how to write, or not to write, for powerpoint
Post on 20-Oct-2014
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How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint , with illustrations from Dante's Inferno, explains in 13 comic and easy slides how to write slide shows.TRANSCRIPT
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint
By Simon Drakesimondrake.com
Text © Simon Drake 2010
With illustrations from Dante’s Inferno
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 2
Remember:PowerPoint is
Painful
People will do anything to escape a presentation, so save them…
We want to be engaged, not spoken to.And we’ve seen all the PowerPoint tricks in
the known Universe.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 3
But there is Hope.
Short snappy sentences make an impact.Poignant images spark our imagination.Visualise a story and we are with you.
H eaven? Hel l ?LifeLife
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 4
Words are Winged
Weapons
Keep the sentences simple, yet,Punctuate your sales pitch with grandiose,
verbose, exquisite & extraordinary adjectives not read aloud since the early 19th Century.
Variety of words are the spices of languages.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 5
1 Slide per Unique Selling
Point
Spare your actual Unique Selling Points.Don’t crowd too many together… It’s the (breathing & thinking) space around
your concepts and Unique Selling Points that makes them stand apart.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 6
Creativity is Dangerous,
So Use It
Never underestimate your audience.
They’re smarter than You.Stretch their minds with concepts and ideas –
they’ll respect you for waking them up.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 7
Oh no, Font Size and Type!
Oh yes, we can’t read your invaluable presentation because we’re:♠ Over 30 & squinting like we’re 80, or
♠ Staring at your laptop on a 63° angle, or
♠ Maybe because we’re un-inspired.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 8
Time to Get Crazy?
No.
Large fonts, clean cut lines and distinctive colors for formatting are the key.
Fancy fonts & too many colors give people major migraines. Make their life easier.
Spread your message with finesse, not an over designed mess.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 9
And…Well…
Talk
Never present something you can’t present without a PowerPoint presentation.
Your cheery face is entertainment, the presentation is what people look at when they’re bored of looking at you.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 10
But… What about a Stand Alone Presentation (like this one)
PowerPoint Dialogue Ingredients are: ♠ 1 x Solid Concept with Summaries
♠ A sprinkling of Humor or Apocalyptic Awe,
♠ A fusion of the Visual and Straightforward,
♠ Baked with a High Degree of Confidence.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 11
But I have so much
more to say!
We all do. Use one-liners for the messages.The thrust of your argument, sadly, must be in
easy to skim bullet points.For back-up material, add it at the end of your
presentation and be sure it’s Print Friendly.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 12
Got it, Team?
Engage us
Design for us
Know your stuff
And don’t forget to
include some hard facts at
the end!
Above: Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), delivering some sound judgment.
How to Write, or Not to Write, for PowerPoint. Text © 2010 Simon Drake. simondrake.com 13
Appendix: Dante’s Inferno
Inferno is Italian for ‘Hell’, and is the name of the first part of Dante Alighieri's fourteenth-century epic poem ‘Divine Comedy’.
It follows the not very comic journey of Dante through a very vivid medieval concept of Hell. Fortunately, our intrepid Dante is guided by the chummy Roman poet Virgil.
Hell is charmingly depicted as only nine circles of suffering located within the Earth. Allegorically the ‘Divine Comedy’ may represent the passing of the soul to God, where the Inferno acts as the recognition and rejection of sin.
The illustration on the top right shows Satan trapped in the central frozen zone in the Ninth Circle of Hell, pondering how he/she could have improved his PowerPoint presentation.
Alas, with all good things, you only get one shot at them.
Slide #12: Hmph!
The End
FYI: Slide #12 really impressed me!
Awesome! (Time to close this sale)