data is overwhelming, or the pictures are misunderstood, you can have an alternative plan in advance.

What Makes a Good Visual Presentation?

Incorporate visual or audio media appropriately. Ensure you arrange and integrate suitable data presentation in your slides or videos. You can read the guidelines for visual aids applications in the following:

• Choose a readable text size about the slide room and text spacing in about 5-7 doubted-spaced.
• Use consistent colour for overall presentation, visual aids work better in white yellow and blue backgrounds.
• Take care of data presentation, and avoid oversimplification or too much detail.
• Keep the data shown minimum and highlight really important data points only.
• Choose font carefully, keep in mind that lowercase is easier to read than uppercase
• Don’t mix fonts.
• Printed text is easier to read than handwritten text.
• Use the visual to emphasize punctuation in your verbal presentation.
• Say no to poor-quality images or videos.
• Visual elements need to be strategic and relevant.

What well-designed visual aids should have?

To make an effective visual aid, you must follow principles of design, including contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity.

Why is it important to keep visual aids simple?

Simple ads help to keep things clear and understandable, so the message can be communicated effectively.

What is the purpose of visual aids in the classroom?

To encourage the learning process and make it easier and more interesting so students would want to engage in lessons more.

More from AhaSlides

How it works

For Business

Join Mind Tools

Article • 12 min read

Creating Effective Presentation Visuals

Connecting people with your message.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Apple® founder Steve Jobs was known widely for his great presentations. His unveiling of the iPhone® in 2007 is considered to have been one of his best presentations ever, and, if you were one of the millions who watched it online, you'll know why. The presentation was engaging, and passionate.

Jobs was particularly well known for building his presentations around powerful visual aids. He knew that slides are most effective when they tell a story rather than convey information, so his visuals were simple, elegant, and image-based. They complemented and reinforced his message, and they never competed with him for his audience's attention.

You don't have to be Steve Jobs to give a great presentation, but you do need great visuals. They convey a powerful message about your ideas and your brand, so it's essential to get them right. In this article, we'll look at how you can create effective presentation visuals – slides that connect your audience with your message.

Why Simplicity Speaks Volumes

The saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is popular for a good reason: the human brain processes information more effectively when it is accompanied by images, or by short, memorable statements. This means that when you use simple, image-based slides to support your message, your audience can better grasp the information you're communicating.

However, many people use too many slides, or they build presentations around visual aids that are word-heavy or excessively complex.

These kinds of visual aids can negatively affect your presentation. Let's look at some examples:

• You're trying to convince the board to support a new product idea. Your slides are made up of graphs, numbers, and blocks of text from top to bottom, and board members spend most of their time reading the slides instead of listening to you. The result? You don't make a real connection, and your passion for the project is lost on them. They vote unanimously not to take the idea forward.
• You're pitching to a promising potential client. You spent a lot of time creating your slides, using many colors, animations, and fonts. However, the slides are so complex that your client has trouble understanding them. She leaves the presentation feeling overwhelmed and tired, and avoids using your firm because she fears, subconsciously, that dealing with your firm in the future could be similarly draining.
• You're giving a presentation to your department to highlight its good work. You want to feature everyone, so you make a slide detailing each person's accomplishments. Your department has dozens of people, so by the end, your team cares more about leaving than their results.

Now think about what happens when you use simple and engaging visuals. Instead of generating confusion or exhaustion, your slides create a positive connection with your audience. People might not remember exactly what you said, but they will remember a powerful image. They'll recall the positive emotions that they experienced during your presentation, and they'll start to associate your brand with clear, intelligent communication.

The results will be profound. You'll win new clients, convince colleagues to act on your ideas, and earn recognition for your team members' hard work. In short, you'll make positive impressions that will remain in people's minds long after the details of your presentation have faded.

Creating Great Visuals

Your visual aids have one job: to support your presentation . However, it takes considerable time, creativity, and effort to develop slides that do this well. Use the tips below to make the most of your preparation time.

1. Be Consistent

A common mistake is choosing different colors and fonts for each slide. This can confuse your audience and divert attention away from your message. Stay consistent with your slides, so that they form part of a seamless whole.

First, choose colors carefully, as color will affect your presentation's mood and tone. Also, think about the space that you'll be presenting in. If the room will be dark (with lights off), choose a darker background color, such as dark blue, black, or gray, with white or light-colored text. If the room will be light (with lights on or plenty of ambient light), choose a white or light-colored background, with black or dark-colored text.

You also need to match color with the tone and message of your presentation. Bright colors convey energy and excitement, while darker colors may seem more conservative and serious. Align the color palette you choose with your subject matter.

Microsoft® PowerPoint and Apple's Keynote are the most widely used presentation packages. They feature useful templates and tools, and most people are familiar with the layout of their presentations.

However, cloud-based presentation tools have features and templates that might be new to your audience, increasing the potential impact of your presentations.

2. Consider Culture

Before you create your visuals, make sure that you understand your audience. This is especially true if you're presenting to a culturally diverse group.

For example, not everyone reads from left to right, and people from some cultures may consider a particular color offensive or bad luck in business settings (look out for examples of this in our Managing Around the World articles). Additionally, jargon or slang may cause confusion with your audience.

When designing your visuals, use images and photographs that reflect the culture to which you're speaking. If you're presenting to a culturally diverse group, use pictures and images that reflect this diversity.

And keep graphics and phrases simple; remember, not everyone in the room will be a native English speaker. Whenever possible, use images to replace bullet points and sentences.

Our article on Cross-Cultural Communication has more tips for communicating with an ethnically diverse group.

3. Use Images Intelligently

When Steve Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air® , he needed to show just how small this new laptop was. The audience wasn't going to remember that it was 0.68 x 11.8 x 7.56 inches; those numbers don't create an emotional response. Instead, he showed them that the MacBook Air would fit easily into a standard manila envelope. This was a powerful way to show its size.

This kind of creativity is essential when choosing images. Your audience has probably seen plenty of bad clip-art and too many pictures of cross-cultural handshakes. Brainstorm creative, clever approaches with your imagery, and look for photographs or illustrations that tell a story in a less obvious way.

Thoughtful images will keep your audience engaged, reinforce your professionalism, and make a lasting impression.

4. Break Complex Data Down

When you have to communicate complex data or large chunks of information, avoid putting it all on one slide, as your audience may struggle to take in all of the details. Instead, either summarize the information, or split it up over several slides.

You can also use handouts to communicate complex information. Handouts allow your audience to look at data closely. This is especially important when you're presenting to analytical people, such as engineers, scientists, or finance professionals. They are trained to be skeptical about data, and a handout will give them a closer look. Once again, this kind of attention to the needs of your audience will highlight your professionalism and support your message.

5. Keep It Simple

Each slide should focus on one idea or concept. This allows your audience to grasp quickly what you want to communicate. Keep your text to a bare minimum (10 words or fewer if possible), and, where you can, use an image to convey a message rather than words: for example, consider using a graph instead of a list to show changing trends. Each slide should take three seconds or fewer to process. If it takes longer, the slide is probably too complex.

It can sometimes be helpful to follow a clear structure when creating your presentation; for example, if it is focused on a document or process with which audience members are familiar. This will help them make connections between your content and their existing knowledge.

Avoid bulleted lists whenever possible; they make it too easy to put several ideas on one slide, which can be overwhelming for your audience. If you do need to use bullets, don't use sentences; instead, simply list the fact, statistic, or idea you want to communicate. Then use your narrative to educate the audience about what these mean.

To simplify the wording on your slides further, highlight the key word in every sentence.

Next, look at the layout of your slides. Aim to use a plain background and plenty of blank space: this will help to focus audience members' eyes on your message. Avoid decorating slides with background pictures, logos or patterns that could distract attention.

Last, consider using blank slides when you need the audience's complete focus; a blank slide is equivalent to a pause, and it will add drama, tension, and focus to your words.

Many people underestimate how much time they need to set aside to prepare for a presentation. They'll spend days creating content and visuals but only a few hours practicing. Allow extra preparation time to hone your message and feel fully confident in your presentation.

First, take our interactive quiz, How Good Are Your Presentation Skills? to get an idea of how well you speak. Our articles on Delivering Great Presentations and Better Public Speaking contain tips and strategies that will help you communicate with clarity and intention.

When you practice your presentation, use your visuals. You should be able to glance at each slide and know exactly what you want to say.

If you're not confident in creating your own slides, think about outsourcing the task to a professional. This can be a smart option when a lot is at stake, or when you don't have the technical skills to create the type of presentation you want.

Consider using an outsourcing service such as Elance , Guru , or PeoplePerHour to find a suitable professional.

If you do, keep in mind that managing a freelancer requires a different approach from managing a regular staff member. Be clear about the project details, communicate your goals for the presentation, and set deadlines that give you plenty of time to revise and add as necessary.

Presentations that are too complex or lengthy can undermine your message. To create better visuals, do the following:

• Stay consistent.
• Consider culture.
• Use images intelligently.
• Break down complex data.
• Keep it simple.

If the stakes are high with your presentation and you don't feel confident with your technical skills, consider outsourcing slide preparation.

"iPhone," "Apple," "MacBook Air," and "Keynote" are trademarks of Apple Inc. (see www.apple.com ). "Microsoft" and "PowerPoint" are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation (see www.microsoft.com ). We have no association or connection with these organizations.

You've accessed 1 of your 2 free resources.

Get unlimited access

Discover more content

Expert Interviews

The Art of Public Speaking

With Professor Steve Lucas

Great Presentations

Add comment

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment!

Team Management

Learn the key aspects of managing a team, from building and developing your team, to working with different types of teams, and troubleshooting common problems.

Sign-up to our newsletter

Subscribing to the Mind Tools newsletter will keep you up-to-date with our latest updates and newest resources.

Subscribe now

Business Skills

Personal Development

Leadership and Management

Member Extras

Most Popular

Newest Releases

SWOT Analysis

How to Build a Strong Culture in a Distributed Team

Mind Tools Store

About Mind Tools Content

Discover something new today

Top tips for delegating.

Delegate work to your team members effectively with these top tips

Ten Dos and Don'ts of Change Conversations

Tips for tackling discussions about change

How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?

Boosting Your People Skills

Self-Assessment

What's Your Leadership Style?

Learn About the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Way You Like to Lead

Recommended for you

10 common communication mistakes.

Avoiding Communication Blunders and Misunderstandings

Business Operations and Process Management

Strategy Tools

Customer Service

Business Ethics and Values

Handling Information and Data

Project Management

Knowledge Management

Self-Development and Goal Setting

Time Management

Presentation Skills

Learning Skills

Career Skills

Communication Skills

Negotiation, Persuasion and Influence

Working With Others

Difficult Conversations

Creativity Tools

Self-Management

Work-Life Balance

Stress Management and Wellbeing

Coaching and Mentoring

Change Management

Managing Conflict

Delegation and Empowerment

Performance Management

Leadership Skills

Developing Your Team

Talent Management

Problem Solving

Decision Making

Member Podcast

How to Create an Inspiring Presentation for your Workshop

Have you ever been at a presentation or workshop and found yourself forcing your eyes to stay open? 

Bored out of your mind, and struggling to focus, the host is bleating on… and on. The concepts are too hard to follow, the words becoming a meaningless, tiresome cloud. Next time you struggle to sleep, it’ll be this guy’s waffling drivel that’ll send you to the land of nod.

Together, we’ll discover how to put the “Pow!” back into PowerPoint.

Design your next session with SessionLab

Join the 150,000+ facilitators 
using SessionLab.

Recommended Articles

A step-by-step guide to planning a workshop, how to create an unforgettable training session in 8 simple steps, 47 useful online tools for workshop planning and meeting facilitation.

In this article we’ll explore: 

• Why visual presentations are important
• What to consider when planning presentations

How to design an engaging visual presentation

• How to choose an engaging format
• Which tools are best for designing presentations
• Tips on how to deliver your workshop presentation

Why Are Visual Presentations Important?

The purpose is to share brilliant ideas with an audience. This might be a piece of work or an educational concept in a workshop; the aim is to communicate with people, make them feel something , and take action. We all want our audience to leave an event feeling motivated and inspired, and that the workshop was of value.

The importance of visuals is often overlooked, either due to a lack of confidence in working with visual design, lack of time or both. For a workshop facilitator, using visual aids could actually save time, better represent our ideas and concepts to a group, and help you present more confidently. “How?”, you ask.

When it comes to saving time, a picture is really worth a thousand words. There is no need to type up your presentations or make wordy bullet points on every slide when a simple image can share the message for you. 

Visual presentations put across an immediate message. Images are emotive and can deliver a story much faster than words, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text . An image that can share an idea, can be more memorable than trying to remember very specific terminology. 

Creating visuals becomes part of a wider conversation in inclusive communication. Images are universally understood, and the eyes can “read” a picture with less effort than reading and comprehending several paragraphs. Imagine describing the color blue as a phrase. It is much easier to present it as it exists. 

Graphics are easy to share, and 65% of us are Visual learners . For anyone who has missed out on the meeting, a visual booklet can do the job of sharing the subject with them, and the added benefit of being able to view it in their own time. The power of social media also plays a huge part in the spreading of information and well-designed infographic slides can take your presentations and workshops outside of the room, with the potential to make a global impact. Sharability goes further with visual elements.

For me, a visual presentation is a lifesaver! Using slides has saved me a lot of time and made me feel more confident whilst presenting too. I don’t fumble around with notes, as the visuals can act as a prompt to remind me of where I’m at in my talk.

When presenting online, I find the value of visuals and slides even more important. It takes the attention away from my actions, and onto the graphics themselves. The participants can hear what I’m saying, but their eyes focus on the visual information which helps in retaining information and ideas beyond the workshop.    

What to consider when creating a visual presentation

I’m naturally quite a visual person, and I’ve often wondered if I could make a visual presentation without planning first what it is that I want to say. As an experiment, I gave it a go and it was a huge struggle. So, if you think that designing visuals is something that only designers can do and that they find it easy… it doesn’t and they don’t. 

