Presentation Zen [39]
Software companies advertise time-saving features, which may help us believe we have saved time to complete a task such as preparing a presentation and “simplified” our workday. But if time is not saved for the audience—if the audience wastes its time because we didn’t prepare well, design the visuals well, or perform well—then what does it matter that we saved one hour in preparing our slides? Doing things in less time sometimes does indeed feel simpler, but if it results in wasted time and wasted opportunities later, it is hardly simple.
In Sum
• Simplicity is powerful and leads to greater clarity, yet it is neither simple nor easy to achieve.
• Simplicity can be obtained through the careful reduction of the nonessential.
• As you design slides, keep the following concepts in mind: subtlety, grace, and understated elegance.
• Good designs have plenty of empty space. Think “subtract” not “add.”
• While simplicity is the goal, it is possible to be “too simple.” Your job is to find the balance most appropriate to your situation.
Chapter 6
Presentation Design: Principles and Techniques
When I was an employee with Sumitomo in the mid-90s, I discovered that Japanese business people often used the term “case-by-case” (keisu bai keisu) when discussing details of future events or strategy. This frustrated me since I was used to more concrete plans and absolutes and making decisions rather quickly. I learned, though, that context, circumstance, and a kind of “particularism” were very important to the Japanese with whom I worked. Today, I might use Japanese expressions like jyoukyou ni yotte (judgment depends on circumstance) or toki to baai ni yotte (depends on time and circumstance) when discussing what techniques or designs to use for a particular presentation, for example. I used to think that “it depends” was a weak statement, a cop-out of sorts. Now I see that it is wise. Without a good knowledge of the place and circumstance, and the content and context of a presentation, it is difficult to say this is “appropriate” and that is “inappropriate” necessarily, let alone to judge what is “good” or “bad.” There are no cookie-cutter approaches to design. Graphic design is as much art as science.
Nonetheless, there are some general guidelines that most appropriate and strong slide designs share. There are a few basic and fundamental concepts and design principles that if properly understood, can indeed help the average person create presentation visuals that are far more effective. One could fill several volumes with design principles and techniques. In this chapter, though, I’ll exercise restraint and elaborate on just a few principles along with practical examples and a few techniques. First, let’s look at what is meant by design.
Presentation Design
A common misunderstanding about design is that it is something that comes at the end, for example, it’s the frosting and “Happy Birthday!” on a cake. But this is not what I mean by design. For me, design does not come at the end; rather, it comes at the beginning, right from the start. Design is necessary and a way to organize information in a way that makes things clearer; it is also a medium for persuasion. Design can make things easier for the viewer or the user. Design is not decoration.
If anything, design is more about subtraction than addition. Visually, we do not want to include too much, nor do we want to exclude too much. Generally, people err on the side of including too much visual information, which often results in clutter and confusion. Stephen M. Kosslyn, a Harvard professor and author of Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations (Oxford University Press), warns against the inclusion of too much or too little: “It might be tempting to show how smart, knowledgeable, and well-prepared