Contents
A. Give a more professional impression
B. Avoid a messy look
C. Guide the reader
D. Other basics
E. Activity: “Pimp my slide”
1
Use sober colors to give it a more professional look
Description and rationale
Use sober colors on slides rather than many different colors. Use darker colors to guide the reader and emphasize where to
look. Example: Light grey-blue towards a darker blue is for example an appealing sober color scale
Gives a more professional look
Before After
NOTE 1: Use color scheme in the Master – To get it
constant through the whole presentation
NOTE2: This example slide above still needs
improvements, for example hint 6: Always align
2
Never ever use clip art illustrations. Use simple illustrations to give
a more professional look
Description and rationale
Never use clip art illustrations. Instead use easy illustrations to show what feeling you’re trying to convey. Use QPT visuals
or create own pictures with simple boxes and arrows to illustrate an improvement or other message
Gives a more professional look
Before After
Ugly clip art pictures
Just shape
Just boxes & circles
Just lines & arrows
3
Experiment with lines to areas and objects to get a more
sophisticated look
Description and rationale
Experiment with lines to areas and objects, for example remove line and add shadow, or make the black line on the light
blue box medium-dark blue instead
Could give the slide a more sophisticated look and less heavy to look at. See example below to compare 6 vs. 3 boxes
Before After
Sometimes no lines + shadow
can look better and less
messy
The lines in the boxes makes …if lines are removed it feels
it totally six objects to look at like only three objects to focus
on the slide, but… on
4
Experiment with lines to areas and objects to get a more
sophisticated look
Description and rationale
Experiment with lines to areas and objects, for example remove line and add shadow, or make the black line on the light
blue box medium-dark blue instead.
Before After
1 Insight 1 Insight
2 Imagination 2 Imagination
No lines or shadows to
3 Implication 3 Implication the grey boxes
4 Impact 4 Impact
1
1. Message Message
The “1”-circle has a
white line that is rather
1 Message thick (3-4pt)
1 Message
5
Contents
A. Give a more professional impression
B. Avoid a messy look
C. Guide the reader
D. Other basics
E. Activity: “Pimp my slide”
6
Use lines and boxes to avoid a messy look
Description and rationale
Use lines and boxes to structure different parts of the slide
Avoids a messy look and makes the slide more easy to look at. The human eye appreciates order and alignments, if
something is not in line the human eye tends to focus on that anomaly
Before After
7
Use lines and boxes to avoid a messy look
Description and rationale
Use lines and boxes to structure different parts of the slide
Avoids a messy look and makes the slide more easy to look at. The human eye appreciates order and alignments, if
something is not in line the human eye tends to focus on that anomaly
Before After
8
Align as much as possible to get a less messy slide
Description and rationale
Align the objects as much as possible, especially in the outer parts of the slide
Minimizes the risk of the reader focusing on the wrong details. The human eye appreciates order and alignments, if
something is not in line the human eye tends to focus on that anomaly.
Before After
not aligned aligned
not aligned
aligned
not aligned aligned
not aligned not aligned aligned aligned
9
Align as much as possible to get a less messy slide
Description and rationale
Align the objects as much as possible, especially in the outer parts of the slide
Minimizes the risk of the reader focusing on the wrong details. The human eye appreciates order and alignments, if
something is not in line the human eye tends to focus on that anomaly.
Before After
10
Use one font size on the slide to avoid a messy look
Description and rationale
Use one font size in the body text (and graphs) on a slide, and similar to rest of deck – target font 12 or 14
Avoids a messy look, and minimizes the risk of the reader/audience focusing on the wrong things (e.g. a different font size)*
Before After
A A
B B
* The human eye appreciates order and alignments, if something is not in line the human eye tend to focus on that anomaly
11
Use lines to underline headings in slide rather than the underlined
font to better illustrate what the heading covers
Description and rationale
Use lines to underline headings in slide rather than the underlined font
Shows how much underneath in width that belongs to that heading
Before After
Using lines to underline shows how
Underlined using underlining in the font much underneath in width that belongs
formatting to that heading
Gives a better structured look
12
Straight braces for a more structured look
Description and rationale
When using braces, make them as straight as possible through moving the yellow dots in the brace
Avoids different types of bends in the brace and therefore a messy look and makes the slide more easy to look at. The
human eye appreciates order and alignments, if something is not in line the human eye tend to focus on that anomaly
Before After
13
Contents
A. Give a more professional impression
B. Avoid a messy look
C. Guide the reader
D. Other basics
E. Activity: “Pimp my slide”
14
Use call-outs to effectively comment on the most important
conclusions
Description and rationale
Use call-outs to effectively comment on the most important conclusions
Makes the conclusion more noticeable since the eye catches anomalies
Before After
Important conclusion as a box at bottom of page Important conclusion emphasized with help of call-out
15
If circling something make it fatter and different to get noticed
Description and rationale
When circling something, you want it the be noticed. Make it therefore thicker (3pt line), outside the area you’re circling and
in another shape than the background
Makes it more noticeable since the eye catches anomalies
Before After
Thin line Thicker line (3pt)
In line with arrows Outside the background area to get noticed
Squared with no rounded corners Other form than the other boxes
16
Use re-occurring boxes to go through different parts of conclusions
or model
Description and rationale
Use same re-occurring boxes on slide series to describe different parts
Guides the reader and gives her/him a better understanding of where he/she is = More pedagogical
Before After
First slide First slide
Overview slide
Next slides Next slides
Use box with white fill & Use Line / Freeform
30% transparency to cover to create container of
boxes not explained explanations
17
Use trackers to guide the reader and audience and minimize the risk
of confusing them
Description and rationale
Use trackers in the upper right corner to illustrate what part in the presentation is being presented. Use either “Group” and
then minimize the grouped object, or just paste a special bmp-picture and then reduce size
Guides the reader and audience in the presentation and minimizes risks of loosing them
Before After
Overview slide Overview slide
On every slide On every slide
no tracker
18
Always put graph or illustration to the top-left
Description and rationale
Always put graph or illustration to the top-left (above the text), since people are always looking at the picture first and then
read the text
Makes it easier to read since the eye always starts on the top-left when starting reading (think of where you look after
you’ve turned a page in a book)
Before After
19
Contents
A. Give a more professional impression
B. Avoid a messy look
C. Guide the reader
D. Other basics
E. Activity: “Pimp my slide”
20
Always use action titles and keep them as short as possible, to
communicate the storyline in a short and understandable way
Description and rationale
Always use action titles (the conclusion of the slide) on slides unless absolutely irrelevant* – use font 18 and never more
than 2 rows and keep it as short as possible (avoid unnecessary words such as “the”, “such as”, too many superlatives etc.)