As a starting point: get out a pen and paper and write down everything you want to say. This ensures you have all of the ideas and information out in black and white . I find that by leaving space between the writing and structuring, coming back at it with fresh eyes is a perfect way to work without feeling rushed. I rarely add to what I’ve written, it’s mostly about removing.

Recently I had written a LOT of information for an event. A day later, I took a second view to edit. A lot of writing is quite self-indulgent, so it helps to consider the audience . I cut up sections of the paper, keeping only what was the most necessary information , and collated it together. The rest of the sentences didn’t make the cut. You can try the editing exercise here . 

Less is More- an exercise in editing   #presentation   #presentation skills   #writing   #workshop   #meeting design   This exercise is ideal for editing written content in a hands-on way. A simple and effective exercise for editing workshop content or presentation text for talks. Use it when you have to write for a specific audience and want them to stay focused on the most important information.

As an expert in your field, it’s likely you’ll have a lot of content, and editing is so valuable to ensure your audience has relevant details. Don’t bore their socks off 😉

So now that you have an idea of your core content, you can move along the process, considering these factors before jumping into the design stages:

 Let’s start by asking, “ who is your audience? “

• if you are being commissioned to present a topic to a pre-determined group, then you’ll need to cater to their understanding of the topic. You’ll want to ensure that the information will be relevant and meets or goes beyond their expectations.
• if the topic is of your own choice, and the angle you’ve chosen to take, who do you want to take part? Finding them, and attracting them to the workshop will be part of your marketing efforts, as well as how you plan your structure and content.

We wouldn’t plan a workshop for ten-year-olds in the same way we might for adults. Consider what tone of voice you might use, the style in which we present how we use slides, and the content itself. You won’t be able to do this for each and every individual, but how you determine and empathize with your listeners can be done by creating a persona, or several personas . 

Create an overarching idea of who might be present, then consider how to engage them and meet their needs by asking yourself the following in more depth:

Why are they there?

Let’s look at their reason for attending your event. Have they come to learn from you in particular? If you are a specialist in your field and the workshop is an area of great interest to people, you’ll most likely have a deep understanding, and along with that, expectations to be filled. 

Have they come to gain a better understanding of the topic? Are they there to challenge themselves and their existing views, or perhaps yours?

How much do they know already?

Are your participants already proficient in the topic you’re delivering? You’d hopefully know this in advance of your workshop so you can adapt your material, and create a pitch in line with the group’s knowledge. If their experience level is unknown, an opener to your discussion might be to ask about their subject knowledge, ideas and expectations. That way you can tailor your language and approach.

It helps to be well versed in your workshop, to select sections you can skip out in favor of diving deeper into more advanced information. Improvisation isn’t usually a skill you’d immediately connect with presenting, but with practice, learning how to improvise can become an empowering tool to have.

For beginners, you’ll most likely take an introductory approach. This doesn’t mean it has to be dry or boring. Make it more interesting and engaging by weaving in an interactive exercise, or team debate within your presentation design. That way, the participants can gather more hands-on experience to support their understanding. This can of course use visual handouts, such as a workbook, or include a well-designed visual exercise on an interactive whiteboard.

What is their background and communication style?

Your presentation style, language, and cultural references should be considered in the writing and designing process. I recently attended a workshop on how we can create better inclusion for diverse audiences by considering the language we use. It really made me think about how we often lean towards using English as a “default” language, and how words often hold different weights and contexts in other languages.

Remote workshops and presentations mean we may have a very diverse audience than if we were presenting in-person, in one location. Online could mean 140 people in different time zones across different countries with different backgrounds. Being aware of differences makes it easier to use inclusive, easy-to-understand language in your presentation so that no one feels alienated. Speaking with clear articulation will make a big difference in how you are understood. 

You might have the best workshop on the planet, but if you don’t communicate in the style of your group, the impact will be lost. Do they want a short and snappy talk with a clear outcome at the end? Some audiences appreciate a motivational and inspirational talk that is led through emotional storytelling. Knowing their communication preferences can win over or lose your audience.

Before you begin designing your presentation, it’s important to consider what your purpose is. This is your mission statement, your project brief and your raison d’être. Here is where you want to ask yourself, what is it that you want your audience to think, feel or do? Are we creating an emotional impact or an educational goal?

Be as clear as possible with your core message, making it as specific as possible, so that you can keep this in mind throughout the process of writing, editing, designing and delivering presentations. This will keep your focus sharp, and avoid any unnecessary derailments taking your viewers away from what it is you hope to achieve.

Common purposes are to: inspire, inform, persuade or entertain .

• I want to inspire the audience to help reduce food poverty by leading a cookery workshop using supermarket waste.
• I want to inform the group about the future of rural tourism, so they might consider how they could adapt their own farming businesses to host visitors. 
• I want to persuade my team to reduce our use of plastic in the fashion industry, by presenting a viable alternative made from mushrooms.
• I want to entertain by pretending to be a Martian visiting Earth for the first time . My purpose is to help the participants understand their product from a new perspective!

A Martian Sends a Postcard Home   #creative thinking   #idea generation   #remote-friendly   #brainstorming   #energizer   #team   Use Craig Raine’s poem A Martian Sends a Postcard Home to spur creative thinking and encourage perspective shifting in a group. After a warm-up, you can then use this martian perspective to describe your product or service and gain new insights and ideas.

I recently designed a workshop called Design Thinking for Beginners and ran a SessionLab show and tell session aimed at facilitators who would like to run the workshop for teams new to design thinking. If you missed it, you can watch it back here. My purpose was to inform the attendees of the challenges newbies have with design thinking, and how they can make it a fun and digestible process.

I chose to relate each stage of design thinking to an everyday project of choosing or baking a birthday cake. My presentation was broken down into manageable chunks. Describing design thinking could be a laborious task, but keeping the text definition simple, with plenty of white space highlighted the point in one sentence. 

For the workshop itself, I incorporated interactive exercises throughout the process to lock in the understanding of design thinking and how we generate ideas. For the ideate stage of design thinking- I created a game show style exercise called the Ideas Vault where I chose to create a fun layout like a 90s computer game. The design process worked by gathering inspiration using a mix of pre-made Canva templates and adding my own twist. I talk more about Canva and design tools here .

The way you choose to structure a visual presentation will depend wholly on the purpose. The way you communicate your key message should be crafted in a way for the audience to follow along easily and act on those all-important takeaways at the end.

A solid structure will also make sure your points are clear so that you stay calm and on track when presenting. The structure of your topic, when written down and broken into manageable chunks will help hugely when it comes to creating the visual elements later. (we’ll get to that in the next section!)

Some common ways to structure your presentation could be

• Problem > Solution > Impact. Which you might use if your purpose is to inspire the audience to take action on a topic, by showing them a viable solution.
• You may start with an informative session and create a workshop as we mentioned before, to lead people through a learning process.
• A creative structure might be through storytelling , which might inspire and entertain. Once upon a time, this event happened, followed by the outcome and moral of the story.
• In any case, your presentation could follow the classic layout of: introduction, main body & conclusion, and you’d have a good foundation for your content.

Introduction

You have the first few seconds to grab people’s attention. First impressions are just as important as they’re made out to be! The introduction is the most important part, where the group will connect with you and decide if they want to listen to you or not. What would be a great hook for the audience to immediately buy into your presentation from the start?

Some people introduce themselves at the beginning- but you don’t have to. If you’re beginning with a story, this can be a very effective way to warm up your participants and make sure they’re really listening to you. Then you can introduce yourself when you know they have your attention, and they value what you have to say.

A quote or a provocative question or fact can get people thinking. You may use a thought-provoking image, which could be a prop, a video or a photo that introduces your presentation from the get-go. If you are offering a solution, go straight to the problem in your introduction.

Main body of presentation

Now that you’ve got your audience’s attention, and they have gathered an understanding and are intrigued to learn more, we can delve into the juice of your subject.

The main body involves presenting the data, and the important pieces of information. If you are offering a solution to the problem you introduced, expressing this with a visual, we place the subject right in front of them, and they don’t have to work so hard and use their imagination.

The main body doesn’t have to be a one-sided conversation. Listen! You might ask the group to interact, asking for their perspective. A talk or workshop can be a dialogue between the presenter and the group.

Your conclusion should be as snappy and engaging as your introduction. It may even loop back to the provocative question, or challenging problem. You’ll want to consider the impact on the attendees and most importantly, what you want them to do next! What action do you want them to take beyond the workshop?

What are the key takeaways? Highlight them as  Problem  > Solution  > Impact.

An effective class should tie up the opening question and objective, but still leave space for further exploration and discussion. Like a great film! They should not be saying, “I’m glad that’s over”. If it’s been designed with the audience in mind, they should feel something- energized or excited.

Now that you’ve written the content and designed the structure, here are our top tips to get you creating impactful visuals to complement what you present verbally. We’ll cover:

• How to design your slides and what information to include
• How typography impacts accessibility and design 
• Making smart color choices for both emotional connection and accessibility

Designing your slides

When approaching a blank canvas, it can be hard to know where to start. Some people start with deciding how many slides they’ll use- the question, “How many slides are too many slides?” crops up regularly in these types of articles. Expert presenters say not to go over 20 visual slides, but this will of course depend on the length and complexity of your subject. Another tip is not to spend more than a minute on each slide to keep it snappy and people engaged.

If I am creating a presentation from scratch, I’ll start with the first slide, and keep it very simple before moving on to the next one. Always asking “what is this slide saying? ” The first slide will be the title of my discussion, which will be visible to everyone joining the room. It sets the tone for what the topic will be about. If we were creating one around the topic of designing workshop slides, it might look like this:

I think the most important thing to remember is that each slide should have its own purpose, and not be overloaded with text. Where possible, use an image rather than words and think about how we might convey this message visually. Always start by defining the message and asking what the key takeaway for participants is. You can always further explain verbally.

When choosing an image, consider the audience and their context- a local photograph they can relate to, or a familiar face will often have more to say than a generic stock image.

Text will likely be used on your slides, and how much text is too much? If you begin planning your content by writing it all out and keeping only the most important parts, designing your slides will be a lot easier. I’d always recommend editing continuously throughout the process to create a meaningful message. If you can say something in 3 bullet points rather than 10, please do! Your audience will have a much easier time retaining the information.

“Good design is invisible”

Unless the subject of your presentation is about typography, it’s probably not the best time to be cracking out your most recently found, favorite font that’s “a bit different” or unusual. Stick to standard, trusted and most legible fonts that audiences can read and are familiar with. Otherwise, they’ll distract from the content. And content is King. 

“Good design is invisible”, a true and very useful phrase from Dieter Rams, who considers functionality in design as honest, long-lasting and with as little design as possible. This is a good theory to take throughout the design process. When looking for the right font, consider the tone you are using throughout your delivery too, and the overall message you are giving.

Good typography is your best friend for a presentation. When creating visuals for screens, as mentioned before, we are not typing out our speech word-for-word. Any text that is visually presented will have a very definite purpose as to why it is being displayed. This might be a quote, some data or the title of a book along with some further information in short form. Presentation slides are not a book.

Legibility is the most important thing when it comes to designing your visuals. Sans serif fonts are typically the best option for reading on a screen. Help your audience understand what you are communicating as quickly and easily as possible by ensuring the font sizes are easy to read. 

Create contrast and visual interest by choosing two fonts, one for headers and one for any body text. The contrast should still be harmonious, and not jarring to the eyes. Font hierarchy can help the audience differentiate between key points and more specific information. By choosing different weights and sizes, you can ensure your message is clearly heard and understood. 

• Minimum font size for main copy and bullets: 18 points
• Preferred font size for main copy and bullets: 24 points
• Preferred font size for headers or titles: 36 to 44 points

Personally, I like to choose font sizes slightly larger than recommended for body text. When we have a text-heavy page, I prefer to give the text plenty of surrounding white space and edit the copy as much as possible. From a design perspective, it helps legibility; and from a content perspective, it doubly ensures only the relevant text is presented on screen. I would definitely edit again at this stage. In this example for screens, the body text is 28pt and written in Open Sans, and the “Ideate” heading is 44pt in Agrandir wide.

Before creating any printed material for presentations, consider if it will truly be used and the environmental impact. I’d usually opt for sharing a digital version for people to refer back to after the workshop. It’s good practice to create a black and white version so that if it is printed out, the printing costs will be lower. There are of course digital accessibility issues, and some people might prefer a printed version. If so, select a serif font for any long text in a workbook or feedback form, with a minimum font size of 10-12pt.

Key points:

• Use Contrast

Deciding on the color scheme for a presentation is one of my favorite parts! Of course, you may have been given a branded color scheme to use, but if you have free reign in color choice and you enjoy the creative process, it can be a lot of fun.

For my show and tell on Design Thinking, I used the analogy of baking a cake and I felt that they conjure up an image of pastels. I used a gradient on the background so that I could use an array of colors without it being overbearing. I selected five key pastel colors for each stage of design thinking and to evoke a playful feel throughout. I was careful not to allow the colors to take over, so you’ll primarily see black and white use of color at the forefront for legibility.

Here are the key elements of how to choose a color scheme to complement your content :

The first, and most important point when choosing colors, is to use contrast. Make sure your text and graphics stand out from the background and are easily seen. Contrast is the difference in opposing colors so that they don’t blend in together A light background should use dark text and perhaps one or two bold accent colors to highlight key points. A dark background should use light fonts.

If you’re unsure of how easy a slide is to read, there are an array of online tools that can check the contrast for you by following the web accessibility guidelines. On Contrast Checker , you can enter the HEX code of the background and foreground colors, and you’ll get an idea of legibility. The sliders in the tool can be used if you need to improve the contrast and amend the color choices. There are also resources to guide you in how to select the color with an online eyedropper tool in case you’re not familiar with the HEX color codes.

Another contrast checker tool also shows the background and foreground with text examples and gives a rating to the accessibility of the text. This website has a whole host of tools, and can even pick a suitable palette for you.

If you’re working with a client, they may already have their own brand packaging and presentation template, including their colors. You may feel that this removes your choice of colors as it has been decided already, for example, they may use an in-house color language to refer to particular data on a graph. But the opposite may be true and might mean further considerations for visuals. It is important to know how to choose because when you create graphics or diagrams because you may have to select colors so that explanatory text can be seen on top of a shape or part of a graph.

