Presentation Design – How to Convince Your Audience

The word presentation makes many of us shudder rather than listen to tension. Rightly so, when we think of boring PowerPoint slides without any visual design claim. Far too many words, far too many slides, far too little design, far too little story. Presentation? Yes. Presentation design? No.

Focus: End Users

Presentations are a powerful tool and when they are well done, we achieve incredible results. But a good presentation requires not only an appealing presentation design but also a convincing story. As with our videos, we don’t start with the content or the design, but with the end user. For whom do we create this presentation? Content as well as design will vary greatly, depending on whether we create the product for the board of directors of a large company or for the innovative idea of a young start-up.

So how does the target group tick? In a workshop with the customer, we use our canvas to get to the bottom of this question. But also the benefit of the presentation is of great importance. What is your goal? What should it trigger in readers or listeners? So the basic question is WHO should be moved WHERE?
As soon as we have the answer to this question, we will be able to focus on content and design.

Between facts and storytelling

Now we come to an aspect that accompanies us every day at Cleverclip – storytelling. Nobody wants to listen to or read through a boring list of facts and figures. No matter what kind of text, including presentations, move somewhere between two extreme poles: Report and history. Reports inform – stories entertain.

Structurally, the difference between these two extremes is that a report sorts facts by topic, while a story dramatically changes scenes. And here in the middle is the presentation. It contains both information and history – and is thus also called an explanation. Structure is used to achieve a desired result. Cleverly arranged, information creates an appealing appeal and ultimately leads to the desired emotional impact of your presentation design.

Presentation design – the final touch

Once the story is clear and the content is set, the whole thing is designed according to the target group. Sounds simple – but it isn’t. A simple but appealing set of slides not only allows the viewer to listen but also invites the viewer to actively deal with it. If the right visual element hits the nail on the head while you’re explaining the nail, everyone in the room will remember it. Keep your pictures in the same style, search for meaningful motifs and select them consciously and appropriately to the content. The spoken content and the shown graphics should complement each other and pick up the viewer.

Do you do a Powerpoint presentation every now and then? Try these tips and let us know what your viewers have to say.