10 tips for making beautiful slideshow presentation

10 tips
for making

BEAUTIFUL
SLIDESHOW
PRESENTATIONS
Edahn Small
www.AskEdahn.com


Credit: Jessica Castro, unwrittenmemories.com


Tip #1

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


Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:


Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly

Beautiful

Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr


Presentations, like cats,
fall into two categories:
Ugly

Beautiful

Just Kidding.

Credit: Pete Hunt, Flickr


Presentations fall into
two main categories:

Technical
presentations

Persuasive
presentations

teach people
about a topic. The
topic can be
anything.

make people see
something (like

your brand) a
certain way.


Most presentations will combine

elements of both.


Don’t bore them!
Be focused, but not too dull or repetitive.

It’s hard to communicate
when people are busy
playing on their phones...
trust me.


Tip #2

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


Sketch the basics
1

3

Outline
your main
points

Sequence
your slides
effectively

2
Add detail
to your outline until
you figure out what
you want to say in
each slide


Make sure your presentation follows a
logical or chronological sequence.


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


If you
try and

tell them
everything,

they won’t
remember
anything.


Tip #3

AVOID STOCK
TEMPLATES
Run away! Run away!


Pop quiz, hotshot:
Which slide is more memorable?
(in a good way)

Exhibit A

Exhibit B


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


The Problems with Stock Templates
•
•
•

•
•

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


Build your own
theme instead.
But h-h-how?

Tip #4

Tip #5

Tip #6

Color

Fonts

Layout

Tip #4

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


Pick 5 colors and
alternate them in your slides.

Choose one accent color that
stands out from the rest.


Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

ColourLovers.com


Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

Mellow and
modern

ColourLovers.com

Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

Mellow and
modern

Passionate and
aggressive

ColourLovers.com


Choose colors that reflect the tone of
your presentation.

Mellow and
modern

Something
about
scarves

Passionate and
aggressive

ColourLovers.com


Websites to help you pick color schemes

(for free)


User-generated color palettes and more

/>Similar to the above

/>Computer-generated color palettes

/>Upload a picture and it pulls out the main colors