When working with a client, it is important to share any documentation with their design team, and the best way to do this is by providing editable files. Working with a designer can massively lift the load on creating your presentation visuals. If there is no design team, but you are given design assets to work with, sharing both your visuals and your presentation agenda for collaboration and sign-off is a must. Create your agenda in SessionLab , and attach your visual presentation for ease of sharability. 

Studies have shown that color has an effect on expressing or feeling emotions. It will help to consider the tone that you are using throughout your presentation, the message you are delivering, and how you might want your audience to feel.

Warm colors, in the middle of the color spectrum, that aren’t too bold or too light create a warm and comfortable feeling. Bright reds and oranges can feel energetic and powerful. Or even create a sense of danger. In contrast, cooler colors such as greens, blues and purples can feel calm or evoke a sense of sadness.

We have an exercise that can help identify emotions and grow a better emotional vocabulary, the feelings wheel . It includes a visual attachment displaying the emotions in a range of colors- this may help select a tone for your color scheme. 

The Feeling Wheel   #emotional intelligence   #self-awareness   #icebreaker   #team building   #remote-friendly   By growing our emotional vocabulary, we can better identify our emotions, and check in with ourselves. Doing so can help bring a level of self-awareness, and a better understanding of others.

How to choose an engaging presentation format

We are almost there! The content is edited and your visual slides are ready, the next stage is to consider the format in which you’ll deliver your workshop or meeting. This is when you can consider any additional tools that you can use to your advantage when presenting. This might be video, photography or visual data. Or even props. Consider which other visual aids may help people to better understand the process or story you are conveying.

What presentation method will keep them engaged? How will you inspire and capture their imagination?

I’d recommend simplicity, and not try to include every form of media. Consider the purpose and message and select which format delivers it most effectively. Used with intention, video can be great. But animated graphics or flashy text is unnecessary and will add to the cognitive load of your audience, especially if they have any visual impairments.   

Video can be very effective, so long as it’s kept brief. If it’s longer than a minute, you may lose the attention of the audience, and the momentum of your presentation. A film clip should be creative and add another dimension, not an infomercial or promo piece, it’s a tool to say something that you cannot put across otherwise.

Films can have great benefits of showing a story. In a TED Talk about the intelligence of crows, the scientist showed a clip of the crow bending a hook to create a tool and fish a piece of food out of a tube. It put across his point better than anything he could’ve said.

I use recordings in situations like this, to demonstrate a case study. It’s often more powerful to have the original storyteller sharing their experience than me giving a second-hand account of the tale. Bringing in other voices in this way can add further diversity to your workshop.

Still images

JPEGs are compressed files and are used for photo formats. When a photo is taken, it is a RAW file that is editable. Once it’s compressed to a JPEG, it retains around a tenth of the information, meaning it is a smaller and less detailed file. JPEGS are used in photography, but not in vector graphics (drawings, typography, graphs, etc), as the detail lost can create pixelation if you aim to blow the image up to a larger size.

PNGs retain detail and are editable. They are still compressed files, but the pixels aren’t lost. Any graphics you create should be saved as a PNG, as you’ll be able to keep the image sharp, regardless of the size.

The photography you choose must be relatable. I’m definitely not against stock imagery per se, it’s amazing to have access to a library of searchable images to strengthen what you are saying. But, often you’ll see the same images repeated in different workshops and presentations and they’ll start to lose their meaning, or become too familiar. There are great free resources like Unsplash and if you spend time looking for a more unique way to put your point across, there are lots to choose from.

I’ve also had an Adobe Express subscription which gives access to photography and graphics and templates which you to customize in editing with little design skills. Ideally, being able to take your own photographs, or work with a professional photographer to capture exactly what you want is going to give your audience a far more unique experience. This is often a luxury.

As facilitators, a way around this could be to create our own library of photos that we capture at each presentation. When I’ve run crafting workshops, it feels quite natural to take photographs of the work we are creating. And those who are camera-shy, they’re more open to photographs of their hands in action. Over time, we’ll have a whole collection of resources.

If you enjoy photography, having a good camera as part of your kit might intrigue people, invite people to take photos of each other and the workshop process. This could be an exercise that you do to open or close your talk. Or in some cases, especially if it’s a visual presentation, and not too distracting, invite people to take their own photos and share after with a #hashtag (promo and photos in one!) And of course, get everyone’s signature attesting they are OK with photos.

Visual data & symbols

Visualizing data makes it more interesting, engaging and memorable than cold hard figures. For the majority of audiences, it’s easier to understand in a visual format than in a list of forgettable numbers. By creating charts, graphs or maps, we are able to see patterns and understand the context of the statistics. A pie chart displaying percentages in corresponding colors tells our brain quickly which section has the largest number.

Even when we analyze word-driven data, a visual representation is easier to see straight away. When I’ve worked with community groups in the design thinking process, we’ve often used Google surveys to capture written evidence. This type of qualitative data can be a challenge to sift through, so for an initial overview, a tool like word cloud can show how many times a particular word or phrase appears and turns it into an image. The more times a word appears, the larger it is on the image.

The use of icons and emojis (sparingly! And in context 😉) can add another element of visual understanding to presentations. Illustrations and hand-dawn symbols might better express your point than a photograph too. An opportunity to work with a live scribe or graphic facilitator whilst presenting could add an interesting dimension to a talk. If it involves audience participation, having someone on hand to capture the conversation visually can keep engagement and attention going!

The best tools for designing your presentation

Canva has become a much more powerful tool than it was. You can even edit your workshop recordings with it now! It’s perfect for anyone with little design knowledge as it has great templates for presentations, lots of which are free. It has social media templates too, which are perfect for advertising your upcoming workshop.

Adobe Creative Suite

I do love Creative Suite , and it still is a great package of tools for designers. Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign are the industry standard for design tools and have all the capabilities you’d need as a graphic designer. If that package is beyond your scope, Adobe Express is a great option for pre-made templates and stock imagery. Like Canva, it also works well as an app on a smartphone.

Keynote 

Keynote comes as standard with MacBook and has had a whole new upgrade including being able to use the camera on your Mac or an external camera to show yourself directly on the slides. Super handy for an online event! You can also show the screen of a connected iPad or iPhone and it now has co-hosting capabilities. 

Of course! SessionLab is where you can keep all of your presentation notes, and break down the agenda into blocks, so if you decide to switch up parts of your presentation- you can drag and drop to a different section of your talk. It is a much easier process, as it will also keep any other attachments or exercises in that block neatly collated in one place. It’s easy to share with any co-hosts or clients before the presentation day arrives!

How to deliver a workshop presentation with visuals

Some people memorize their speech word for word, which can work well if you’re a dab hand at amateur dramatics. 

On the other hand, that might feel too stressful or rigid. Bill Murray is famously known to read a script once and throw it away! For you, it may be better to consider the key points you’d like to make, and really know your subject matter so whatever arises, you’ve got it covered. Your visuals might act as a prompt for you too, the main message will be communicated visually, and you can feel free to go into more depth.

The best way to ensure that you nailed the slide design for your session is to practice. It’s important to practice noting your timing, that you’ve covered all the important points, and that each slide transitions smoothly from one to the next. You want the presentation to be as seamless as possible. The best way to practice is in front of someone and gather feedback.

Before our design thinking for beginners show and tell, I rehearsed in front of my fellow team members, instructing them to wear their “facilitator’s hats” whilst listening, so they could hear from a facilitator’s perspective and give constructive feedback.

Afterward, you can continue to add and edit, removing some sections, and making room for more key discussions to be had in-depth. If it is an informal presentation that you will run more than once, it could develop over time. If it is a one-off very important meeting, it’s vital to get as much preparation practice as possible.

Expect nerves

If I get nervous, I purposely talk slightly slower than I usually would naturally, and it calms the nerves down. There’s also no harm in mentioning that you’re nervous, it’s an honest approach and can create an authentic connection.

We’re all human. And no one would expect you to not be nervous. Nerves, to an extent, can be a good thing. They bring a bit of energy and focus to your talk, and a little adrenaline. If you know your subject matter inside out, all you really need to do is breathe, and talk. 

Speaking with one of our community members, Yvonne Chin Irving on the subject of nerves, she suggested diaphragmatic breathing, or more a more fun term, “balloon breathing”:

Belly breathe. Slowly. Imagine your tummy has a balloon that fills up when you breathe. Exhale all the air. Notice your tummy as it flattens. Next, breathe in slowly and fill your “balloon” with breath 🎈. Do this a few times to help calm yourself down. You can start this on the way to your session, do it in the car or while you’re setting up for your session. (It really works) Yvonne Chin Irving

We’d love it if you joined the conversation in our SessionLab community!

Having a technical rehearsal beforehand can help avoid blips. Ensure the right people have screen-sharing abilities, and that screens in the in-person space work. Iron out any microphone issues or problems with echo prior to the big presentation! On the day itself a technical disaster could strike, so here are some practical tips to circumnavigate these and stay professional:

• Create different formats for your presentation. If it’s a Keynote or Powerpoint, have a PDF version available in case of any tech issues you’ll still have a high-quality version available.
• If including video, have backup screen-shots as images to demonstrate your points in case the video doesn’t run.
• Be analog ready. Know your presentation without the use of slides- or print them out so that if there is a complete technical breakdown, you can confidently present. This might include creating printed handouts for people to refer to when you direct them to do so. Or, if they have their own smartphones, send them the link to your visuals or any important videos to watch back after your talk, to avoid distractions as you speak.

Accessibility

Ensuring your audience has the best experience, requires being aware of accessibility needs. Is access to the building easy for anyone with physical disabilities? Are the seats comfortable, and allow for ease of viewing for people of different heights? 

We’ve discussed the best way to use typography for ease of reading for anyone with visual impairments, and when setting up your screen, it is a good idea to see how it will look in the actual event environment. Additionally, you may share larger-print handouts on yellow paper for anyone with dyslexia. This is another reason why knowing your audience in the planning stage will make sure your presentation is enjoyable and accessible for everyone.   

Agenda planning

SessionLab is an agenda planning tool that makes presenting a lot smoother! You are able to allocate time to each section of content to keep yourself on track throughout. In your preparation stage, you can attach all of your materials to your SessionLab agenda, knowing exactly when you’ll use each of them. It’s so neatly organized and easy to edit and shift blocks if you decide to change the order of content for a future session.

In conclusion

I hope you have found this guide valuable, and that it inspires lots of ideas when planning your next presentation! There are a wealth of resources dotted around this article, and I’ll include a few more here that I highly recommend:

Lean Presentation Design A whole website by Maurizo la Cava dedicated to presentation strategy

Ted Talk: How to Write Less, but say more is an excellent talk by Jim VandeHai about short and effective communication.

Five Things to Know About Your Audience Before You Present if You Want to Be Successful useful tips on how to empathize with your group for a more successful presentation.

Let us know below in the comments if you have any questions, or any tips of your own to add to the conversation!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Going from a mere idea to a workshop that delivers results for your clients can feel like a daunting task. In this piece, we will shine a light on all the work behind the scenes and help you learn how to plan a workshop from start to finish. On a good day, facilitation can feel like effortless magic, but that is mostly the result of backstage work, foresight, and a lot of careful planning. Read on to learn a step-by-step approach to breaking the process of planning a workshop into small, manageable chunks.  The flow starts with the first meeting with a client to define the purposes of a workshop.…

How does learning work? A clever 9-year-old once told me: “I know I am learning something new when I am surprised.” The science of adult learning tells us that, in order to learn new skills (which, unsurprisingly, is harder for adults to do than kids) grown-ups need to first get into a specific headspace.  In a business, this approach is often employed in a training session where employees learn new skills or work on professional development. But how do you ensure your training is effective? In this guide, we'll explore how to create an effective training session plan and run engaging training sessions. As team leader, project manager, or consultant,…

Effective online tools are a necessity for smooth and engaging virtual workshops and meetings. But how do you choose the right ones? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or MS Office toolkit and email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing and delivering your workshop? Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools to make your life easier when you need to facilitate a meeting and lead workshops. In this post, we’ll share our favorite online tools you can use to make your job as a facilitator easier. In fact, there are plenty of free online workshop tools and meeting facilitation software you can…

Design your next workshop with SessionLab

Join the 150,000 facilitators using SessionLab

Sign up for free

How to create visual presentations and eLearning

• Written by: Richard Goring
• Categories: PowerPoint design , Visual communication
• Comments: 4

Most presentations are a cascade of text-heavy Death-by-PowerPoint slides, while online learners suffer the torture of wading through page after page of brochures converted to click-through-eLearning. However you look at it, a wall of text doesn’t work to engage people or compel them to action, so it really can’t be effective. That’s why most people now recognize that using visuals is the way to go. But how do you create visual presentations and eLearning that works? We think there are six steps you need to follow.

Step 1. Understand the audience

To know how to make a presentation effective, you need to understand the person on the receiving end and also decide what you’re trying to achieve. Are you trying to inform the audience of something – i.e. give them information they don’t have and help them understand it. Or persuade them to do something or change their behaviour – i.e. convince the audience the reasons to act in a certain way are stronger than the reasons not to. (Selling is typically a subset of this).

And it’s worth noting that a lot of the time, when you’re trying to inform people of something as your primary objective, you’ll also need to do at least a little persuasion, to get them to believe that your information is valid, valuable, and worth acting upon. Likewise, if you’re persuading people, you need to inform your audience so that they understand enough to be able to buy into your ideas.

When informing, you should have a clear idea of what exactly you are trying to inform about, and note it down in a couple of words so that you can easily refer back to it throughout the process.

If you’re persuading people, the same thing applies, but more specifically, we find it most helpful to think about this in terms of how the audience will benefit. What’s in it for them?

The options are many and various, but something short and punchy helps you to focus your story on what’s important to your audience and will make the story worth listening to.

Step 2: Identify key message or story

Now you need to decide what information to present to your audience in order to achieve your goal. And assess how much your audience already know about the topic, so you don’t repeat unnecessarily.

