You are probably thinking what new information am I going to get in this piece as you have probably been winging creative presentations ever since you were in school. However, we are not going to talk about PowerPoint 101 or PPT 101 (because you already know that!).
Do you want your audience to be confused? Bored or go to sleep whilst you present? That’s pretty easy, make some traditional slides with long paragraphs of text and images and voila you’ve achieved boredom! But that’s not how the best PowerPoint presentations are made. We are sure that the above scenario didn’t sound good! Therefore, let’s discuss how to create an impactful creative PowerPoint presentation with effective creative presentation design.
The biggest question:
How does one create content for an impactful creative presentation?
The shortest answer:
By storytelling.
Use your knowledge and know how to learn about your audience. Try and figure out where they are coming from and what kind of content will work, narrate the story you want to tell them.
Once, you’ve figured out the baseline, here’s a step by step guide:
Step 1: Time for some online shopping
Google or any other search engine is your best friend. Get online and get all the information together that will support your presentation. Be it statistics, charts, pictures, reports or any elements that will help you put together a compelling story.
Pro tip: If you’re presenting on launching a jeans brand then you could Google – jeans buying behaviour PDF. When you add PDF to your search term then you will get existing reports from various websites.
Step 2: Organisation is key
Once you start putting together the results of your research (online shopping), you will see key themes emerging. You have to organise your content into these themes as these will fit into your story. For example, you will see themes like advantages, benefits, audience findings, conclusions etc.
Step 3: Filtering. Less is more in this case.
After you’ve organised your data, you need to start the filtration process:
- What is the purpose / objective of the presentation?
- Does the information you gathered help achieve your goal? If yes, great. If no, time to look for more information.
- Will my audience relate to that information?
- Does the information meet the requirement of your audience? Are you telling them what they need to know?
Step 4. The Presentation Structure
Before you begin working on the presentation, you need to decide the structure of the main blocks of your presentation. This should flow was a logical story and arranged in a smart sequence so that your audience grabs the story.
Step 5. Linking sections to build a natural connection
To engage your audience and build a natural connection between your presentations, you will need to create a connection between each section. Hence, maybe end each section with a question that you answer in the beginning of each section.
Step 6. Develop the content for each section
With the content sections you have outlined, develop or flesh out the content for each section. Add relevant information to each section and do not write more than what’s essential.
Step 7. Remember these three key things
The presentation should be divided into three key sections:
- The Introduction – Tell them what you’re going to tell them
- The Middle – Tell them
- The End – Tell them what you just told them
Step 8. Voice over Vs. What goes on screen
Your slides are just to cue you in and show your audience what you can’t express by way of words. It’s time to decide what goes as a voice over and what stays on screen. The screen is to complement what you’re saying – not take the attention away from you. Because less numbers and words is the way to go!
Step 9. Eliminate. Eliminate. Eliminate.
Now is the time to start the process of elimination. You start cutting out what you don’t need. If there is something you feel you can do away with and doesn’t convey anything, then you’re better off without it. Omit repeated information as well.
Step 10. Ask someone else to read it
To conclude, the final step now is to get someone else to read your presentation, someone who hasn’t seen it before. This neutral perspective is required for you to create the best PowerPoint presentation.
Finally, we hope the above was helpful and you can implement some of the above in your next presentation. In case you need help with presentation design services, we are just a message away.