Communicates the storyline of the presentation in a short and understandable way
Before After
* For example Action titles are not needed in data slides in appendix since it is often not part of the story line
21
Use one row subject title to describe graphics on slide and a
description of main unit of measure used (if any)
Description and rationale
One row subject title to describe graphics (e.g., “Net sales 2006-2009”) + Main unit of measure used on the slide (e.g.
MSEK)
Less confusion of what the slide and/or graph is showing and gives room to write a action title as a part of the story line
Before After
No action
title, i.e. One row
conclusion subject title
or storyline to describe
in the graphics
heading
Main unit of
measure
used on the
slide – if any
(e.g., MSEK)
22
Make executive presentation, placing very detailed slides in
appendix
Description and rationale
Since we’re often presenting to executives, put the detailed slides in appendix and make fewer and less content-heavy
slides for the presentation material (to not lose the point). If necessary in the meeting, go to the detailed slide in appendix
Presentation will be better received by C-level management clients
Before After
23
Increase spacing between text to make it more easy to read slide
Description and rationale
We often have much text on the slide, so increase the spacing (lines and paragraph) where it is possible by going to the
QPT / Tools / Increase spacing (or under Format / Line spacing)
Presentation will be easier to read and therefore understand
Before After
Traditional hospital operating in a Traditional hospital operating in a
suburb of a major city suburb of a major city
Despite recent operational
improvements, costs continue to be Despite recent operational
high relative to competitors improvements, costs continue to be
Provides a broad range of services high relative to competitors
to the community Provides a broad range of services
Has focused on providing high-
to the community
quality, leading-edge services
Increasing patient/family Has focused on providing high-
dissatisfaction, which is suspected quality, leading-edge services
to be contributing to revenue decline
Increasing patient/family
over the past year
dissatisfaction, which is suspected
to be contributing to revenue decline
over the past year
24
Remember to grayscale adjust the presentation when finished to
ensure correct printing results
Description and rationale
Grayscale format every object on each slide before printing and/or sending a presentation away (especially to clients)
When printing on a black/white printer, the “grayed” areas could be left out (depending on printer) and therefore important
details could be missed
Before After
Original color layout 1. Go to Grayscale settings
2. Select all objects in slide (ctrl + A)
3. Select “Grayscale” from new toolbar
Printed w/o grayscale Printed with grayscale
adjustments adjustments
(important details could
be missed)
25
Contents
A. Give a more professional impression
B. Avoid a messy look
C. Guide the reader
D. Other basics
E. Activity: “Pimp my slide”
26
% of Revenue per Market Revenue Original Slide
6000
APAC
4,861
17% 5000
3,854
4000 3,583
3000 M Eur
2,363
2000
Europé
54%
1000
The Americas
29% 0
2007
2007 2006
2006 20052005 2004 2004
27
Despite strong revenue growth, ABC Company is losing market
share due to new competitors and increased work in progress
Revenue vs Market Share ABC Company
Revenue Market
(MEUR) Decline due to new share
10.000 Chinese competitors 40%
and increased work
in progress
31%
8.000 29% 28% 30%
23%
6.000 Revenue compound
annual growth rate of Market share
20%
XX% for 200Y-20YY Europe
4.000 Americas
APAC
10%
2.000
0 0%
2004 2005 2006 2007
Revised slide
28
In management study, the concept of solving a problem by looking
at parts of the problem is quite efficient
The 80/20 Rule Definition & The Don’t Boil the Ocean Techniques
A. The 80/20 Rule
1. 80% of an effect under study will be generated by 20 of the examples analyzed
2. A small fraction of elements account for a large fraction of the effect
Examples:
1. 80% of sales from 20% of sales force
2. 80% of orders from 20% of customers
A. Don’t Boil the Ocean
1. Work smarter, not harder.
2. There’s a lot of data out there relating to your problem, and a lot of analyses you
could do. Ignore most of them.
3. Lesson: be selective and don’t try to analyze everything
Alternative 1:
Tagline above line & title
below line 29
The 80/20 Rule Definition & The Don’t Boil the Ocean Techniques
In management study, the concept of solving a problem by looking at parts of the problem is
quite efficient
A. The 80/20 Rule
1. 80% of an effect under study will be generated by 20 of the examples analyzed
2. A small fraction of elements account for a large fraction of the effect
Examples:
1. 80% of sales from 20% of sales force
2. 80% of orders from 20% of customers
A. Don’t Boil the Ocean
1. Work smarter, not harder.
2. There’s a lot of data out there relating to your problem, and a lot of analyses you
could do. Ignore most of them.
3. Lesson: be selective and don’t try to analyze everything
Alternative 2:
Title above line & tagline
below line 30