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Take lots of pictures
Related to yesterday’s post, here is a piece of advice: make it a habit to take cellphone images of workshops, site visits, conference, foreign visitors, a strategic deal signing, moving day to the new office, etc. throughout the year. I always find that when the moment comes for a new corporate presentation, the only office visual a client can produce is one of the entrance corridor with the receptionist in front of the company logo.
Making a good team introduction
This video by Before & After Magazine shows a great way how to visualize the team behind your company. I always think it is a shame that people do not invest in better photography for their presentations. How hard is it to get someone to hold a camera and take a group picture of your management team? It looks so much better than the inconsistently cropped, high school year book-like, images you usually see in a presentation.
I actually make the team description slide a bit more dense than other charts in a presentation. During the presentation the presenter will talk around the photo and introduce the team, the text in the boxes is for reading after the presentation.
The Before & After Magazine has some nice graphics design instruction material on their site (some is free, some is not). Their YouTube channel is also worth checking out.
I actually make the team description slide a bit more dense than other charts in a presentation. During the presentation the presenter will talk around the photo and introduce the team, the text in the boxes is for reading after the presentation.
The Before & After Magazine has some nice graphics design instruction material on their site (some is free, some is not). Their YouTube channel is also worth checking out.
Keynote versus PowerPoint
The year 2012 could be the tipping point for Apple’s presentation design software Keynote. Only now I get multiple requests from clients to start designing presentations in this format. Especially smaller companies and startups who have the privilege to be able to decide on a 100% Mac IT infrastructure are the pioneers. So, over the past month it has been the first time that I had the opportunity to use Keynote on an industrial scale, on time critical presentation design projects.
Most Keynote versus PowerPoint evaluations on the web count the number of features, slide transition effects, or the quality of the built-in themes. So this is maybe the explanation why these features get some much prominence in marketing of both products. Personally, I find them the least important aspects of the software. What matters is how easy your workflow is: manipulating objects, changing the order of slides, managing images, creating and editing data charts. My review will focus more on these issues.
People say that the best Apple products are those that Steve Jobs used frequently personally, and Keynote is such a product, and it shows. The interface is lighter, fresher, simpler without PowerPoint’s baggage of older versions.
The concept of the inspector window with the properties of any object you click at (image, shape, graph, text) is incredibly useful and time saving compared to looking for the right menu in PowerPoint.
One of the biggest pains of PowerPoint 2011 are the drawing guides that you cannot lock. Re-size an object near the blue drawing guide, and tsjak, off she goes. Not so in Keynote. Aligning, positioning is all easier and cleaner.
With PowerPont I found it easier to customize my toolbars though. Centering, distributing, aligning multiple object requires going into a menu and clicking an option. And these are functions that you need to use all the time.
The concept of masking images with a shape is also a refreshing idea in Keynote instead of cropping in PowerPoint. Still, you need to get that mask right though, if you release the mouse to early the aspect ratio gets locked and you need to try all over again by removing the mask and putting a new one on.
Masters in PowerPoint quickly balloon into monsters, especially when you have Frankesteined (what?) a few presentations together. The Keynote master management is a lot cleaner, also making it easy to define standard shapes and data chart formats.
One thing that surprises me: it is not possible to move slides around in the light table view in Keynote. This does not make sense, it is a very important task in any presentation design software.
Data chart creating suffers from the same problem in both PowerPont and Keynote, the first chart appears with horrible chart fills, grid lines, tick marks and always need a lot of work to get it right. I think here PowerPoint has the upper hand with the built-in Excel chart engine. This engine also allows you to do some quick analysis on the side. This comes at a price though, I find the PowerPont/Excel combination often crashing when I do complex data chart analysis. (Oh, and there is that annoying double shadow in Keynote that requires some skill to get rid of)
And finally, Keynote has tight integration with the iPad, making it easy to use a tablet device in one-on-one meetings. The iPad application also enables you to make slide edits, but because of the small form factor I expect those to be limited to correcting a type in the name of your client a few minutes before the meeting.
So in summary it is probably a narrow win for Keynote. But both programs have a few small things that still need to be ironed out. Obviously there is the learning curve to switch software. It took me probably a day to become fluent in Keynote, something that might take a bit longer if you are not a professional presentation designer...
Most Keynote versus PowerPoint evaluations on the web count the number of features, slide transition effects, or the quality of the built-in themes. So this is maybe the explanation why these features get some much prominence in marketing of both products. Personally, I find them the least important aspects of the software. What matters is how easy your workflow is: manipulating objects, changing the order of slides, managing images, creating and editing data charts. My review will focus more on these issues.
People say that the best Apple products are those that Steve Jobs used frequently personally, and Keynote is such a product, and it shows. The interface is lighter, fresher, simpler without PowerPoint’s baggage of older versions.
The concept of the inspector window with the properties of any object you click at (image, shape, graph, text) is incredibly useful and time saving compared to looking for the right menu in PowerPoint.