Typically, anything you’re attempting to visualise into a visual presentation has a lot of detailed content with relatively little structure. So to help, we recommend you simplify down to the core message in a nicely structured way that’s easy to understand, which then helps you to pick out what detail is most important and how to bring everything together.

Then take the necessary pieces of information and organise them into a story that flows, so it’s easy to follow. Often the framework of Problem -> Solution -> Impact is a good one to follow.

• Problem sets up the context and shows why this is something people need to know and pay attention to. It helps to frame the rest of the story.
• Solution is the details of what happens, or how something works.
• Impact is the end result – that will often lead to the outcome that your audience will achieve.

Step 3: Identify key objects

The next job, within these short sentences, is to identify the objects that are crucial to telling the story.

Person, role, company – Typically these are physical things, like objects or people. You can easily spot some of these – any mention of people, groups of people, job roles, or companies, could be represented by a photo of someone, or a silhouette, or a logo.

Object, product – You may have things that aren’t people, but are still easily recognizable entities, like objects – a computer, a phone, a bicycle, a hippopotamus – or a product or service, which might be a little bit more abstract, like ‘consulting’ or ‘water treatment’ – but still a concept that you can easily put a label on. Pretty straightforward visually, you could use an icon if you just want to get across the idea of a deliverable, or a photo of the product, or a label of the product or service, or you might even have a logo for it, especially if it’s something fairly abstract.

Quote – If you want to show a direct quote from someone, try to keep it short and to the point. It should really speak for itself, which means you’re going to have to keep quiet and let the audience read it.

Location – Then you might have locations – a point on a map, like a city, or maybe a type of building, like a hospital or office tower, or it could be an office floor plan. It could be something more abstract like an objective or a target you’re aiming towards.

Data, measurable – And then you might be able to pick out some data, like figures, percentages, dates, costs, that sort of thing, or some kind of measurable quantity, which are similar but they’re more vague – concepts that you can quantify, but that don’t really have any ‘number’ attached to them – things like a level of risk, or confidence, or effort.

That’s a starter gallery of different types of key objects. What these things all have in common is that they can all be represented with some sort of visual device that can be easily recognized, so you don’t have to do too much explanation and the audience doesn’t spend too long trying to figure out what it is. You might be using pictures, or icons, or labels to represent these things to create your visual presentation, or they might make up part of a diagram, which is what we’re going to look at in the next part of the process.

Step 4: Establish relationships

Once you know what’s involved in the story, start to look at the relationships between each of the key objects, and how they interact, which will give you the layout of the slide, the framework, or the diagram. There are plenty of options, but there are a few reliable regulars that you can draw on.

First you’ve got your different types of graph , which will probably be the first choice if you’re showing data. You could make an XY graph , two axes, and the data might be bars or lines, or an XYZ graph that shows a three dimensional data set, which might shrink or stretch across the three axes.  A pie chart , to show proportions – this might be useful if you have percentages, as long as they all belong to the same category. Or you could have a Matrix arrangement, showing where elements are placed in different regions.

Then you’ve got a few ways of laying out elements that are distinct from one another. If you’ve got a sequence of dates in your information, a timeline might be a good choice, or if you haven’t you could just show a process diagram . You might just want to lay out the elements in a two dimensional space , or play around with the proportions to make a three dimensional scene , to add focus in on some elements and put others in the background. A hierarchy arrangement can show how elements are ranked in layers, useful for organization diagrams , or you could use a mind-map style layout to show connections between one big idea and a few other ideas that are linked up to it, or to each other.

A few other options for showing how things relate to one another might be a cluster or Venn diagram , to show connections or intersections between ideas, a jigsaw if you’ve got a number of things that fit together to form a larger picture, or just to get the idea across that a couple of things are well-suited to one another, and if you’re talking about a causal relationship, where one thing directly affects another, a balance diagram might work well, or a sequence that shows a push-pull relationship between two things.

This is a fairly small selection of the types of layouts you could come up with to create a visual presentation or eLearning, and a lot of slides might use two or more of these at once in order to get a complex idea across. To work out which ones to go for, you’ll have to look at your information and think about how you’d explain it, the order you’d point to your key objects, and how those key objects are related to one another. Crucially, you also have to think about the overarching message that the slide is supposed to be getting across, which you established in steps 1 and 2.

Step 5: Create visuals

Now is the time to bring everything together. The individual key objects that you’ve got, with the layouts that show the relationships between them. Think about the order you want the story to be told, which will inform the layout of your visual slides, but also the sequence in which you’ll want to use the individual elements. And animations are a real help here, as they can pace the flow of information and ensure that you keep the audience focused on the right thing at the right time. They can also be a key part of actually telling the story, to make things happen, change elements, and emphasize the relationships between your key objects.

So if you’re introducing new ideas you can add things onto the slide. If you’re simplifying a diagram or removing things you don’t need, you can remove . You can make things grow , or shrink to show changing amounts, or changing importance, and you can make things move around to new locations. If you want to combine elements together you can merge them into one, or connect them together. You can highlight something that’s especially important, for your key message, and show something being passed along from one person to another, or data being transferred. You can also change something into something else, by replacing it.

Again, there are countless examples of these, and you’ll probably want to use a few of them for each slide, but this should give you a few good ideas of ways to move your key objects around, change the relationships, and end up with the right kind of visual punchline. These things can all be done with native PowerPoint animation (and check our animation articles  and masterclass schedule for a lesson on animation if you’re not already a master at it!).

Step 6: Design

What you should have now is an idea or sketch of everything that’s going to happen on your slide to tell the story. You ‘just’ need to bring it to life and share your ideas. That’s not always an easy task, but if you check out this post by my colleague Bethany on some practical tips to achieve good presentation design , this post on some of our favorite websites for free design resources , and this one on presentation design in general, you’ll have a good head start. And of course the various PowerPoint tutorials and master classes are a wealth of information to help you out.

And if you’d like to see some examples of presentations that we’ve developed using these ideas, and then created in PowerPoint, you can draw inspiration from our presentation portfolio , showing you that pretty much anything is possible in PowerPoint.

Richard Goring

Related articles, how to create powerpoint templates that work.

• PowerPoint design

Without a proper PowerPoint template, presentations can be a bit of a mess. Here are the building blocks for developing a PowerPoint template that works!

Presentation design principles for better PowerPoint design

• PowerPoint design / PowerPoint productivity
• Comments: 17

By applying some key principles of presentation design, you can make your PowerPoint design really standout and deliver both a more ‘popping’, but also more effective presentation.

How to print multiple slides on one page

What’s the secret for how to print multiple PowerPoint slides on one page? We've got a few solutions up our sleeves, from simple and quick to completely custom!

Thank you very much, you are helping me to understand how to produce presentations so my students will want to see and learn from.

Great Estrella, lovely to hear that it’s working so well.

Its really helpful, thanks for providing such informative data in a unique way.

Just came across this while searching for Colour-Vision-Deficient-friendly PowerPoint tips. Aside from giving excellent advice, it’s wild that you’ve got graphics of what looks like Coronavirus in an article from 2017 – did you know something we didn’t 🙂 ?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.

Join the BrightCarbon mailing list for monthly invites and resources

Great work combined with amazing service, gracias Team BrightCarbon! Mila Johnson InComm

What you need to know about human perception to be great at presentations

One of the most important factors that contribute to a team’s efficiency is communicating your ideas in the right way. Visual presentations (which can be easily created in Miro) are probably the most widespread way to share your ideas, so we decided to dig deeper and find some studies of human perception that can educate you on how to give an effective presentation.

• Think of how people digest information

How does human visual perception work and how can you make presentations that are easily digestible for the viewers? These are the questions that Stephen M. Kosslyn, the Dean of Social Science and John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, poses in his book, Clear and to the Point . Together with a number of colleagues, he came to the conclusion that there are three steps to digesting information: it needs to be acquired, processed and then connected to existing knowledge. Without any of these phases, people don’t process the presentation’s content.

To complete the first step, the scientists recommend setting a clear structure, using easily distinguishable colors and fonts and visually highlighting the most important concepts, ideas or terms. To help people process the information, you should avoid unnecessary visual elements that can distract the viewer and make everything easily understandable (imagining you’re explaining something to a child or a novice in your field often helps). The third step, connection to the viewer’s knowledge, is related to the second step; you need to avoid jargon, think about how the information is relevant to your audience’s life and explain the difficult concepts.

• Help the majority in the room

According to a 2004 Social Science Research Network study, 65% of the world’s population are visual learners (the research also shows that around 30% of people are verbal learners, “who benefit from class lectures and from discussion of class materials in study groups or in oral presentations,” and 5% of people are experiential learners who learn by doing and touching). This research explains why visuals are so important in a presentation. Also, the study states that “variations in learning styles have been linked to gender: women tend to be more visually oriented than men, who are generally more kinesthetic.”

William C. Bradford, the author of the study, points out that these results can be used to enhance the teaching style at US law schools (the paper was originally published in The Law Teacher), but you can easily implement this learning in your work life. If you bet on visuals, the majority of people in the meeting room will be likely to appreciate it.

• Be more persuasive

According to the often-cited study Persuasion and the Role of Visual Presentation Support by Douglas R. Vogel, Gary W. Dickson and John A. Lehman from the University of Arizona and University of Minnesota, presentations that provide some visual aid are 43% more persuasive than unaided presentations. This study is falsely cited by multiple companies and blogs that claim that visual information is processed 60,000 times faster than text. But both the scientists behind it and commentators are sure that this is wrong.

After conducting the research, the authors created guidelines that can help people create better visual presentations. They claim that adding visuals can improve the perception of the presenter, audience attention, comprehension and agreement, and influence audience action. They also recommend using different colors instead of just black and white and using illustrations if you want to increase the density of visual information, display multiple dimensions, organize complex issues, support abstract concepts or illustrate trends.

• Choose your colors wisely

There multiple studies on color psychology that can help us with creative visual presentation ideas. They show how how different colors can affect our mood, perception and overall mental state. For example, in 2011, psychologists from the University of Rochester found out that color red increases the speed and strength of reactions. Other colors are often associated with specific emotions and reactions — a lot of us probably noticed that many companies, and especially tech startups, often choose blue because it’s often read as a symbol of trustworthiness and reliability.

However, other studies point out that one should be very careful when choosing color accents. Researchers from the University of Toronto realized that people who used Adobe Kuler , a web-based tool that helps to create color schemes or browse color combinations, usually stick to their 2-3 favorite colors, and there is a reason for that. Susan Weinschenk, a behavioral psychologist who has been working in the field of design and user experience since 1985, says : “If you have five different colors on the screen, nobody’s going to notice anything. But if you have everything in black and white, but the button to register has color – and it’s the only bright color on the screen – that’s what people will notice.” Paying attention to your audience’s background is also important because often colors have different meaning in culture from across the world. (This article features more of Weinschenk’s suggestions for using neuroscience in design work.)

Don’t overdo fonts

Similarly to colors, typefaces can have a considerable role in the way people perceive your work and in the way you can make an effective visual presentation. When Errol Morris, a documentary filmmaker, first read Saul Kripke’s book Naming and Necessity, he was excited to learn that fonts can affect our perception of truth. A couple of years ago, he got the chance to further investigate this subject when the New York Times published a two-part essay on a recent study about optimism. After reading it, the newspaper’s audience could take a quiz and vote on whether they trusted the study’s result. The article was presented in a number of different typefaces including Baskerville, Comic Sans, Computer Modern, Georgia, Helvetica and Trebuchet. More than 40,000 readers took the quiz, and overall, Baskerville was considered the most reliable – curiously, statistically more reliable than a very similar typeface, Georgia.

The Morris study sparked a conversation among design professionals. “Considering these findings, can we state once and for all that we should use Baskerville whenever we want to persuade our audience?” wondered Alessio Laiso, a type designer who worked for IBM. In 2016, he ran a small experiment to study how different typefaces work for different products. He applied a number of fonts to four different types of websites: a bank, a news site, a fitness app, and a clothes shop. He realized that for the bank and news site, Baskerville was still the most trustworthy type. For the fitness app, Fira won; and for the shop, participants liked Helvetica. Although this study might not be completely relevant to your specific industry, considering it can help you pay attention to the choice of specific fonts and think about your audience. Regardless of your choice, you should avoid using too many typefaces and, of course, avoid using something like Comic Sans that people perceive as untrustworthy.

• Remember that sensory channels compete

According to Weinschenk, the visual sensory channel trumps all others. This means that if you are giving a presentation, talking and showing slides with text simultaneously, people stop listening as soon as they start reading. However, slides that are easy to understand and illustrate what you are talking about – like photos, diagrams, illustrations or easy-to-grasp infographics – can serve you well.

So what can you do to ensure that your audience fully understands you? One of Weinschenk’s effective presentation techniques is to write down your main points first without any visual aids and then think about how your slides can illustrate your main arguments better without interrupting the viewer. Weinschenk also recommends using just a few words on each slide.

• Avoid creating long presentations

Now when your work is ready, it’s important to demonstrate your effective presentation skills. When you think about timing, it’s important to consider another trait of human perception: the amount of time people can maintain concentration and digest new information. Susan Weinschenk and other psychologists suggest limiting your presentation to 20 minutes or breaking down a longer talk into chunks with breaks, quizzes or other changes in activity.

In 2007 Maureen Murphy, a psychologist from the University of North Texas, studied the impact of shorter learning sessions on people who participate in workforce training. She observed two groups of adults; for one of them, an hour-long session was broken down into three 20-minute sessions, and the second group had a single, continuous one-hour lecture. The study showed that people in the first group remembered the talk better, the knowledge retention was higher, and the overall reaction was more positive.

Miro is your team's visual platform to connect, collaborate, and create — together.

Join millions of users that collaborate from all over the planet using Miro.

• Don’t overdo fonts

Keep reading

Meet the new miro — the ultimate platform that’s customizable for any collaboration activity.

4 new features for diagramming

How Pancentric is bringing design thinking to the insurance world

• Tips & Tricks
• PowerPoint Templates
• Training Programs
• Free E-Courses

The Science behind a Visual Presentation

Home >  PowerPoint Diagram >  Science Behind a Visual Presentation

The best way to showcase your idea is to use visual presentations. In this article, you will learn the science behind why visuals help you get across your ideas with clarity.

