how to design effective powerpoint document ?

How to design effective Powerpoint®

documentsLayout, structure and messages

November 2008

2 How to design effective Powerpoint® documents

Objective : why this document ?

• The purpose of this document is to help you design stun ning powerpointdocuments

• It is based on our personnal experiences of making powerp oint reports and fromwhat we learnt in consulting companies we have been work ing for.

• We often have heard from clients that they were really impr essed by consulting reports and presentations : clear, direct, well struc tured and always veryprofessional looking.

• We hope that after reading this document, and after practi cing you’ll be able to design stunning powerpoint presentations


Executive summary

• Choose a very simple layout and be consistent all throu gh your document.

• Do not use only bullet points : insert diagrams, ch arts, maps to support your messages.

• Your presentation should be a logical series of hea dlines that tell the whole story : organize your arguments to support your key-messages .

• Use storyboarding to help you structure your story

• The headlines must be explicit with short and direc t sentences

Layout


First, you have to choose a very simple and standard format

• If you are an employee, choose yourcompany’s template

– The look of the template typically reflects the company’s culture

– It also reflects the way the company want to be perceived in case of an external audience

– if there are several different templates, choose the one that is the more simple, with the less objects or information on it.

• Otherwise, use a simple and standard template (just the one usedfor this document)

- Example of a consulting template (BCG) -

Source : BCG presentation to LA Harbor Commission 06Mar08


You have to be consistent all through the document

Your document has to be professional. Try to imagine you’re designing a book that will be printed and sold.

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4

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Use the same font all through your document (but you may include somevariations : bold, italic or underline). Choose a sans-serif font (ex : arial or helvetica).

Do not use too much colors. 2 hues maximum (1 for highlightingmessages), plus the text color (black is best). For each hue, you can use a different brightness

Try to use the same line spacing all along your document

Try to avoid cliparts (especially Powerpoint ones : everybody already saw them a thousand times elsewhere)


It will speed up your document production and enhancecommunication effectiveness

• A simple and standard format will provide you with a ready-made framework.

• It will help you structure your ideas in an efficient and sharp manner.

• It will suppress the necessity to make decisions about format when producing your document.

• It will speed up your writing and so enhance production efficiency.

• The audience (or readers) will easily know where to look for particular kinds of information :

– In particular (Key) messages

– Explanations…

• A simple and standard format will disappear to the eyes of your audience and let them concentrate on what is important, the substance.

• It will give a feeling of repetition that will promote your audience comfort.

Document productionDocument production Communication effectivenessCommunication effectiveness


Each part of the document format has its own objective

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Each page tells a different story

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The headline tells the story

The content explains the story

The kicker-box tells the implications of the story


The headline tells the story : only one single mess age per page

• Do not write empty statements or numbers :

– “The methodology is described below”

– “We found 4 major issues”

• Use a short sentence:– Two lines maximum for the

headline (but one is best)

• Write something meaningful that directs attention to the main points of the message

– “Company X turnover is 3 times higher than company’s Y”

• Use headlines as the “story board” of your document:

– When reading the headlines only, your audience should have a clear idea of the whole story

Theheadline

A well written headline focus attention on the mess age the page conveys

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The content explains the story : use all the element syou need to make your audience understand easily

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Well-orderedbullet-points

Examples

Content of the page

Diagrams

Maps

Charts or data tables

All these elements should help you design a content that explains clearly very complex messages


• The kicker-box usually answers the “so-what ?” quest ion at the end of

the page.

• It is NOT a continuation of the headline.

• Kicker-boxes have to be concise and straight to the point.

The kicker-box tells the implications of the story for your readers and audience

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Kicker-boxes will make your presentations and repor ts more effective

Structure


Each part of a presentation has its own purpose and is necessary

BodyTitle page Objectives Summary Next stepsExecutive Summary

Should be as explicit

as possible

Summarizes the storyline and the key messages

Tells the purpose of the study /

report / presentation

Tells the whole story

Tells the key

messages again

Explains what will happen

next

Level of attention at its peak

1 2 3 4 5 6


The title page is as important as the rest of the document

• The title page has to set the tone of the document and should give a first idea of its objectives and key messages

• Therefore, it should include a few basic elements :

– In case of a presentation, the name of the target audience / comity

– An active title that generates interest, preferably including a verb (ex : How to design effective presentation) : it has to be as explicit as possible

• It may be sometimes interesting to complete the title information by the use of a subtitle

– The name of the author

– The date of the presentation or delivery report


The executive summary should summarize the storylin e and the key messages

Summarizes the storylineShould fit on one single

page

Contains the keymessages

Contains the key results numbers (revenue, loss,

market share…)

Executive summary


The key messages are greatly dependent from the context of your presentation

The different kind of objectives of your

document

• What is their feeling on the matter of your presentation or report?

• What are their main concerns and interests ?

• Is somebody in a position to take a decision or trigge r action ?

• What is their attitude towards the author / presenter (yo u) ?

