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How to Design TED Worthy Presentation Slides: Presentation Design Principles from the Best TED Talks (How to Give a TED Talk), by Akash Karia
MOST people in leadership positions, and many in others, are required to present their ideas in a formal context at some or other time. Akash Karia’s handy book on how the best TED talks use graphics will add significantly to the impact of your presentation.
TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading brilliant ideas about technology, entertainment and design (TED is an acronym.)
The fact is that a great idea, badly presented, sounds like a bad idea.
TED is a series of recorded 18-minute talks by some of the world’s most interesting people. (All are available gratis on www.ted.com.) These speakers are selected for the interest value of their content.
Most speakers try to maximise the impact of their talks through the use of graphics. Many fail to improve the interest value through their graphics, and some even erode value with poorly designed, confusing or distracting graphics.
This is companion book to Karia's How to Deliver a Great TED Talk, reviewed in this column last year. Both books are the outcome of her studying hundreds of TED Talks and analysing what does and doesn't work.
It is obvious that time must be spent on the content of a presentation, especially to clients. Companies spend huge amounts money on branding, logos, and websites to impress clients.
However, notes Karia, “When it comes to creating PowerPoint presentations, many of the presentations are a downright disgrace. They are boring. Dull. Dry. Lifeless.”
Effective speakers on the TED stage use slides to help their audience, not themselves.
It is common for inexperienced presenters to load their slides with their talks as a crutch to lean on as they go through the presentation. The worst virtually read their talks off the slides.
A question worth asking as you build up your slide deck is: “Am I including this slide to help my audience understand what I am presenting, or am I using it to help myself?"
When constructing the presentation, do not start with the slides, Karia cautions. Organise your thoughts on a mindmap or in a storyboard format, adjust them for flow and clarity, and only then begin work on your slides.
The slides are only to engage your audience and to make your intention even clearer.
The number of slides you use is neither good nor bad. One superb TED presentation had 200 slides in 18 minutes. It is the value that the slides add to the talk that matters. Another superb TED speaker used no slides at all.
Start the construction of your slide deck with the question: “Why?” Why do I need a slide here and what will it add for the audience? Think of a core message for each slide and then choose the design.
As far as possible, avoid using text and instead try to represent your idea visually. The primary problem with text heavy slides is that they quickly tire the audience’s eyes, which is probably why they fall asleep so easily.
It is also requires mental effort to concentrate on what you are saying while they are reading the text, which is probably why you were tuned out.
Visual aids not only make your presentation more appealing, but they also aid recall. John Medina in his book, Brain Rules, notes that three days after a presentation most people remember approximately 10% of what they have heard. However, if you add a picture, recall increases to 65%.
The images that you use should be of very high quality so that they are not pixelated when they are enlarged on the auditorium screen. Choose images that are not only visually stunning, but also create an emotional response in your audience.
The font factor
The three-second rule that applies to highway billboards also applies to your presentation. The three-second rule states that your audience should understand your slide within three seconds of seeing it.
Positioning your (very sparse) text and stunning picture adds to the general impact. The centre of the slide is the wrong place. Think of a slide as divided into a 3 by 3 matrix and use any part other than the centre.
Empty space adds to the visual impact of a slide and should be accepted rather than filled.
The title of Chapter 9 “Is your font sexy enough?” raises an often overlooked issue. Many people have never thought of the font choice as important, but the fonts you choose can have a big impact on the success of your presentation.
The different shapes and sizes of fonts give them different personalities, and these personalities affect the audience’s emotions on an unconscious level. These are good font-related questions: What do the fonts say about my presentation? What mood does the typography on my slides create?
The suggestion is to use only two types of font through your presentation, with interest added by changing size and even colour.
This book is a quick course on how to create highly effective and visually pleasing slides that with hold your audience’s attention. The author claims that this book will make your presentations better than 90% of speakers.
I believe that. This is a worthwhile investment in your career.
Readability: Light -+--- Serious
Insights: High -+--- Low
Practical: High +---- Low
- Fin24
*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy. Views expressed are his own.
Karia, Akash (2013-12-02). How to Design TED Worthy Presentation Slides: Presentation Design Principles from the Best TED Talks (How to Give a TED Talk) (Kindle Location 128). AkashKaria.com. Kindle Edition.
Karia, Akash (2013-12-02). How to Design TED Worthy Presentation Slides: Presentation Design Principles from the Best TED Talks (How to Give a TED Talk) (Kindle Locations 107-108). AkashKaria.com. Kindle Edition.
