Slide design is a crucial skill for consultants who need to communicate complex ideas and data to their clients and stakeholders. However, many consultants make common mistakes that undermine their credibility, clarity, and impact. In this article, we will discuss six of the most common mistakes in slide design and how to avoid them.
One of the most common mistakes in slide design is cramming too much text on a single slide. This makes the slide hard to read, boring, and distracting. The audience will either try to read the text and ignore the speaker, or ignore the text and miss the key points. A good rule of thumb is to use no more than six lines of text per slide, and no more than six words per line. Use bullet points, keywords, and phrases instead of full sentences. If you need to provide more details, use the notes section, handouts, or appendices.
Each slide should have 1 main message. When a new slide is shown, the person reading wants to understand the point. I often see more than 1 point being made on a slide, and you will likely lose a portion of the audience when doing that. This doesn't mean you can't communicate several concepts on 1 slide, but they should all lead to 1 conclusion. This conclusion usually correlates with the slide's title. Therefore, challenge yourself on whether you're trying to say too much in a particular slide, and if so, create a new slide.
One mistake I always see in slides are the pile up of unimportant texts. To be honest, nobody is sitting there reading long blurbs, unless you have engaged the audience already. Easy fix for this is more visuals and story telling and less text. Once audience is engaged, sure add a long text to convey important message
For me, the most common mistake is trying to condense excessive content on the slides. A presentation slide must have a light, light appearance, easy to digest. You have to be very concise in your presentations and stick to the stated objective that we pursue with them. We can complement them with external references to expand knowledge on the subject. In the end, the best thing that can happen to us when we finish the exhibition is that the audience is left wanting more
Another common mistake in slide design is using colors, fonts, and backgrounds that create poor contrast and make the slide difficult to see. This can happen when the text color is too similar to the background color, the font size is too small, or the background image is too busy or bright. Poor contrast can strain the eyes, reduce attention, and confuse the message. To avoid this mistake, use high-contrast colors, such as black on white, white on dark, or complementary colors. Use large and clear fonts, such as Arial or Calibri, and avoid fancy or cursive fonts. Use simple and relevant backgrounds, and avoid patterns, gradients, or images that clash with the text.
Another important aspect is choosing the correct color palette. Be careful with dark colors! Depending on the lighting in the projection room, the visibility of the texts may be very poor. We will always preferably choose light, well-contrasted background colors for writing.
Charts are a powerful way to visualize data and show trends, patterns, and relationships. However, too many charts can overwhelm the audience and obscure the main point. The audience may get lost in the details, or miss the big picture. To avoid this mistake, use only the charts that are essential to support your argument, and limit the number of charts per slide. Use clear and consistent labels, titles, legends, and axes. Highlight the key data points, such as outliers, changes, or comparisons. Use simple and appropriate chart types, such as bar charts, line charts, or pie charts, and avoid complex or unfamiliar chart types, such as radar charts, bubble charts, or treemaps.
A common mistake in slide design is presenting the information in a random or illogical order, without a clear structure or flow. This can confuse the audience, make the presentation hard to follow, and weaken the impact. To avoid this mistake, use a clear and consistent structure for your presentation, and follow the principle of MECE (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive). This means that you should divide your topic into distinct and non-overlapping categories, and cover all the relevant aspects of each category. Use signposts, such as agenda slides, section headers, and summaries, to guide the audience through your presentation. Use transitions, such as questions, statements, or stories, to connect the slides and create a coherent narrative.
One potential approach for improving the structure is leveraging Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle. It revolutionize slide development, ensuring your content is structured effectively. By starting with your main conclusion and systematically presenting supporting evidence, you create a compelling, logical flow. This approach not only clarifies your message but also significantly boosts audience engagement and understanding. Let’s embrace this structured methodology for more impactful presentations.
Animation can be a useful tool to add some interest, variety, and emphasis to your slides. However, too much animation can be distracting, annoying, and unprofessional. The audience may lose focus, get irritated, or doubt your credibility. To avoid this mistake, use animation sparingly and purposefully, and follow the principle of KISS (keep it simple and straightforward). This means that you should use only the animation that enhances your message, and avoid the animation that detracts from it. Use simple and smooth animation effects, such as fade, wipe, or zoom, and avoid flashy or noisy animation effects, such as bounce, swirl, or sound. Use animation only when you need to reveal, highlight, or explain something, and avoid animation that is unnecessary, redundant, or confusing.
The final common mistake in slide design is using an inconsistent style throughout the presentation. This can happen when you use different colors, fonts, backgrounds, images, logos, or layouts across the slides. Inconsistent style can create a messy, unprofessional, and confusing impression. The audience may question your attention to detail, your brand identity, or your message. To avoid this mistake, use a consistent style for your presentation, and follow the principle of CRAP (contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity). This means that you should use elements that create contrast, such as colors, fonts, or sizes, to emphasize differences or hierarchy. You should use elements that create repetition, such as colors, fonts, or logos, to create unity and consistency. You should use elements that create alignment, such as margins, grids, or guides, to create order and balance. You should use elements that create proximity, such as spacing, grouping, or nesting, to create relationships and clarity.
The AI didn't get it wrong here, but there's another level to "style". When elements in your presentation look the same, they are expected by the audience to also mean the same. Let's say you analyzed five key competitors on a templated chart, and bottom left you have a bar chart with the development of revenues for the last five years on the first four. When for the fifth, you can only track employee headcount or another metric - don't put it into a bar chart! No one will read the legends on the fifth iteration of the same template chart, and you cause confusion. It goes the same way around: if you are displaying similar things, make them look similar for immediate recognition.
Be smooth. They are here to hear your expertise. The slides should be a bonus. Keep them easy to read. Back it up with evidence. Make them aesthetically pleasing.