• Will they be receptive or skeptical about your mess ages ?

• To inform

– Is the subject complex ?

– Is it very innovative ?

• To convince

– Does it imply a tough decision ?

• To trigger action

– What will trigger the action you want your audience to take ?

The audience / readers


An effective presentation should be a logical serie s of headlines that tell the whole story

from the beginning to the end

Arguments and supporting evidences

and follow the storyline


to help your client understand yourreasoning


should logically follow the previous one


Each headline



You should define your key ideas from the main find ings and facts from your work

Key ideas

Use a logic tree to organize and

gather the main facts and findingsand define your

key ideas

- Analysis step : finding the key ideas -

Transforming the key ideas in key messages will be the first step of effective communication


You have to develop a message-based story by organizing arguments to support your key messages

- Communication step : finding the arguments -

Key messages

Main supporting arguments (major sections of your

document)

Arguments (with facts and

evidences on each page)


A storyboard will help you visualize your document during its design

You wanted to know the main reason for…

We set up an exhaustive diagnosis…

The main findingswere…

Because of… And of… We recommend that…

The main opportunities are…

But one big threatis…

Therefore our action plan will be…


To increase your effectiveness you’ll have to revis e and refine your storyboard over the course of the proje ct

Structure + first

hypothesisor ideas

Final versionof your

document

First draft of your

document

Successiveversions of

yourdocument

Start Finish

- Evolution of the storyboard -

When in project, start to design your storyboard at the very beginning


A storyboard will help you design your storyline, especially when working in team

Helps to check the state and progress

of the document

Helps to communicate

ideas

Helps to check the logic flow

(is my story coherent ?)

Allows to visualiseeach page of the

document

Storyboard

Organizes the document production

among the team


The best way to make your storyboard is to print yo ur pages and glue them on the wall

Sketch manualy your different slides on A4 pagesor Post-ItGlued on

brown-paper or

flip

On the computer

screenUse the slides sorter on Powerpoint

Print your powerpoint slides

EvolutiveCommunicatio

n

tool

☺☺☺☺

��

��

☺☺☺☺

☺☺☺☺

- Different ways to do storyboarding -

Messages


Each headline should tell a value added message

A sentence

ExplicitLinked to

the content

Headline

It has to be a real sentence thatexpresses an idea.

There should be no ambiguity in yourmessage

The message in the headline should be the synthesis of the content of your slide. Remember :

• The headline tells the story• The content explains the story (gives the facts, argument and supportive evidences)


• Your company has been heavily impacted by the downturn economy

To be written

• The success relies mainly on management involvement

• Our methodology will be based on employees interviews

• The volume of product X sales has increased by 10% over the past two year

• The company’s profit is far below expectation

• The three phases of the project will be finished en d of april

To be avoided

• Context

• Methodology

• Volume of sales

• Profit

• Roadmap

• Key success factor

It has to be a real sentence


The type of your messages depends on the objective of your document and therefore of your involvement

- Objective - - Type of message & examples -

Tell factsInform• XXX is the leading laptop computer resseller

• Livestock farming is 1,5 times more pollutingthan transporation

Convince Giveopinion

• XXX will strenghten his n°1 position

• Lowering meat consumption will have a massive effect on global warming

Trigger action Advise

• You should partner with XXX

• Eat meat only twice a week

Leve

lof i

nvol

vem

ent

-

+


The same measures or facts could lead to the 3 types of messages

Tell facts : Employee « bonuses »are not linked to results

Give opinion : The salary is not motivating enough

Advise : You should redesign it

Results / objectives

Sal

ary

Correlation :salary vs

results/objectives

- example-


Your sentences have to be short, sharp and active

Write short sentences and avoid too much adverbsand adjectives : the message will be understoodquickly. Tighten up yourwriting ! Be sharp and direct : it will focus

your audience / reader on whatshould be remembered

Use verbs in active form : Active form is especiallymeaningful as you describe workthat you have completed or are in the process of completing.

Message with sharp and short sentences are easily r emembered

Sentences


Summary

• Layout : it has to be simple and consistent. Use diagr ams, charts and maps.

• Structure : use storyboarding to help you structure y our story. Any readershould understand the story by reading the headlines o nly.

• Messages : your messages have to be explicit. Use sho rt and direct sentences.

• Practice, practice, and pratice again…

Check-list


Document Quality Check-list

One can understand the main idea of the document from t he title

The executive summary gives the key messages of your doc ument

Headlines are linked logically and tell a story

The objectives of the document are clearly told at the beginning

In all pages, the content support the headline

There’s only one message per page

The sentences are short and direct

Every element on each page is useful to understand the st ory (no useless elements)

Each headline is explicit (and is a real sentence)

The layout is simple

There are diagrams, charts and maps to support my mess ages (not only bullet points)

There are few colors used in the document

There are no cliparts (especially Powerpoint one’s)

The kicker boxes answer a « so what question »

All the pages are consistent

Layout

Structure

Messages

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