One of the biggest pains of PowerPoint 2011 are the drawing guides that you cannot lock. Re-size an object near the blue drawing guide, and tsjak, off she goes. Not so in Keynote. Aligning, positioning is all easier and cleaner.
With PowerPont I found it easier to customize my toolbars though. Centering, distributing, aligning multiple object requires going into a menu and clicking an option. And these are functions that you need to use all the time.
The concept of masking images with a shape is also a refreshing idea in Keynote instead of cropping in PowerPoint. Still, you need to get that mask right though, if you release the mouse to early the aspect ratio gets locked and you need to try all over again by removing the mask and putting a new one on.
Masters in PowerPoint quickly balloon into monsters, especially when you have Frankesteined (what?) a few presentations together. The Keynote master management is a lot cleaner, also making it easy to define standard shapes and data chart formats.
Data chart creating suffers from the same problem in both PowerPont and Keynote, the first chart appears with horrible chart fills, grid lines, tick marks and always need a lot of work to get it right. I think here PowerPoint has the upper hand with the built-in Excel chart engine. This engine also allows you to do some quick analysis on the side. This comes at a price though, I find the PowerPont/Excel combination often crashing when I do complex data chart analysis. (Oh, and there is that annoying double shadow in Keynote that requires some skill to get rid of)
And finally, Keynote has tight integration with the iPad, making it easy to use a tablet device in one-on-one meetings. The iPad application also enables you to make slide edits, but because of the small form factor I expect those to be limited to correcting a type in the name of your client a few minutes before the meeting.
So in summary it is probably a narrow win for Keynote. But both programs have a few small things that still need to be ironed out. Obviously there is the learning curve to switch software. It took me probably a day to become fluent in Keynote, something that might take a bit longer if you are not a professional presentation designer...
Ranges versus point estimates
Things are never sure in business analysis. One option to deal with uncertainty is to use data ranges: $3-5m instead of ~$4m.
While it might be the correct approach to qualify your analysis, I do not find it visually pleasing. My approach would be to settle on a point estimate, and put a note on your slide that these numbers are estimates. It also easier to discuss with your audience, it is difficult to refer to ranges all the time: “Next year’s sales of $3-5m”.
One additional complication, ranges amplify when you add or subtract them. In the chart above, you see that 6.5 equals to a range of 4-9 instead of 6-7 for example. If this is the point you want to make, our sales forecast can fluctuate wildly because of things we do not know, then use the chart. If you just want to give a small range to show uncertainty about the exact value go for the point estimate.
And one more issue, a range of $1m more or less can be a big difference if you apply it to a small number, or a big one: 1-2 versus 10-11 for example. The first is a 100% variation, the second 10%. So, to do it correctly you have to write down in your chart: 1.0-1.1 and 10.0-11.0. All this just makes it too complicated to have a meaningful strategy discussion.
And another one: ranges are a pain to use in calculations, as seen in the slightly counter-intuitive column chart above. (See an earlier post on how to make water fall charts here).
Bottom line: I try to avoid ranges whenever I can.
While it might be the correct approach to qualify your analysis, I do not find it visually pleasing. My approach would be to settle on a point estimate, and put a note on your slide that these numbers are estimates. It also easier to discuss with your audience, it is difficult to refer to ranges all the time: “Next year’s sales of $3-5m”.
One additional complication, ranges amplify when you add or subtract them. In the chart above, you see that 6.5 equals to a range of 4-9 instead of 6-7 for example. If this is the point you want to make, our sales forecast can fluctuate wildly because of things we do not know, then use the chart. If you just want to give a small range to show uncertainty about the exact value go for the point estimate.
And one more issue, a range of $1m more or less can be a big difference if you apply it to a small number, or a big one: 1-2 versus 10-11 for example. The first is a 100% variation, the second 10%. So, to do it correctly you have to write down in your chart: 1.0-1.1 and 10.0-11.0. All this just makes it too complicated to have a meaningful strategy discussion.
And another one: ranges are a pain to use in calculations, as seen in the slightly counter-intuitive column chart above. (See an earlier post on how to make water fall charts here).
Bottom line: I try to avoid ranges whenever I can.
Pick your battles when pitching
Arguing until the bitter end about small facts, when the VC thinks she right because she has a reliable source (in her opinion) is not a good idea. You might be right, BUT you will not convince her, you will do no good to your credibility, and you raise doubts about how the future CEO-Board Member relationship is going to pan out.
Better focus that energy in disagreements that are really worth arguing about. Pick your battles.
Better focus that energy in disagreements that are really worth arguing about. Pick your battles.