Visual cues are important

Your eyes are the primary source of information for your brain. You are wired to absorb far more information from visual cues than from any other senses.

A study conducted as recently as in 2008 suggests that listening skills improve when accompanied by strong visual stimuli.  (BMC Neuroscience August 12, 2008. Sound Adds Speed To Visual Perception)

Visual Communication is inborn…

As humans, we learned to communicate with pictures long before we invented words. The proof is present in the form of images in caves like the ones below:

That is why; they are quite ineffective in communicating our ideas. Even today, our mind translates words into visuals before processing its meaning.

What this means to you as a business presenter…

As a presenter, using slides helps process and retain information better.

It is not enough to use slides. You need to use them the right way, because…

Effective processing of information happens only when there is a clear link between what is being said and what is being shown. So content on slides needs to be well-coordinated with what is being said.

In this site, you’ll learn cutting-edge information about every aspect of effective slide making.

Before you learn about the right way to use visuals, it is essential to know and avoid the common mistakes made by presenters in using visuals.

Return to Top of Visual Presentation Page

Return to Main PowerPoint Diagram Page

Share these tips & tutorials

Get 25 creative powerpoint ideas mini course &  members-only tips & offers. sign up for free below:.

Home Blog Design What is Visual Communication and How Can It Improve Your Presentations

What is Visual Communication and How Can It Improve Your Presentations

Look around; how is the world communicating with you? Is there music? Are your shoes pinching your heel? Are there a million visual triggers trying to get your attention? We don’t have a crystal ball to answer the first two questions, but the third is a definite YES. What’s behind it? It’s visual communication.

Visual communication is the magic behind all the visible things in the world that tell stories, share information, and attract interest. As a person who makes presentations, you own the power of visual communication to impact, inform and attract your audience with visuals. All you need is the knowledge and the tools to make it work.

In this guide, we’ll share essential facts you need to know about visual communication and how they can help improve your presentations.

Table of Contents

Visual Communication Strategy

Visual communication design.

• Why is Visual Communication Important for Presentations?

7 Types of Visual Communication Techniques in Presentation Design

• How to Use Visual Communication at Work Beyond Presentations

Final Words

What is visual communication.

Simply put, visual communication is the practice of communicating through the sense of sight. In a more profound sense, It democratizes communication in general because with visuals, there’s less need for language or translation.

But what does visual communication do? It tells stories through images, video, illustrations , and anything the audience can see.

Visual communication sits at the top of the list of effective communication strategies and designs for all industries and fields. It’s in all the conversations about marketing, community building, and the future of work. If your presentation design still hasn’t embraced the need to thrive on visual communication, it’s time to fix that.

A visual communication strategy is key to a presentation’s overall mood and message. To create a visual communication strategy, follow the same steps as any communication strategy, and develop them simultaneously. 

To give you an idea of the scope of influence of a visual communication strategy, consider all the advertisements you see regularly. Regarding the most successful ones, their visual qualities have been minutely strategized to inspire emotional reactions from you. 

Do you want to get reactions when making your presentations ? Use a visual communication strategy to create an overarching visual quality for your presentations’ slides. 

FYI: Professionals building visual communication strategies include; brand specialists, marketing strategists, content designers, UX/UI designers, publicists, art curators, and anyone that understands how important planning and strategy are for every project.

Once a visual communication strategy is in place, it’s time to take care of the visual communication design. This is the actionable part of the process; the strategy is the plan, and the design is the creation. 

Visual communication design is essential for your presentations. You’re telling a story with your information, and visual techniques will help you add interest. Even a text section can have visual communication techniques applied. For example, the font, spacing, and layout.

Your visual communication strategy will help you choose the proper visual layout, data visualizations, and graphics for the presentation slides. 

Why Is Visual Communication Important for Presentations?

If you aren’t aware, storytelling is a massive factor in effective presentation design. To achieve it, you can’t depend on text content; you need visuals to support the information and create connections with the viewer. On a presentation slide, what’s better? A bullet point list or an infographic widget composition? The answer to this question would be the most visual option, in this case, the infographics .

Surely you’ve heard of “Death by PowerPoint.” It’s the perfect example of how visual communication influences the audience. In this case, how can it go wrong and get undesired effects? Humans create emotional and memorable connections with everything they see. As soon as a presentation proves to be a drab PowerPoint, your audience clocks out and checks their phone.

Thankfully, visual communication harnesses many benefits for your presentation designs:

• Ideas and concepts are easier to understand and transmit in visual form.
• Visuals deliver information faster and more directly.
• A good visual communication strategy is attention-grabbing and engaging.
• Visual elements and characteristics make an impact on the viewer.
• A strong visual component improves the credibility of the message.

Visual communication is vital in presenting a slide deck to an audience. Your outfit, body language, and poise all matter. The audience isn’t just looking at your presentation; they’re looking at you. Take the time to expand your presenting skills by practicing, trying new things, and improving your confidence.

Visual communication techniques are the puzzle pieces of successful content. They are so important that there are psychological applications for all of them.

Here’s a quick list to give you an idea of their importance.

1. Shapes 

Shapes have subliminal, subconscious, and even cultural perceptions. The shapes you choose to include across the slides will set the tone for the entire presentation. For example, circles represent completeness, triangles represent up and forward motion, lines represent connection, and rectangles represent stability.

2. Colors 

In design, colors are the trigger for emotion in content and visualization. Each color has a meaning and an association. Combining colors to create palettes is a practice in mood and emotional communication through vision. If a presentation is all blue and gray, it feels corporate, a vibrant color combination feels happy and inspiring. Muted and desaturated colors feel calm and inviting.

3. Typography 

The way letters look brings a sense of meaning from content to the eyes—from text to visual. There are two main font types; serif and sans serif. Serifs are more serious, while sans serifs are friendlier and easygoing. On top of that, each type has a personality that emanates through the content. The visual style of the typography in your presentation must match energetically with the tone and message of both visual and textual content.

4. Infographic elements 

Infographics are the poster boy for visual communication. Data visualization and information design are at the core of data stories and exciting business communication. Data viz graphics simplify complex ideas that can take up lots of text space in a presentation slide. Your regular charts and graphs can fall through the cracks if you don’t add a good dose of visual communication strategy and design. 

5. Photography and Illustration

Photography and illustration are classic tools for storytelling. Every slide can be easily turned into a pictorial presentation to tell your story, and you have the power to structure it how you want. Be wary of stock photography; overused images will negatively affect your presentation. Custom imagery adds integrity and uniqueness that only a visual communication strategy can achieve.

When using icons in your presentation templates , remember to keep a visual unity between them. Icons can also tell a story from slide to slide in your presentation. Stay consistent in terms of style, color, size, and positioning.

7. Layout & Visual Hierarchy

Viewers use their eyes to see, read and understand your content. When the layout is designed in a way that helps them absorb the information subconsciously, engagement is seamless. It’s as simple as following visual hierarchy and placing elements in the viewer’s line of sight in a Z or F reading pattern.

How To Use Visual Communication At Work Beyond Presentations

Visual communication doesn’t stop at presentations. There are countless other ways to incorporate visual communication at work. Here’s a—not complete—list of the design practices that embody visual communication.

• Infographics
• Visual guides
• Flowcharts and processes
• Employee training
• Internal communication
• Work attire
• Body autonomy

If someone can see it and understand it, it can be communicated visually. Take advantage of that and harness the power of perception, association, and emotional response. 

In visual communication, it’s important to remember that first impressions matter. Your presentations and the message they deliver depending on the value of the visuals throughout the slides. Discover more techniques for improving your presentations in the SlideModel blog . Learn how to incorporate SlideModel templates into your PowerPoint slide decks and leave your audiences satisfied and informed.

Like this article? Please share

Design, Presentation Approaches, Presentation Skills Filed under Design

Related Articles

Filed under Design • March 27th, 2024

How to Make a Presentation Graph

Detailed step-by-step instructions to master the art of how to make a presentation graph in PowerPoint and Google Slides. Check it out!

Filed under Presentation Ideas • February 29th, 2024

How to Make a Fundraising Presentation (with Thermometer Templates & Slides)

Meet a new framework to design fundraising presentations by harnessing the power of fundraising thermometer templates. Detailed guide with examples.

Filed under Presentation Ideas • February 15th, 2024

How to Create a 5 Minutes Presentation

Master the art of short-format speeches like the 5 minutes presentation with this article. Insights on content structure, audience engagement and more.

Leave a Reply

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

Partner Center

A Short Guide To Making An Outstanding Visual Presentation

Using PowerPoint or any form of visual presentation is key to attracting potential business. A good picture or visual can attract and keep attention almost like nothing else. Keep reading to see how you can own these visual presentation skills.

The easiest exact procedure to follow to get your message through to your audience and have your brand stand out from the rest is to have amazing visual presentations.

Visual presentations will almost certainly lead to positive feedback and great responses from your audience. We’ve all been through one of those presentations that you wish would end already. So let’s learn how to avoid situations like that.

The purpose of a PowerPoint presentation is to, well, make your point powerfully . And how do you do that? By being visually compelling and, accordingly, making the viewing process enjoyable.

Why Are Visuals The Stepping Stone For An Impactful Presentation? 💁🏻‍♀️

So how can you make the most of your presentation 🗒, take away 💁🏻‍♂️.

Important disclosure: we're proud affiliates of some tools mentioned in this guide. If you click an affiliate link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you (you pay nothing extra).

Visuals Are Attention-Grabbers 👀

We all know the saying— Show, don't tell.

It's a common mistake to include a lot of text in your presentation but rather include meaningful visuals (make sure the picture conditions are great to better the viewing experience) for a higher rate of participation in your presentation.

Carefully selected imagery is the key to engaging with your public. Sometimes, it's significantly easier to explain complex concepts through a short video or an infographic .

Overall, shorter presentation times can often lead to your audience understanding complex ideas, even if they have no prior background knowledge of the subject.

The normal viewing times of videos or presentations of your audience are decreasing day by day, which is why the visual display of your presentation is so important to keep their attention.

The pair of images that you choose to use isn't there to undermine your point. Their purpose is to make your audience attentive and to emphasize what you have to say.

Images Are Action-Inspiring 🙌

Using a visual display in your presentation will make your audience react. You can use them to raise awareness about a certain topic or to inspire your public to take a specific action.

More often than not, messages delivered visually receive a more powerful reaction and a higher rate of participation from people.

Is All That Text Necessary? 🧐

You can try to follow the 6 x 6 guidelines for one slide as a general rule. This means you should have a maximum of 6 key points, each with six words. This way, you can keep everything succinct, organized, and easy to understand.

Even when you're preparing an audio-visual presentation (which can be a better choice for people with learning difficulties), your focus should still be to keep the text short and sweet on each of the individual images.

Having no more than 140 characters on your slide will leave you with a lot of white space. This will make your presentation look more clean and organized. But also, it will help your audience focus on the key points you're trying to make.

Make sure that your background color combinations emphasize the key points and don't take attention away from them.

Use Straightforward And Precise Fonts 𝘼𝙖

While you might be tempted to break the mold with your presentation, fonts are not the place to do this. Try to use standard sans serif fonts, like Open Sans, Tahoma, Verdana .

These are easily recognizable and look good on the viewing window. Try not to use more than 2 or 3 different fonts in your presentation. The key to having an outstanding slide deck is organization and consistency.

Using too many different elements will distract and confuse your audience.

Any feedback activity from your audience will also result in this conclusion, and if your audience is confused, your rate of participation from the audience declines.

Say No To Poor Quality Images 🙅🏽‍♂️

Needless to say, high-quality images will make your presentation look professional . Try as much as possible to color-coordinate your visuals with the color scheme you’ve chosen for your slide deck.

Their purpose is to enhance and underline, not to overwhelm the slide, so make sure the picture conditions in your presentation are top-notch! Using binary image classification might also be a good idea to simplify complex concepts.

To avoid bad quality on your pair of images used in your presentation, make sure that your laptop display resolution agree with your presentation.

Another thing you should keep in mind: not using too many individual images . Generally, it’s good to try and use a single picture—or 2, if they’re relevant. Your presentation isn’t a photo album.

Use Contrast For Emphasis And Grabbing Attention 💁🏻‍♀️

You can use contrast cleverly in your presentation. First of all, it can help your message "pop" with a high-level contrast between your background and your text.

You can also add a bar of color behind your text —to make it more legible and bring it to the center of attention. Binary image classification is also a great way to emphasize the contrast between concepts.

Contrast can also be used to highlight your key points . Choose a color from your palette to emphasize important text on your slide. Make sure that your key points are a few times larger than the supplementary information given.

By making your key points a few times larger than supplementary info, you're creating contrast and thus pointing your viewers into the right direction of where to look, helping those with possible learning difficulties.

Nevertheless, it will lose its power if you use this trick too often. So use it wisely. Using an arrow symbol during your presentation will also emphasize the important points.

Limit Your Color Palette 👈🏽

Yes, rainbows are really pretty, but not in your presentation . Be mindful of what colors you choose and if they come together harmoniously.

There's no need to go overboard—you can grab attention without using complex textures or gradients. You can, for example, use a background of blocks to emphasize the message in front of it.

Even though it's tempting to make an art-inspired presentation, keep this for a more fitting audience and not for business proposals.

To choose the right colors for your presentation, you can use tools like Kuler or coolors.co . Using these can help you learn a bit about which colors go together and which ones don't.

Additionally, suppose you want to do this right. In that case, you can even look at an analysis of color theory to see how your palette can influence your audience's emotions.

Doing this avoids the risk of presenting a pair of images and evoking the wrong response from your audience.

Data Visualization Is Your Salvation 📊

Project management presentations or anything with a lot of numbers and data to present can be dreadful.

Luckily, you can use a lot of elements to make your life easier in your individual images — charts, graphs, radials , binary image classification, and more.

By doing this, you can simplify complex information or even a lot of information in a short period of time, even if the audience doesn't have prior background knowledge of the subject.

Shorter presentation times often work better for explaining complex ideas. Additionally, you can always look online for some free timeline templates to showcase progress or presumptions, or learn how to make your own timelines in PowerPoint.