MOST people in leadership positions, and many in others, are required to present their ideas in a formal context at some or other time. Akash Karia’s handy book on how the best TED talks use graphics will add significantly to the impact of your presentation.
TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading brilliant ideas about technology, entertainment and design (TED is an acronym.)
The fact is that a great idea, badly presented, sounds like a bad idea.
TED is a series of recorded 18-minute talks by some of the world’s most interesting people. (All are available gratis on www.ted.com.) These speakers are selected for the interest value of their content.
Most speakers try to maximise the impact of their talks through the use of graphics. Many fail to improve the interest value through their graphics, and some even erode value with poorly designed, confusing or distracting graphics.
This is companion book to Karia's How to Deliver a Great TED Talk, reviewed in this column last year. Both books are the outcome of her studying hundreds of TED Talks and analysing what does and doesn't work.
It is obvious that time must be spent on the content of a presentation, especially to clients. Companies spend huge amounts money on branding, logos, and websites to impress clients.
However, notes Karia, “When it comes to creating PowerPoint presentations, many of the presentations are a downright disgrace. They are boring. Dull. Dry. Lifeless.”
Effective speakers on the TED stage use slides to help their audience, not themselves.
It is common for inexperienced presenters to load their slides with their talks as a crutch to lean on as they go through the presentation. The worst virtually read their talks off the slides.
A question worth asking as you build up your slide deck is: “Am I including this slide to help my audience understand what I am presenting, or am I using it to help myself?"
When constructing the presentation, do not start with the slides, Karia cautions. Organise your thoughts on a mindmap or in a storyboard format, adjust them for flow and clarity, and only then begin work on your slides.
The slides are only to engage your audience and to make your intention even clearer.
The number of slides you use is neither good nor bad. One superb TED presentation had 200 slides in 18 minutes. It is the value that the slides add to the talk that matters. Another superb TED speaker used no slides at all.
Start the construction of your slide deck with the question: “Why?” Why do I need a slide here and what will it add for the audience? Think of a core message for each slide and then choose the design.
As far as possible, avoid using text and instead try to represent your idea visually. The primary problem with text heavy slides is that they quickly tire the audience’s eyes, which is probably why they fall asleep so easily.
It is also requires mental effort to concentrate on what you are saying while they are reading the text, which is probably why you were tuned out.
Visual aids not only make your presentation more appealing, but they also aid recall. John Medina in his book, Brain Rules, notes that three days after a presentation most people remember approximately 10% of what they have heard. However, if you add a picture, recall increases to 65%.
The images that you use should be of very high quality so that they are not pixelated when they are enlarged on the auditorium screen. Choose images that are not only visually stunning, but also create an emotional response in your audience.
The font factor
The three-second rule that applies to highway billboards also applies to your presentation. The three-second rule states that your audience should understand your slide within three seconds of seeing it.
Positioning your (very sparse) text and stunning picture adds to the general impact. The centre of the slide is the wrong place. Think of a slide as divided into a 3 by 3 matrix and use any part other than the centre.
Empty space adds to the visual impact of a slide and should be accepted rather than filled.
The title of Chapter 9 “Is your font sexy enough?” raises an often overlooked issue. Many people have never thought of the font choice as important, but the fonts you choose can have a big impact on the success of your presentation.
The different shapes and sizes of fonts give them different personalities, and these personalities affect the audience’s emotions on an unconscious level. These are good font-related questions: What do the fonts say about my presentation? What mood does the typography on my slides create?
The suggestion is to use only two types of font through your presentation, with interest added by changing size and even colour.
This book is a quick course on how to create highly effective and visually pleasing slides that with hold your audience’s attention. The author claims that this book will make your presentations better than 90% of speakers.
I believe that. This is a worthwhile investment in your career.
Readability: Light -+--- Serious
Insights: High -+--- Low
Practical: High +---- Low
- Fin24
*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy. Views expressed are his own.
Karia, Akash (2013-12-02). How to Design TED Worthy Presentation Slides: Presentation Design Principles from the Best TED Talks (How to Give a TED Talk) (Kindle Location 128). AkashKaria.com. Kindle Edition.
Karia, Akash (2013-12-02). How to Design TED Worthy Presentation Slides: Presentation Design Principles from the Best TED Talks (How to Give a TED Talk) (Kindle Locations 107-108). AkashKaria.com. Kindle Edition.