Write notes after the meeting
If you are reviewing your presentation with your boss, here is a thought. Write down your notes immediately after the meeting. It makes for a better 2-way conversation as you are not scribbling all the time looking down on a piece of paper, and strangely it makes you remember things better. This article in Wired explains how your brain is refreshing the memory that is only slightly faded, that process makes future recollection stronger:
Along these lines, Bjork also recommends taking notes just after class, rather than during — forcing yourself to recall a lecture’s information is more effective than simply copying it from a blackboard. You have to work for it. The more you work, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the more awesome you can become.Note: this way of taking notes works for me, everyone is different, so do not pilot this on a very important meeting :-)
Video summary in stills
Embedding video in presentations has its drawbacks. It adds another technical risk factor when setting up the presentation outside your office environment. File sizes become so big that it is hard to email a document. And a PDF version of the presentation does not show the video.
As a solution, you can put in a video summary in your presentation consisting of a few key still images taken from the video. Our brain is powerful enough to make up most of what happens in between, and might even imagine the Star Wars sound track in the background when looking at last year’s Volkswagen Super Bowl ad (which I think was better than the one shown this year).
Look how showing the video, or showing a consecutive series of page-filling images keeps up the suspense of the audience. Showing all images on one page gets the point across as fast as possible. The first approach might be the most fun, the second one is what works best when trying to communicate an idea to busy people.
As a solution, you can put in a video summary in your presentation consisting of a few key still images taken from the video. Our brain is powerful enough to make up most of what happens in between, and might even imagine the Star Wars sound track in the background when looking at last year’s Volkswagen Super Bowl ad (which I think was better than the one shown this year).
Look how showing the video, or showing a consecutive series of page-filling images keeps up the suspense of the audience. Showing all images on one page gets the point across as fast as possible. The first approach might be the most fun, the second one is what works best when trying to communicate an idea to busy people.
No need to show that monitor
In technical pitch presentations, you often have to show the application through screen shots. While a picture of the application inside a monitor frame might look nice, it is a poor way to get your audience to see the content of the screen.
I would cut the monitor, cut the window bars above and below your application, and even zoom in to parts of the screen to highlight what is important. Cover everything that is not relevant (ads for example) with white boxes to keep things clean.
Having said that, there might be 2 uses for the monitor shot. One for a very quick 5-second slide that enables you to say “Let’s talk about the application” and move on. The second application is a slide that shows that your software is running on multiple platforms, but in that case you need a monitor image, a tablet screen shot, and a mobile phone application all on one page.
I would cut the monitor, cut the window bars above and below your application, and even zoom in to parts of the screen to highlight what is important. Cover everything that is not relevant (ads for example) with white boxes to keep things clean.
Having said that, there might be 2 uses for the monitor shot. One for a very quick 5-second slide that enables you to say “Let’s talk about the application” and move on. The second application is a slide that shows that your software is running on multiple platforms, but in that case you need a monitor image, a tablet screen shot, and a mobile phone application all on one page.
Not reality, not a cartoon
Have a look at these great images (on Fubiz) in the series “Enlightened Souls” by French photographer Fabrice Wittner. He uses images of people with a stencil-like effect and puts them on a background of a real photo.
This effect might be very useful in presentation design. It is very hard to a series of images with a consistent look and feel on either stock photo sites, or Flickr. Moreover, I find that using images with real people not working very well in slides. It is too personal. This slight distortion of the characters might just solve these 2 problems in one go.
This effect might be very useful in presentation design. It is very hard to a series of images with a consistent look and feel on either stock photo sites, or Flickr. Moreover, I find that using images with real people not working very well in slides. It is too personal. This slight distortion of the characters might just solve these 2 problems in one go.
(Unusual) example of my work
Most of my work is confidential (fund raising pitches, sales presentations), but this presentation is not. The style is also a bit different from my usual work, there are hardly any numbers inside. The presentation is meant to run at an exhibition booth on a plasma screen. I adjusted the look and feel of the presentation to match the style of the client Optimove. The video below is running at a higher speed than the actual presentation.
16:9
The presentation canvas is no longer limited to the overhead projector. Laptops, TV screens are often used to display PowerPoint presentations with a wide screen or 16:9 aspect ratio.
For movies, 16:9 is great. The wider screen is more natural for our eyes. For slide design though, I find it less useful. We can read best when titles are short, or text is set in a narrow column. As a result, with 16:9 my slide design almost always changes to a horizontal story: element or title line on the left, and 1 or 2 other elements to the right. It always takes me a bit longer to comprehend the slide.
So, when I am designing a presentation specifically for a plasma screen (a trade show booth for example), I will stick with 16:9, but for other output devices I revert back to the good old 4:3.
It is always good to contradict yourself, see my earlier post from August 2008.
For movies, 16:9 is great. The wider screen is more natural for our eyes. For slide design though, I find it less useful. We can read best when titles are short, or text is set in a narrow column. As a result, with 16:9 my slide design almost always changes to a horizontal story: element or title line on the left, and 1 or 2 other elements to the right. It always takes me a bit longer to comprehend the slide.
So, when I am designing a presentation specifically for a plasma screen (a trade show booth for example), I will stick with 16:9, but for other output devices I revert back to the good old 4:3.
It is always good to contradict yourself, see my earlier post from August 2008.
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