10 things I hate to see in slides
Presentation decks almost always need a cleanup. If you’re working with others, you’re likely to end up with a rainbow of colors, multiple fonts, several layouts, and missing elements.
Your slide hygiene matters. What hangs in the balance is your reputation and your organization’s reputation:
- Credibility: If your slides look thrown together, your audience will assume that’s how you deliver projects or products.
- Expertise: Crisp, clear slides show you know what you’re talking about. Messy slides present a muddied, uncertain viewpoint.
- Leading edge: Visual cues from current design standards imply that you are up-to-date on the latest/greatest.
We’re not all amazing visual designers, but we do have access to their knowledge. Use this checklist to quickly identify what’s wrong in your presentation:
1 Lack of template (or multiple templates)
Always follow one template (such as Microsoft’s or IBM’s). Pitfalls include unprofessional title graphics, no agenda, missing contact info, and text boxes that bounce around from slide to slide.
2 No call to action
What do you want people to do after listening to your preso? It’s easy to create a QR code and shortened URL that direct people to a specific action. Tip: “Go read my homepage” is typically not specific enough.
3 Too many words
1) Sentences instead of bullets. 2) Long-winded bullets (more than 10 words). A presentation isn’t a whitepaper.
4 Spaghetti monster diagrams
Architectures or diagrams without legends or speaker notes to explain how the parts relate.
5 Multiple typefaces
Stick with one, such as all Plex or all Arial.
6 Text smaller than 12 pt
If the deck will be presented in person, test out how hard it is read your slides on equipment you might not expect. For example, you might end up in a large room with a 48 inch display panel.
7 Lots of colors
Watch out in titles, bullets, shapes, and backgrounds. Another pitfall is inconsistent colors across slides. Or, no colors at all.
8 Borders, drop shadows, or animations on shapes, images, and tables
These graphic elements look like 2003, instead of 2023. Go borderless!
9 Mixture of clip art styles
Clip art comes in many styles. Look for a style palette that has coordinated color, shading, line weights, etc.
10 Footer faux pas
Date isn’t current year. No page numbers. Text is different on each slide. Missing legalese.
On the lighter side, get all of these tips and more from a comic:
And yes, my screen captures above are real slides that I’ve encountered, but with sanitized text. If you want to go deeper, the internet is full of advice:
