A great presentation ignoring EVERYTHING suggested on this blog

Presenters should pick their own slide design style. The safe option is to read this blog, read Presentation Zen, read Slide:ology, and other resources and apply the principles as best as you can to your deck. But hey, the world would be pretty boring if all of us did this.

Why not do the exact opposite what the presentation design establishment is trying to teach you - on purpose?

Dave McClure is an investor in startups that does exactly that. Random colors, bullet points galore, "love that clip art", arbitrarily placed images, and some pretty rough language. Kicking the presentation etiquette. Building businesses is all about getting your hands dirty, passion & energy, and ignoring slick packaging. It's the substance that matters.

Here is a recent presentation (some strong language):

Startup Metrics for Pirates (FOWA London, Oct 2009)

View more presentations from Dave McClure.

The resulting presentation is actually pretty good. I am sure the "show" on the London stage was great. And through reading the slides I get the main point about feature focus. If you have Dave's substance and confidence, there is nothing holding you back to deliver a presentation like this. Another example of a presentation by Dave: how to pitch to a VC (strong language)