The key is taking all the data and putting it into individual images that are easy to remember and understand.

Skip The Bullet Points 📝

Ideally, you should focus on a single idea for each slide. This means that instead of having five bullet points, you should have five slides focusing on each key point to do an in-depth analysis.

This way, you can make sure that people remember what you say, and your audience will be able to draw comparisons between the five slides. Also, bullet points are kind of old , aren’t they?

Surely, you can find more attractive ways to structure information within a slide. Try content boxes, bubbles, all sorts of frames—just don’t go overboard with your elements.

Mind The Visual Hierarchy 🎨

Even if you have no background knowledge in graphic design , you can still organize elements on your slide or picture, depending on their importance.

The purpose of this procedure is to let your audience know where their eyes should go first on each picture, and then second, and so forth.

You can do this by making use of size, the correct laptop display resolutions, white space between elements, or proximity between elements. Another smart thing to do is to use repetition to your advantage in your visual display.

Having only one element in your viewing window will make it pop—so your audience will know that is the main point. When your audience is viewing your presentation, they shouldn't wonder where to look on your PowerPoint.

Audio And Video Elements 🎙📹

Choosing tasks using video and audio elements can help you explain complex concepts so much easier. An audio-visual presentation is also a great way to create interaction with your public.

Using these gives you a break from talking and your audience a new point of focus. Embedding a video into a PowerPoint presentation is not hard if you decide to go this route.

However, make sure not to pick a 10-minute video, but rather use shorter presentation times.

You should use these items as a short, fresh breath of air—not let them have the presentation for you.

Additionally, make sure this content is relevant not only to your content but also to the audience— or you will lose their attention, as this is a big feedback influence.

What Do You Think About Interactivity? 👨🏾‍💻

No matter how good your presentation is, there is always going to be a low-energy moment . A good way to recover from this is to directly interact with your audience and strive for a high rate of participation.

For example, you can make them vote on subject comparisons, stand up for some reason, or conduct a short quiz.

To make this more interesting, you can add links to your presentation —either between slides, on the middle image of the presentation, or elements.

This way, when they choose and answer, something happens. Creating a unique slideshow can help you keep your audience attentive and create longer viewing times for your audience.

Transitions And Animations

You either love transitions, or you hate them. There’s no in-between. The safest route is to go all static and grab attention through colors, textures, and so forth.

This way, nobody gets distracted, and we all remember something at the end of your presentation.

However, if you want some pizzaz on your slides, you can use animations and transitions to become memorable.

However, keep them consistent and don’t get too excited . Not every element on your slide has to move. Use motion as an emphasis, not as a distraction.

Have An Interesting Cover Style 😍

The cover slide should be the one to grab your public’s attention and curiosity. It should say something about the subject but still be mysterious.

You can think of it as a movie trailer—you give people a taste of what’s to come, but without spoiling the whole thing. These slides are your chance to be creative and inventive. You can’t afford to be boring on this one.

Here, you should draw inspiration from an art-inspired presentation. However, as with any part of your art-inspired presentation — don’t go overboard.

Using too many elements or too many colors can put your whole slide deck in a bad light.

Reserve A Couple Of Slides At The End To Summarize Your Main Points

By doing this, you emphasize them and make sure that they will be remembered.

You don’t have to go through everything once more — just some keywords to jolt the memory of your public.

However, be careful. If your presentation is already quite lengthy— you might want to skip this one or make it short. If your speech is too long, the only thing your public will want is to escape and go home as fast as possible.

Accordingly, the attention span and the desired viewing times of the audience will be low.

It might sound easy, but building a visually compelling presentation is not that simple. There are a lot of factors and small details that can either make or break your whole work.

For example—using colors, but too many of them, a pair of images, but making sure the picture conditions are great, using the right type of font, but at the wrong sizes, and so forth.

However, if you check all the points made in the article—and maybe do a little research and analysis on your own , you’ll be just fine, and your feedback will surely be positive. Most rules are basic common sense for anyone who has seen a presentation before.

The most important thing here is to feel comfortable with your presentation in a way that it seems as though you have background knowledge on the subject.

If you’re happy about it—and passionate about the subject you’re talking about, then you can’t go wrong. Feelings are contagious, so your audience will sense your happiness.

If you find yourself pressed for time or lacking the necessary expertise to create a visually stunning presentation, you can explore options such as SketchBubble to access professionally designed PowerPoint templates that you can download.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to be notified of new content on marketsplash..

Visual Aids In Presentations: The Complete Guide

@danishd This is a sample bio. You can change it from WordPress Dashboard, Users → Biographical Info. Biographical Info

Published Date : August 21, 2020

Reading Time :

A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. Using visual aids in presentations helps you pass a lot of information in a relatively shorter time. With the right visual aids, you can create the desired impact that you want your presentation to make on your audience. Learning how to use visual aids effectively will boost the quality of your presentations. We discuss some of the top visual aids in our recent YouTube video :

Visual Aid Definition

What are visual aids? Simply put, visual aids are things that your listening can look at while you give your speech or presentation. Visual aid appeals to the audience’s vision more than any other sensory organ.

Why use visuals for presentations?

There is no such thing as a perfect speech . However, there are ways to make a presentation closer to perfection. What are they? Simple: Visual aids. Visual aids can bring life back into a tedious speech , and they take less time to come up with than long notes. This article discusses how you can use visual aids effectively and conquer an audience. Before that, we discuss how visuals can help you achieve a better presentation.

They help you structure your work.

Using the right types of visual aids can help you create a perfect picture of what you want your audience to see in your presentations. Instead of struggling to condense a lot of information into a long text, you can present your information in one straightforward image or video and save yourself the stress.

It is easier to engage the audience.

An excellent visual setup can help elicit audience interest and sometimes their input in the presentation. When the audience is engaged, they tend to be more interested in the presenter’s work. Also, an interactive audience can boost your morale and encourage you.

You save time on your presentation.

When presenting, time is of the essence. So, you can effectively reduce your presentation time if you have useful visual aids and use them properly. Would you prefer to go on and on for minutes about a topic when you can cut your speech down by inserting a few images or videos?

What are visual aids?

A visual aid is any material that gives shape and form to words or thoughts. Types of visual aids include physical samples, models, handouts, pictures, videos, infographics, etc. Visual aids have come a long way, including digital tools such as overhead projectors, PowerPoint presentations, and interactive boards.

Different Types Of Creative Visual Aid Ideas To Awe Your Audience

Have you ever been tasked with making a speech or a presentation but don’t know how to make it truly remarkable? Well, visual aid is your answer.

Giving a presentation or speech is hard. You have to strike a balance between persuading or informing your audience while also maintaining their attention. The fear of your audience slipping away is very real. And a visual aid can help.

We surveyed the Orai community to vote for their preferred visual aid. Here are the top ten creative visual aid ideas that you could use in your next presentation:

Videos emerged as the clear winner in all our surveys. We ran these surveys on all our social handles and contacted successful speakers. 27.14% of all respondents prefer visual aids because they are easy to understand, can be paused during a presentation, and can trigger all sorts of emotions. That being said, it is also very tough to create good videos. However, more and more tools are available to help you create amazing videos without professional help.

Hans Rosling’s TED talk, titled ‘the best stats you have ever seen,’ is one of the best speeches.  He uses video for the speech ’s entirety while not diverting the audience’s attention away from him. He does all this while also bringing out some optimism for the world’s future. We highly recommend this TED talk to learn how to use videos effectively as a visual aid and inject some positivity into your lives during these trying times.

2. Demonstrations

Demonstrations, also known as demos, are undoubtedly among the most effective visual aids for communication. You can use demonstrations in two ways. One as a hook to captivate your audience. Prof. Walter Lewin was famous for using demonstrations as a hook during lectures. In his most famous lecture, he puts his life in danger by releasing a heavy pendulum to show that a pendulum’s period remains constant despite the mass. 

Demonstrations can also be used to show how some things are done or work. We use demonstrations to showcase how Orai works and how you can use them to improve your speaking skills.

18.57% voted for demonstrations because they are unique, interactive, up close, and have a personal touch.

3. Roleplays

Jokes aside, why do you think comedy shows are memorable? You guessed it right. Roleplays! Role – play is any speaking activity when you put yourself into somebody else’s shoes or stay in your shoes but put yourself into an imaginary situation! 

Nothing is more boring than a comedian delivering lines straight from a joke book.  Legendary comedians like George Carlin, Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, and Bill Burr use roleplays effectively and make a mundane joke genuinely memorable. 

Jokes aside, you can use roleplays in business presentations and speeches. Use real-life stories or examples in your role plays to make them authentic. 

15.71% of the survey respondents voted for roleplays because they are very close to real life and do not take the audience’s attention away from the speaker.

With 12.86% of the votes, Props is number 4. A prop is any concrete object used to deliver a speech or presentation. Props add another dimension to our speech and help the listeners visualize abstract concepts like vision, milestones, targets, and expectations. It ties verbal to visual. Introducing a prop into your speech or presentation should not seem forced. Use them sparingly to highlight your address’s most critical points or stories.

People voted for props because they feel 3D visualization is more useful than 2D visualization. Props will make your presentations stand out because few people use them today.

When we sent out the survey to the Orai community and some highly successful speakers, we were sure that slides/presentations would come out on top. However, we were surprised by the results. With 12.86% votes, slides are number five on our list.

Presentations are effortless to create and, therefore, the most commonly used visual aid in business communications. Today, dozens of software programs are available to help you make beautiful presentations. Microsoft PowerPoint is the pioneer in the space and holds a significant market share.

Whatever is your preferred software, you need to keep your audience at the center while making presentations.

People described the ease of creation and the ability to incorporate other visual aids when asked why they chose presentations as their top visual aid.

The inclusion of Audio in this list can appear controversial. But it got a significant vote share in our survey and cannot be ignored. Audio can add a new dimension to your presentations where the audience is hearing your voice and other sound cues that can trigger various emotional responses. Especially when coupled with other visual aids, audio can be a powerful tool for making impactful presentations.

Vote share:

Audio aid is number six, with 4.29% of the votes.

7. Handouts

What is a handout.

A handout is a structured view of your presentation or speech that you can distribute to the audience.

What are the benefits of a handout?

Like how this blog gives more information than our YouTube video on the different visual aids, handouts can be used to furnish more information than your discourse itself. They give your audience something to take away after your presentation, making you and your presentation more memorable. 

Are you going to be speaking about something overly technical? Then handouts are your friends. Handouts are also an opportunity to facilitate follow-ups if you specify your contact details. 

Handouts are tied with whiteboards and got 2.86% of the votes in our survey.

8. Physical & Online Whiteboards

What is a whiteboard.

Traditionally, whiteboards are white, shiny, and smooth boards on which texts and diagrams are made using non-permanent markers. It is widely used in professional presentations, brainstorming sessions, and group discussions. Post-COVID, more and more companies are moving to online whiteboards. Online whiteboards are software that provides a space where individuals across the globe can collaborate online. Many companies have moved beyond the whiteboard and started using online whiteboards for meetings and discussions.

What are the benefits of a whiteboard?

A whiteboard helps listeners better visualize thoughts, concepts, and ideas. It is also a better alternative to the blackboard for a smaller audience as it is tidier and easier to use. Online whiteboards can be used instead of traditional whiteboards without being limited by space constraints. Online whiteboards will transform virtual meetings into a collaborative experience.

With 2.86% of the votes, whiteboards stand at eight on our list.

9. Blackboard

What is a blackboard.

A blackboard (aka chalkboard) is a surface on which texts or diagrams are made using chalk made from calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate. Blackboards are typically used in classrooms for large groups of students. 

What are the benefits of blackboards?

Blackboard is one of the foremost and most popular teaching aids. Blackboard is useful for teaching as it helps instructors move from easy to complex topics in an organized manner. Diagrams, symbols, charts, and drawings can be introduced in discourse to bring life to rather dull topics. Blackboards are highly interactive, where the teacher and students can participate during a speech . 

With 1.43% of the vote share, the blackboard stands at the bottom, along with flipcharts.

10. Flipchart

What is a flipchart.

Flipcharts consist of a pad of large sheets of paper bound together. It is typically fixed to the upper edge of a whiteboard or canvas. Flipcharts are easy to create and inexpensive fit for small groups of people.

What are the benefits of presenting using a flipchart?

Nowadays, everybody seems only interested in making presentations powered by computer-generated slide decks. However, the flip chart has its charm. Since most presentations consist of less than ten people, flip charts can be a refreshing change to the standard slide deck. Moreover, flipchart does not require electricity. No electricity and no software means fewer of those last-minute hick-ups. 

Flipchart got 1.43% of the vote and shared the bottom position with its counterpart, which we will discuss in the next section.

Master the art of speech , practice with Orai

How to make an informative speech with visual aids in presentations

If you have a presentation coming up soon, you can follow the instructions below to learn how you can take advantage of visual aids: 

Determine your overall objective

The aim of your presentations depends on you, what information is being presented, and your audience. The motivational speaker and the classroom teacher may approach the same types of visual aids differently due to differences in overall objectives. For instance, if you aim to inspire and remind your audience of salient points, a poster template should serve well; infographics work well when trying to show relationships between complex information. A chart will be quite effective if you seek to explain a given data set.

Choose appropriate visual aids in presentations.

After identifying the overall aim of your presentation, you have to match it with the right visual aids example. Will a graph, picture, or video suffice?  

If you use the PowerPoint Presenter, focus mainly on the media that best conveys your message. Make sure that the notes you add are bold and brief. Try to keep your sentence in one line of text.

Prepare thoroughly 

You will spend some time preparing your visual aids before the day of your presentation. It is good to allow yourself enough time to prepare so you can perfect your work accordingly. Take note of when, where, and how you will use your visual aids. If you discover some inconsistencies, you can compensate for them by adjusting your choice or using visual aids in presentations.

After you have a final draft of your visual aids, run a series of sessions with them. Let your friends or colleagues be your audience and ask for their honest feedback. Make appropriate adjustments where necessary.

During presentation

First, you need to be comfortable and confident. A neat and appropriate dress should boost your confidence . Follow the tips below during presentations.

