Top 6 Tips for Creating an Effective Presentation.

“Life truly begins after you put everything on your desctop in order.”

The same we apply for presenting the information. A presentation that’s been properly “tidied” (or put in order) has to be:

_ Simple.

_ Clear.

_ Persuasive.

_ A clearly defined throughline, the single connecting theme universally used in TED Talks.

_ A cohesive narrative arc and content that ties back to the throughline.

_ A compelling call to action.

These attributes are easy to spot in a well-tidied presentation once you know to look for them. Here are the top six tips of slide tidying:

‍#1: Commit Yourself To Tidying Up

The most powerful tool in your presentation toolbelt is a commitment to continuously hone your tidying craft. I often hear complaints that applying presentation tidying principles is time-consuming and cumbersome. I believe that’s because for many, using the techniques to create effective presentations isn’t a habit yet. Any time we want to master a skill, we essentially want to make it a habit. A habit is a behaviour that is so automatic it becomes a part of our identity.

This is a concept I learned about in a fantastic book about habit change called Atomic Habits by James Clear; I highly recommend it for incorporating new presentation skills. To turn a behaviour into a habit, it must pass through the gates of practice and dedication, and we generally hate practising something that doesn’t come naturally to us.

While learning how to create tidier presentations, we must trust in the process with patience and the belief that the reward will outweigh the effort. Even when it feels overwhelming, or you’re in the 11th hour of your deadline, making even small changes pay off big in the long game.

#2: Imagine Your Ideal (Presentation) Outcome

“The tidying process represents a huge turning point in a person’s life. So seriously consider the ideal lifestyle to which you aspire.” One of the most powerful tools to create the outcome you desire, in any area of your life, is visualization. No, not visualizations like bar charts and scatterplots. I mean mental visualization, where you go inward to create the reality you desire using your visual mind.

Imagine the presentation room: the stage, the screens, the audience. Imagine yourself standing in front of them, planting new seeds of thinking in their minds and hearts. What’s the ambient temperature of the room? The buzzing sound from the audience? The sound of music as you’re taking the stage? Then, imagine your slides behind you on screen. What do they look like? Imagine the colours, the fonts, the imagery. Imagine how they support your big ideas and evoke emotions from the audience. Imagine how the visual content seamlessly flows with your words, acting as an extension.

How do you feel after this exercise? Calm, focused and, perhaps, clearer on your intended outcome? You may not realize it, but that small act of visualization may have gotten you closer to achieving that outcome. When I began visualizing the outcomes I desired, I noticed that they would turn out exactly as I had envisioned.

#3: Finish Discarding First

“The best way to find out what we need is by getting rid of what we don’t.”
In this context, the advice is to keep only the ideas and content you absolutely need to communicate your big story or make your case and discard the rest. There are two main areas where you can discard: your content and your design.‍

With content, we often end up with “kitchen sink” decks that have everything we could possibly need for the next three years, but not one cohesive narrative that transmits a single influential idea. That’s why I love the Presenting by Boxes method created by presentation consultant Olivia Mitchell. It is a persuasive planning framework that guides you to create content around a central objective or theme, and all content supports that objective.‍

Presentation design clutter is one of the most prevalent roadblocks I see to an otherwise effective presentation. The most potent presentations master the art of including less, not more. We don’t realize it, but our presentation tools encourage us to add ancillary decorative elements that don’t add value to your content. Garr Reynold’s landmark presentation bible, Presentation Zen, teaches effective slide tidying strategies derived from Zen principles of simplicity and focus. It offers a valuable blueprint for “decluttering” your slides by removing repetitive logos, page numbers, and other unnecessary visual elements. For neatening data visualizations, my patented Chart Detox Formula can help you create intuitive graphs that communicate your message quickly, clearly, and accurately.‍‍

#4: Tidy By (Content) Category, Not By Location

“Repetition and wasted effort can kill motivation, and therefore it must be avoided.” Marie’s approach here is to maximize efficiency by organizing by room, not by category. Similarly, approaching the development and design of your presentation with a categorical plan is essential for success. Before I adopted a solid planning framework, my approach looked something like this:

1. Create a new slide, throw stuff on it, design it
2. Create a new slide, throw stuff on it, design it
3. Create a new slide, throw stuff on it, design it

And so on. I would end up with a collection of thoughtfully designed but possibly unrelated and irrelevant slides. Come review time, many of those artfully designed slides (and hours of work) ended up on the cutting room floor. I evolved my process by categorizing my presentation building process into message/action, framework, content, design, and delivery.

Today, my presentation building process by category looks like this:

_ Message / Action: Ensure my message will resonate with my audience’s needs

_ Structure: Create an organized framework that includes only the essential information

_ Content: Brainstorm and digitize my content, focusing on the narrative flow and storyboard

_ Design: Add imagery, charts, and design template AFTER the content is 70–80% complete

_ Delivery: Create dedicated rehearsal time and space for preparation

Focusing on each content category helps me stay focused and minimizes the chance of zooming around a disorganized fashion. But what do I do with ideas and information that may be important, but not relevant to the main message? I send them straight to the appendix. The appendix is the perfect “overflow closet” that you can organize even further should you need to access that information.

This process is one of my most effective presentation techniques that maximizes efficiency and minimizes wasted work.

‍#5: Follow The Right Order Of Tidying

At first, this rule was challenging to distinguish from Rule #4 and apply as an effective presentation technique. But I realized there is a key distinction: Rule #4 is about tackling each category of work separately (rather than by room or slide). Rule #5 is about tackling easier categories first to hone your ability to work through more challenging ones. The way I would apply this is by incorporating newly-learned presentation principles into your work in order of difficulty to execute.

‍#6: Ask Yourself If Your Presentation Sparks Joy (Or Ideas, Insights, And Action)

“When something sparks joy, you should feel a little thrill, as if the cells in your body are slowly rising.”

When I experience the feeling Marie described above during a presentation, I know the presenter has hit their mark. The most impactful and memorable presentations create moments for the audience. They inspire the audience to feel excitement and curiosity, or even sadness and fear. Presentations should spark a feeling. And yet, do the majority of presentations you see spark feelings other than boredom?

You can be the one to help break the epidemic of boring presentations by seeing what your content sparks for the audience. A great way to do this is to record and watch yourself present or deliver it to a few honest colleagues.

Ask yourself (or them) these questions:

_ Did I enjoy this?

_ Was I moved or inspired?

_ Did I learn or grow?

_ What am I supposed to do as a result?

You and your colleagues are excellent joy-meters for each other’s presentations. Once you take them through a dry run, you’ll be amazed to learn what resonates and what doesn’t.

Let’s quickly recap the 6 presentation tidying tips:

1. Commit yourself to tidy up
2. Imagine your ideal (presentation) outcome
3. Finish discarding first
4. Tidy by (content) category, not by location
5. Follow the right order of tidying
6. Ask yourself if your presentation sparks joy (or ideas, insights, and action)

I hope you enjoyed these musings on how to spark more joy in your presentations. I love examining how modern cultural phenomena can inform the presentation process. When you communicate in a tidy, organized fashion, the momentum behind the world’s most powerful ideas all begins with a tiny spark. Cheers.