Presentation design

1. Mindset & mood (Your general state of mind and your mood at the time of creating the presentation)

This process of creating a presentation—in fact, of trying to “shed light” on the minds and souls of every person in your chosen audience—is a very important, yet also very beautiful, endeavor. Enjoy it, fully understand its purpose, and give it your all—create the best presentation that showcases the best version of yourself. In addition, when you get to work, be positive, relaxed, and eager to offer something— something valuable—that will bring about change. Set aside enough time.

Remember— enjoy the process, give it the attention and time it deserves—you’re one step closer to creating a presentation that tells a story.

2. Who are you talking to? Show empathy!

This presentation is a message that comes from one person (you) to another person (from a group of people). Based on this premise, you are communicating with a person. It’s important to know them, it’s important to understand them, and it’s important to empathize with them. Otherwise, you won’t be able to tell a story; you’ll just be communicating dryly, merely presenting facts.

Who are you addressing? Who is the person in front of you? Create personas (first name, last name, place of residence, education, age, gender, family, income, habits, daily routine, etc.) – It’s a good idea to use or create personas that are relevant to the purpose of your communication —in other words, if you’re targeting a professional audience, try to ensure your personas cover as much of their workplace behavior as possible. What are their needs? What are their expectations? How much time do they have, and how do they prefer to communicate? etc.

Seek (before building your presentation) to observe your audience, to interact with them, to discover them , to know them very well , so that you can understand them and empathize with each person in them, so that you can tell them your story.

3. What are your communication goals?

If the audience could take away just one thing, what would it be? For example, from this presentation, we want you to take away the idea that a presentation achieves its purpose when it tells a story. So choose a central idea—just one.

In addition to the main idea, you can also include two other ideas. However, never more than that—you won’t be able to convey them all in a single presentation. The maximum is 1+2.

The main idea should be simple and convey a profound meaning that is easy to understand. You’ll need to repeat it often, across as many slides as possible (whether it’s written or spoken). The other two ideas should be connected to the main idea and flow naturally from it.

4. Context and Structure

What is the context of the communication? How do you interact with your audience? Will the presentation be for a general audience, a small group, sent via email, delivered during a sales meeting, or as part of a pitch? This is a very important consideration; depending on it, you’ll use a specific approach to creating and presenting your material. For example, for pitches, we recommend printed infographics; for a general audience, PowerPoint slides with minimal content; and for presentations sent via email, animated brochures that allow for interaction.

5. Tell a story

Here’s the situation: you have an audience (and personas); you know their needs, expectations, and behavior; you want them to remember one main idea (+2 related ideas); you have the context (you know how you’ll communicate with them)— now it’s time to tell them a story. That’s the only way you’ll capture their interest. What does it mean to tell them a story? It means empathizing with them and telling them about real or imaginary experiences that are linked together in a logical sequence, with exposition (characters, setting, time), plot, conflict, the unfolding of the action, and a conclusion. They can be about you, about your own experiences (but be careful—don’t turn yourself into a hero; don’t forget humility). People open up to stories; they feel empathy when they hear stories and see people; they experience emotion. Emotion—don’t forget it. A story has emotion—be authentic; live what you say!

6. Interaction

You find yourself in the following situation: you’re communicating with him or her (the person in the audience) either directly or indirectly (through a presentation sent by email). It’s important to foster interaction. This is one way to open new channels of communication or strengthen existing ones. Interaction is a way to generate or amplify empathy.

Interaction can occur today in any form of communication, whether direct or indirect.

7. Design

Pay close attention to the presentation’s design. There should be harmony, and, above all, there should be plenty of visual content—photographs, flowcharts. In the context of a presentation sent via email, you can use more text. A good design is a simple, clean design in which the elements are in harmony, where the information is well-organized and presented in a carefully chosen order.

8. Branding

To what extent does the presentation align with the organization’s brand elements? Does it advance the vision and values? Is it in harmony with the brand promise and the brand’s character? To what extent is the style guide followed?

9. Keep it simple!

It starts from the premise that the things that are truly valuable are the things that are truly simple (less is more). Keep it simple! After the first draft, simplify it! Always try to let go of new meanings and ideas so you can focus on what’s important—keep it simple!!

10. Switch roles

At each stage, put yourself in the “shoes” of the person you’re speaking with. Assess the extent to which your behavior and presentation demonstrate empathy, relevance, and valuable content. Be critical and work to improve this aspect at every stage. Switch roles!

11. Better, simpler

Set aside some time and review your presentation several times. Polish it, just as a jeweler polishes a gemstone, to bring out the best in it.

If the presentation will be given in front of a large or small audience (not sent by email), practice—nothing will help you more than rehearsal. Be critical: Is there empathy, relevance, and valuable content in your behavior and presentation?