• Keep your face on your audience. It may help to look a little above their heads while presenting.
• Only point to or take the visual aid when needed. When you do, explain what you mean immediately.
• Do not read texts on your visual aids verbatim.
• Once a visual aid has served its purpose, you should keep it away from your audience’s view.

If you need more help boosting your confidence , we have written a detailed piece on how to conquer your fear of speaking in front of people.

What is the importance of using visuals in giving a presentation?

Visual aids in presentations are invaluable to you and the audience you hope to enlighten. They make the job easier for you, and the audience leaves feeling like they learned something. Apart from their time-saving abilities, here are some reasons why you need to incorporate visual aids in your presentations:

• Visual aids can help your audience retain the information long-term. 
• The human brain processes images faster than text, so visuals make us understand things faster.
• Using visual aids makes your presentations more enjoyable, interactive, and memorable.
• Visual aids help your audience connect and relate with you better
• Presentations with visual aids are less likely to be misunderstood or misrepresented. They are usually easier to understand and leave little room for confusion
• Visual designs help stimulate cognition and they are great for people with learning disabilities.
• Visual aids act as key cards and pointers for the presenter and help you keep track of what you’re saying

What are the ideas for speech topics using visual aids?

• Use a picture or image that closely represents the topic. A one-hundred-dollar note can suggest topics revolving around money and finances.
• Use a chart showing trends or statistics that your audience finds appealing. You can use popular sayings or quotes to generate topics your audience can relate to.
• Newspaper headlines on related issues can be good starters for opinion-based topics.

Why is the use of color important in presentations, according to research?

Color plays a crucial role in presentations, boosting audience engagement with its ability to enhance motivation and create visually appealing visuals. By understanding color theory and using shades thoughtfully, presenters can ensure their work is professional and organized and accessible to a diverse audience, considering color blindness and cultural associations.

What are the key points to consider when using visual aids in a presentation?

Ensure effective and engaging visuals in your presentation by considering the space, practicing beforehand, utilizing and limiting color strategically (considering color blindness), and maintaining consistency throughout your presentation.

What are some tips for using objects or artifacts as visual aids in presentations?

Objects in presentations can captivate your audience! Choose relevant objects for demonstrations or explanations. In small groups, pass the object around but manage time. For larger audiences, move it around for clear visibility. Reveal the object at the right moment with context and explanation. If demonstrating, use deliberate movements and explain each step clearly to keep them engaged.

What are some tips for using visual aids to engage the audience and maintain their interest?

Capture and keep your audience’s attention with impactful visuals! Ensure clear visibility, maintain eye contact, and use visuals to complement your spoken words, not replace them. Explain each visual promptly and remove it seamlessly when finished to refocus attention on your message.

How can visual aids be tailored to suit the audience and make the presentation more effective?

Craft impactful presentations by tailoring visuals to your audience and goals. Choose relevant and resonant visuals, be it a graph, picture, or video, accompanied by clear, concise notes. Prepare thoroughly, refining visuals and considering timing, context, and integration. Seek feedback to fine-tune for optimal audience connection.

How should one prepare and use visual aids effectively during a presentation?

Prepare polished visuals beforehand, considering timing, context, and integration. Seek feedback. During your presentation, prioritize clarity , avoid overwhelming the audience, and use visuals purposefully to enhance, not replace, your message. Practice beforehand and maintain audience engagement through confident delivery.

The visual aid definition is very clear on how much impact using visual aids in public speaking has on an audience. With a great selection of visual aids, you can transform your presentations into a pleasant experience that you and your audience will always look forward to.

Become a confident speaker. Practice with Orai and get feedback on your tone,  tempo, conciseness , and confidence .

You might also like

2023 Complete Guide to Presentation Templates 📊

How to improve your speaking skills: 50 experts reveal their secrets [In...

Quick links.

• Presentation Topics

Useful Links

• Start free trial
• The art of public speaking
• improve public speaking
• mastering public speaking
• public speaking coach
• professional speaking
• public speaking classes - Courses
• public speaking anxiety
• © Orai 2023

Videography & Photography on demand

10 reasons why you need good presentation visuals Getting your message across with the best visual content

Presentation visuals are one of the most compelling parts of a presentation. Some presenters underestimate the importance of a visual presentation and decide to only speak, or use text slides to back up what they’re saying.

This is a huge mistake – effective visual presentations can have a massive positive impact on your viewers. Almost all information transmitted to the brain is visual (see below), which underlines the effectiveness of visuals in a good presentation.

Here, we will go over the top 10 benefits of using visual content to help you deliver an engaging and memorable presentation.

1. Visuals save you time in preparing your presentation

We understand that creating a great presentation is a demanding and time-consuming process! Why spend hours transcribing your notes onto a PowerPoint presentation when you could use effective visuals that communicate your message better and save you a lot of preparation time? Besides, it’s unlikely audience members will be trying to read a lot of text as they will be focussing on what you are saying. And if they are reading large text slides, they will your speaking. Visuals make it easy for your listeners to follow along and hear you at the same time.

2. Visuals make your presentation more interesting

Everyone has had a bad presentation experience, and it might be said that we’re all suffering from PowerPoint presentation fatigue, to an extent. To avoid casting your audience’s mind back to the experience of fighting to stay awake in a particularly dry university lecture, use photography and video content to keep them hooked. Visuals used correctly can make your presentation a lively and engaging affair.

3. Visuals grab the audience’s attention

The bottom line is, visuals are more likely to grab your audience’s attention. Presentations can be difficult to follow, especially when the information being presented is unfamiliar or challenging. According to the Visual Teaching Alliance , visuals transmit information faster than spoken or written words; we can get the sense of a visual scene in less than 1/10 of a second, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. With people processing images at lightning speed, it is a mistake to miss out on visuals in your presentation.

4. Visuals help the audience to understand your presentation

Not only is visual content attention-grabbing, but it is a powerful tool for helping your audience to understand your content. The majority of us are visual learners. According to Forbes, 65% of us are visual learners . Considering that much of public speaking is conjuring an image in the audience’s mind by painting a picture with your words – why not cut out the middle man, and use a literal image? Visuals are much more likely to be effective in communicating your message, given that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual .

5. The audience is more likely to remember the content with visuals

The average person only remembers about a fifth of what they hear, and visual aids can improve learning by 400% . Furthermore, a study conducted by Georgia State University found that imagery is an effective way to enhance memory . If you want your audience to remember your presentation once it’s finished, use visual content to embed the information in their mind.

6. Visuals make you an effective communicator

Not everyone is skilled in the art of oratory and that’s okay. You don’t need to have elocution lessons to deliver the perfect presentation. Public speaking is just one element of presentations. as we have already seen, visual content is incredibly important in helping you deliver your speech. If public speaking isn’t your best asset, we have some good news for you. Photographs, infographics, and videos can all be used to help deliver your message and make an engaging and informative presentation.

7. Visuals can be emotive

Sometimes you can describe an emotive scene to someone, and they can acknowledge the emotions but they don’t feel them. Seeing an image is much more evocative than hearing someone describe it. Sometimes, the emotions just don’t register until you can see them with your own eyes. If you want to get your audience to feel something, use photos and videos to make your audience members feel happy, excited, amused, empathetic, sad, or inspired.

8. Visual presentations are more inclusive

Many presenters fall into the trap of assuming everyone in the audience thinks in the same way. When we assume everyone thinks the same way as us, we are discounting the fact that audiences are linguistically diverse, culturally diverse, and neuro-diverse. Because not everyone operates at the same level of comprehension, some of your speech is likely to go over the heads of members of your audience. To help deliver a useful and engaging presentation for everyone, use effective visuals which are more likely to get through to them.

9. Impressive visuals increase your credibility

Using polished, well-constructed photos, videos and infographics is a sure-fire way to increase your credibility. Linking to someone else’s YouTube video or using a generic stock photo doesn’t rouse the same admiration and respect as using your custom-made visual content. Professionally made visuals upgrade the overall look and feel of your presentation as well as sending a message of professionalism and trustworthiness in you and your brand. 

10. Unique visuals make your presentation stand out

If you want to deliver a truly memorable and unique presentation you cannot use the same tired formula. One of the best ways to enhance your presentation to an outstanding quality is to use unique visuals. Custom photography and videography allow you complete creative control over your presentation, which means it will be unique to you and your cause. For maximum personalisation, create your visual content the way you see fit.

We hope you enjoyed our top 10 reasons why you need good presentation visuals!

Splento has experienced experts in visual content; get in touch today if you require any visual content creation , or even if you just have a query.

Contact Splento if you are in need of:

Event Photography and Videography

Professional Headshots

eCommerce Photography and Videography

How to Find Affordable Photography Near Me Discover how to find affordable, high-quality photography services near you with our expert guide. Learn tips for budgeting, searching, and evaluating photographers

Live video marketing: strategies and trends you need to know in 2024 discover the future of marketing with live video in 2024. learn effective strategies and stay ahead of the game with emerging trends.

This will close in 0 seconds

Presentations that move audiences

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content quicker than ever before.

Prezi is good for business

Keep teams engaged and customers asking for more

Prezi is smart for education

Make lessons more exciting and easier to remember

Millions of people — from students to CEOs — use Prezi to grab attention, stand out, and capture imaginations

The most engaging presentations happen on Prezi

Create with confidence

Professionally designed templates.

Choose from hundreds of modern, beautifully made templates.

Millions of reusable presentations

Focus on your own creativity and build off, remix, and reuse presentations from our extensive content library.

Real creative freedom

Open canvas.

Create, organize, and move freely on an open canvas. Create seamless presentations without the restrictions of linear slides.

Ready-made asset libraries

Choose from millions of images, stickers, GIFs, and icons from Unsplash and Giphy.

A presentation that works for you

Present in-person.

Have the confidence to deliver a memorable presentation with presenter notes and downloadable presentations.

Present over video conference

Keep your audience engaged by putting yourself in the center of your presentation.

Your own ideas, ready to present faster

Prezi AI is your new creative partner. Save time, amplify your ideas, and elevate your presentations.

The specialists on visual storytelling since 2009

From TED talks to classrooms. In every country across the world. Prezi has been a trusted presentation partner for over 15 years.

*independent Harvard study of Prezi vs. PowerPoint

See why our customers love us

Prezi is consistently awarded and ranks as the G2 leader across industries based on hundreds of glowing customer reviews.

Prezi powers the best presenters to do their best presentations

What is visual representation?

In the vast landscape of communication, where words alone may fall short, visual representation emerges as a powerful ally. In a world inundated with information, the ability to convey complex ideas, emotions, and data through visual means is becoming increasingly crucial. But what exactly is visual representation, and why does it hold such sway in our understanding?

Defining Visual Representation:

Visual representation is the act of conveying information, ideas, or concepts through visual elements such as images, charts, graphs, maps, and other graphical forms. It’s a means of translating the abstract into the tangible, providing a visual language that transcends the limitations of words alone.

The Power of Images:

The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” encapsulates the essence of visual representation. Images have an unparalleled ability to evoke emotions, tell stories, and communicate complex ideas in an instant. Whether it’s a photograph capturing a poignant moment or an infographic distilling intricate data, images possess a unique capacity to resonate with and engage the viewer on a visceral level.

Facilitating Understanding:

One of the primary functions of visual representation is to enhance understanding. Humans are inherently visual creatures, and we often process and retain visual information more effectively than text. Complex concepts that might be challenging to grasp through written explanations can be simplified and clarified through visual aids. This is particularly valuable in fields such as science, where intricate processes and structures can be elucidated through diagrams and illustrations.

Visual representation also plays a crucial role in education. In classrooms around the world, teachers leverage visual aids to facilitate learning, making lessons more engaging and accessible. From simple charts that break down historical timelines to interactive simulations that bring scientific principles to life, visual representation is a cornerstone of effective pedagogy.

Data Visualization:

In an era dominated by big data, the importance of data visualization cannot be overstated. Raw numbers and statistics can be overwhelming and abstract, but when presented visually, they transform into meaningful insights. Graphs, charts, and maps are powerful tools for conveying trends, patterns, and correlations, enabling decision-makers to glean actionable intelligence from vast datasets.

Consider the impact of a well-crafted infographic that distills complex research findings into a visually digestible format. Data visualization not only simplifies information but also allows for more informed decision-making in fields ranging from business and healthcare to social sciences and environmental studies.

Cultural and Artistic Expression:

Visual representation extends beyond the realm of information and education; it is also a potent form of cultural and artistic expression. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other visual arts serve as mediums through which individuals can convey their emotions, perspectives, and cultural narratives. Artistic visual representation has the power to transcend language barriers, fostering a shared human experience that resonates universally.

Conclusion:

In a world inundated with information, visual representation stands as a beacon of clarity and understanding. Whether it’s simplifying complex concepts, conveying data-driven insights, or expressing the depth of human emotion, visual elements enrich our communication in ways that words alone cannot. As we navigate an increasingly visual society, recognizing and harnessing the power of visual representation is not just a skill but a necessity for effective communication and comprehension. So, let us embrace the visual language that surrounds us, unlocking a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the world.

Newsletters

Publications.

• County Offices
• Distance Ed
• Staff Directory

• 4-H Forestry
• Youth Livestock
• Youth Poultry
• 4-H Shooting Sports
• Health and Wellness
• Ambassador Program
• Collegiate 4-H
• Disaster Response-Youth
• Keys to the Community
• SAFETY Ambassador Program
• Join 4-H Robotics Club
• Support 4-H
• Wildlife Youth Education
• Youth Horse
• Youth Projects
• Bost Conference Center
• County Extension Offices
• Centers and Institutes
• Comprehensive Department Heads
• Research and Extension Center Heads
• Regional Extension Coordinators
• Extension Administrative Council
• Extension Leadership Council
• Extension Matters Magazine
• Program and Staff Development
• Research and Extension Centers
• Undergraduate Apprenticeship Program
• Agricultural Economics
• Catfish Marketing
• Catfish Water Quality
• Harvesting, Loading, and Transport
• Nutrition, Feeds, and Feeding
• Freshwater Prawns
• Hybrid Striped Bass
• Production Phases and Systems
• Christmas Trees
• Commercial Fruit and Nuts
• Green Industry
• Greenhouse Tomatoes
• Nursery Safety Videos
• Organic Fruit and Vegetables
• Other Vegetables
• Peas and Beans
• Tomato Pepper and Eggplant
• Watermelon Cantaloupe and Cucumber
• Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation
• Insects-Crop Pests
• Master Irrigator
• Plant Diseases
• Sweet Potatoes
• Watermelons
• Weed Control for Crops
• Agri-business
• Growing Your Brand
• Agricultural Engineering
• Biotechnology
• Farm Safety
• Remote Sensing Technology
• Women for Agriculture
• Spray Drones
• Pre-Planting
• Crop Growth Stages
• End of Growing Season
• Safety and Regulations
• Sciences of Remote Sensing
• Types of UAS
• Fertilizers - Forages
• Insects-Forage Pests
• Management - Forages
• Weed Control for Forages
• Animal Health
• Beef Calendar
• Beef Publications
• Cattle Business in Mississippi Articles
• Apiculture: Honey Bee Health
• Goats and Sheep
• Small Animals
• Culinary Tourism
• Farmers Markets
• Local Food System Economies
• Marketing and Business Planning
• Specialty Crop Production
• Pesticide Applicator Certification
• Mississippi Land Resource Areas
• Soil Acidity
• Soil Fertility
• Soil Health
• Soil Testing
• About TCALP
• Advisory Council
• Contact TCALP
• Current Class
• TCALP Frequently Asked Questions
• 2020 Census
• County Elected Office
• Decision to Run
• Campaign Finance
• Voter and Election Information
• Contacts & Resources
• Oil and Gas
• Disaster Response
• Economic Development
• Extension Center for Economic Education and Financial Literacy
• Junior Master Wellness Volunteer
• MS Volunteer Leaders Association
• Master Clothing Volunteers
• Master Gardener
• Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers
• Public Water System Assistance Program
• Rural Development
• Small Business
• MSU Extension Head Start
• Nurturing Homes Initiative
• Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral
• Equine Assisted Therapy Programs
• Family Dynamics
• Basic Money Management
• Disaster Relief
• Estate and Financial Planning
• Fraud and Identity Theft
• Housing and Homebuyer
• Volunteer Money Mentors
• Youth Financial Literacy
• Creating Healthy Indoor Childcare Environments
• Produce Safety
• AIM for CHangE
• Colon Cancer Screening
• Dining with Diabetes
• Growing Well
• Nutrition and Wellness
• Prescription Opioid Misuse
• Mental Health First Aid
• Farm Stress
• Rural Health
• Forage Pests
• Household Insects
• Human Pests
• Insect Identification
• Insects Vegetable Gardens
• Ornamental Plants
• Cut Flowers and Houseplants
• Floral Design
• Flower Gardens
• Gardening Through the Seasons Video
• Herb Gardens
• Insects-Home Lawns
• Insects-Ornamental Plants
• Healthy Soils and Water
• Landscape Management
• Landscape and Garden Design
• Plants and Wildlife
• Landscape Resources
• Mississippi Landscape Gallery
• Professionals Corner
• Diversity of Plants
• Energy Savings
• Healthy Soils
• Healthy Water Practices
• Integrated Pest Control
• Places for Wildlife
• Fruit and Nut Disease Calendar
• Fruit and Nut Disease Publications
• Fruit and Nut Disease Updates
• Plant Disease and Nematode Diagnostic Services
• Vegetable Disease Calendar
• Vegetable Disease Publications
• Vegetable Disease Updates
• The Story of Plants and People
• Turfgrass and Lawn Management
• Vegetable Gardens
• Weed Control for Lawn and Garden
• Youth Gardening
• Construction
• Pond and Lake Water Quality
• Fish Management
• Weed Control
• Carbon Credits
• Disaster Recovery
• Forest Ecology
• Forestry Impacts
• Timber Prices
• Agroforestry
• Beginning Forestry
• Forest Pests
• Longleaf Pine
• Pine Straw Mulch Production
• Regeneration
• Forest Soils
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Timber Harvest
• Urban and Community Forestry
• Invasive Plants
• Seafood Economics
• Seafood Harvesting and Processing
• Waste Management
• Mississippi Water Stewards
• Mississippi Well Owner Network
• Rural Water Association
• Water Quality
• Water Weeds
• Chronic Wasting Disease
• Northern Bobwhite Quail
• Nuisance Wildlife and Damage Management
• Operation HOG
• Urban and Backyard Wildlife
• White-Tailed Deer
• Wildlife Economics and Enterprises
• Manufacturers
• Testing Abilities
• Treatment and Preservation
• Wood Identification
• Wood Pellets
• Wood Utilization
• Registration Portal

You are here

Visual presentation, what is a 4-h visual presentation.

A visual presentation is a teaching method used to communicate an idea. Charts, flannel boards, flash cards, slides, models, photography, or chalkboards are aids that can be used A visual presentation can sell an audience on the importance of an idea. A visual presentation includes demonstrations and illustrated talks.

Visual presentations can be a Method Demonstration or Illustrated Talk. Method demonstrations and illustrated talks are planned presentations in which a 4-H member teaches information related to a project or activity. Simply, there are ways of sharing useful information and of showing and telling others how to make or do something.

Through demonstrations and talks, 4-H members have the opportunity to:

• Work on something they like and in which they have an interest.
• Gain new knowledge and learn about a specific subject.
• Learn to plan and organize their thoughts so they can express themselves more clearly.
• Emphasize the major points of a presentation through the use of visuals or examples.
• Develop good judgment, speech and actions before an audience.
• Listen to the opinions of others.
• Teach and show others improved methods and practices learned through 4-H, thus performing a service to the community.

SPECIAL RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR VISUAL PRESENTATION EVENTS

GENERAL RULES:

• A member may compete in only one visual presentation contest.
• Visual presentations should be given by one individual only.
• The visual presentation contest should begin on a community basis.
• The contestant must arrange for equipment and materials needed for the presentation. The specialist will furnish a table and an easel. (Note: Should a 4-H’er choose to utilize PowerPoint or other computer program, that 4-H’er must have back-up presentation in the event of malfunction. Agents must check with contest coordinator about PowerPoint equipment being provided for 4-H’ers use prior to the event).
• The contestant shall bring to the contest: a. 4-H Contest Entry and Score Form 166 (typed) b. Pencil Refer to specific contest area for other material needed.
• The participants will be judged utilizing the visual presentation score sheets: (F-334 & F-334A).
• Ten and 11-year-olds will give a visual presentation and be judged blue, red, and white. All blue ribbon winners will receive awards.
• Twelve and 13-year-olds and senior visual presentation contestants will be placed in order of ranking (1, 2, 3, etc.). Ribbons will be awarded to all contestants. Awards will be given to the top three places. (Exception: No awards will be given for white ribbons.)
• The junior county winners are eligible to participate in the district 4-H Project Achievement Day contest.
• The senior county winners are eligible to participate in the state contest.
• A county may enter a total of three contestants in each contest category where individual participation is allowed and in each visual presentation contest, including the "Other Projects" contest.
• 4-H Visual Presentation less than 3 minutes in length and those exceeding 10 minutes will be penalized.
• In the event of a tie for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, the score made on the "Presentation Section," will be used to break the tie. If a tie still persists, the contestants will make a second presentation.
• Posters and other visuals used in a 4-H Visual Presentation should be prepared by the 4-H member giving the presentation.
• "OTHER PROJECTS" visual presentations include the projects: citizenship, leadership, leisure education, poultry, and any others not listed on the enrollment card, such as aerospace, weather and geology. NOTE: A penalty of 10 points will be placed on visual presentations entered in the “OTHER PROJECTS” category if that visual presentation could have been entered in a specific project area contest. Senior 4-H members are not eligible to give a visual presentation in small engine, computer and electric. Refer to the miscellaneous area for contest that includes senior computer, electric energy and small engines.
• Plant and soil science includes: plant pathology and field crops such as cotton, corn, soybeans, pastures, and other general plants and soils topics.
• Gardening and horticulture includes flower and vegetable gardening, truck crops, orchard, and landscaping.
• Conservation includes: Forestry, wildlife, soil and water conservation.
• Engineering for seniors includes: Bicycle, safety, and all petroleum power vehicles, such as automobiles, tractors, and lawnmowers.
• Engineering for Juniors ages 10-11 and ages 12-13 includes: Electric, safety, bicycle, and all petroleum power vehicles, such as automobiles, tractors, lawnmowers, three- wheelers, etc.
• Refer to "How to Do a Visual Presentation", Publication 1096, for instructions on writing and presenting visual presentations.
• Eight- and 9-year-olds are not eligible to enter the District Visual Presentation Contest.
• Senior horse individual and Team demonstration contests will be between 10-15 minutes long to correspond with the Mississippi 4-H Horse Show Rules and Regulations. For Senior Horse Public Speaking, speeches should be 7-10 minutes in length. Junior horse visual demonstration contest will be between 5-10 minutes long. For Junior Horse Public Speaking, speeches should be 3-5 minutes in length.

Visual Presentation Contest With Age Categories

Basic Compass Orienteering

Building your own backstop, mississippi 4-h horse shows: classes, rules, and regulations, how to build a campfire, making the most of 4-h meetings: a guide for leaders, 4-h livestock specialist earns awards, board term.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Dean Jousan helps the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association select the annual winner of its Paul F.

Collaboration makes Choctaw Preview Day a success

STARKVILLE, Miss.

MSU Extension hosted Scratch ecosystem event

Mississippi State University’s efforts to offer something for everyone brought educators from eight states together in late March to interact with a coding language designed to interest young learners in STEM topics.

March 2024 - 4-H Animal Lines

October 2023 - 4-h animal lines, july 2023 - 4-h animal lines, march 2023 - 4-h animal lines, october 2022 - 4-h animal lines, contact your county office, book navigation.

• Wildlife Habitat Education Program (WHEP)

Related Material

Upcoming events.

Blog – Creative Presentations Ideas

infoDiagram visual slide examples, PowerPoint diagrams & icons , PPT tricks & guides

How to Present Real Estate Property with Impact Using PowerPoint

Do you need to present real estate property in an impactful way, or create an eye-catching leaflet showcasing apartments to sell or rent? Without investing a ton of money for a designer, you can use a tool you are already probably familiar with – Microsoft PowerPoint. Let me inspire you with examples of slides that not only convey information but do so with style and visual appeal.

A property presentation materials have typically structure like this:

• General information about the property (what it is, how big, best pictures).
• Main characteristics like location, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and area of property.
• Interior, with a description of the living area, kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms.
• Exterior with examples.
• Overview with a few pictures gallery of property.
• Contact information.

All this information can be easily represented within a PowerPoint presentation that you can export to PDF and print. Additionally, PowerPoint gives you the flexibility to change content or replace pictures even when you are offline. 

I’d like to share a few layouts that I would use as a presentation designer for creating a real estate leaflet. 

Get all the graphics presented here – click on the slide pictures to see and download the source illustration. Check the full Real Estate Property Presentation .

Start with Property Introduction

This slide is all about showing off your property. On the right, there is a place for putting stunning photos that show off the home’s best features — like that cozy A-frame cabin bathed in sunlight. On the left, add a quick rundown of the important details. A bold text at the top with the property’s highlight, like the ’60m2 terrace’, makes sure it stands out. This design is easy to change up with different photos and facts to match any property. Notice also ribbons on top and at the bottom with icons and names of the property and website.

Main Characteristics Display

Here is a snapshot of the property’s essentials, making it simple for viewers to get the key details at a glance. It’s clean, direct, and to the point. A welcoming image on the left invites the eye. The right side could feature a list of characteristics, from the number of bedrooms to the total area, each visualized with a corresponding icon to make them stand out. A subtle color block behind the text helps to draw the eye, while a soft background can give the slide a professional and polished look.

Interior Exploration

Take a quick peek inside the home with this ‘Interior’ slide. It’s laid out with four clear photos that show off the main spots: the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Below each photo, there’s a place for a little list of highlights, like a ‘cozy fireplace’ or ‘fancy appliances’, each on a nice vibrant rectangular background. The design is super straightforward, so you can get the feel of the place and the details.

Exterior Showcase

Presenting real estate is also about showcasing the exterior. Check out this slide – it’s like giving people a virtual tour of what’s outside the house. You’ve got three photos that show off different spots: it might be a roof terrace that’s all about the views, a lower terrace that’s perfect for hanging out with friends, and a covered spot to park cars. Under each photo, there’s a quick list with a color background that tells you what’s cool about each place, like a hot tub on the roof or lots of room to park. The design is super straightforward, so you can get the feel of the place and the details.

Visual Summary

Create a mosaic of images on this slide, giving a visual summary of the property. The use of a grid layout allows you to present a variety of spaces and angles, giving a well-rounded impression of the property. You can place a translucent banner with the title e.g. overview, above the images for a modern touch and consistency with other slides.

Designing a presentation for real estate is about creating an experience. Through thoughtful design, strategic layout, and the clever use of visuals, you can present real estate in a way that is not only informative but also inspiring and memorable.

What to Remember about how to Present Real Estate Visually

It’s useful to know a few simple design rules connected with creating real estate presentations:

• Stick to one style and color palette for consistency .
• Enrich your text with icons – properly chosen icons can perfectly show what you are talking about e.g. icon of the interior.
• Use the same margins on each slide, it will make your presentation look more professional.
• Choose the best photoshoots you will find, and keep it visually welcoming.

I’m sure you can make an impactful presentation and overall impression with these basic design rules.

Shortcut to create stunning Real Estate presentation

The examples above used the graphics from a PowerPoint template Real Estate Property Presentation. 

All slides are available in the infoDiagram collection of presentation graphics here:

Real Estate Property PPT Presentation

So if you want to create your real estate presentation quickly and visually appealing you can use this template. Simply add your pictures into predefined placeholders, replace texts, and enjoy a beautifully craft deck.

Moreover, you can extend your data presentation with an HR Metrics Dashboard Data Charts right here .

Subscribe to the newsletter  and follow our  YouTube channel  to get more design tips and slide inspiration.