Modern PowerPoint look for academics?
October 8, 2010 8:35 AM Subscribe
How do I modern-up the look of my PowerPoint presentations? No need for a Tuftesque makeover of style and content, just something better looking.
I am a college professor at a business school, so I present to students (a lot), other academics (quite a bit) and companies and government folk (occasionally). My slides tend to be pretty information dense, for obvious reasons - so I can't pull off something hyper-minimal like Steve Jobs or Lawrence Lessig. I have read my Tufte and dataviz literature, and I appreciate good design. I am getting sick of using templates that are basically slight variations on default PPT.
Any thoughts on good Powerpoint templates or sample presentations that would look modern while maintaining the content? I don't need s massive overhaul of my style or approach, just more attractive skies!
I am a college professor at a business school, so I present to students (a lot), other academics (quite a bit) and companies and government folk (occasionally). My slides tend to be pretty information dense, for obvious reasons - so I can't pull off something hyper-minimal like Steve Jobs or Lawrence Lessig. I have read my Tufte and dataviz literature, and I appreciate good design. I am getting sick of using templates that are basically slight variations on default PPT.
Any thoughts on good Powerpoint templates or sample presentations that would look modern while maintaining the content? I don't need s massive overhaul of my style or approach, just more attractive skies!
Response by poster: Damn iPad. I meant more attractive slides. And Garr is cool, but it is hard to use his style in academic environments.
posted by blahblahblah at 8:54 AM on October 8, 2010
posted by blahblahblah at 8:54 AM on October 8, 2010
Jean-luc Doumont is an expert on communication for academics, scientists and engineers but I imagine his tools and ideas would be useful for business school types too. He has some good handouts for oral presentations and graphical displays.
posted by euphorb at 9:10 AM on October 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by euphorb at 9:10 AM on October 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I know it's more toward the "massive overhaul" side of things, but pretty much any slideshow in Keynote will come out more modern looking than pretty much any PowerPoint template. It's full of little refinements and graphical improvements. There's a really terrific iPad version even if you're not a Mac user. And for a PowerPoint user, Keynote is a breeze. All the terminology is the same (transitions, builds, etc...) and the interface is very similar, but the end result is always more polished and graphically interesting.
And if you're worried about being able to present on a PC, from the Mac version you can export your presentations either as PPT, or as self contained, manually advancing movies that can play on any machine with Quicktime.
From a business or presentation perspective, Keynote is THE reason to get a Mac. Killer app.
posted by raygan at 9:25 AM on October 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
And if you're worried about being able to present on a PC, from the Mac version you can export your presentations either as PPT, or as self contained, manually advancing movies that can play on any machine with Quicktime.
From a business or presentation perspective, Keynote is THE reason to get a Mac. Killer app.
posted by raygan at 9:25 AM on October 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've become a real fan of Apple-style black backgrounds - much easier on the eyes (to me, anyway).
posted by jquinby at 9:28 AM on October 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by jquinby at 9:28 AM on October 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I disagree that Garr Reynolds is difficult to apply in an academic setting: I use a lot of his principles in my presentations for teaching, research presentations, workshops, and so on. I get excellent feedback on my slides, and I find that people are more interested in the content (and students retain it better) when it's presented minimally and attractively. Even data.
I also second the Keynote recommentation. Sometimes I have to export to PowerPoint, but even though the slides are mostly the same, they look far better and more polished when I can show them in their native environment. (Still loads better than native PowerPoint presentations, though.)
posted by Superplin at 9:38 AM on October 8, 2010
I also second the Keynote recommentation. Sometimes I have to export to PowerPoint, but even though the slides are mostly the same, they look far better and more polished when I can show them in their native environment. (Still loads better than native PowerPoint presentations, though.)
posted by Superplin at 9:38 AM on October 8, 2010
This is probably more overhaul than you are asking for, but…I would seriously consider how information-dense your slides are. Find ways to simplify the data you show to highlight what you want the audience to take away. E.g., do they need to know the whole pie chart or just what percentage this piece makes up? Do they need to remember the whole quote, or just one phrase that you can emphasize? Is there a way to break up dense slides so that each slide has one or two (max) pieces of information to retain?
The reason minimalism is so popular is because there's only so much an audience member can take in, especially if you are talking at the same time. The more you can focus the content of your presentation on the take-aways, the better you will be. If the audience needs to have access to additional data, ask whether it makes sense to present all of it during the presentation, or if it is better suited to handouts that they can peruse at home. The presentation is only one form of information-transfer, and often times information-dense presentations try to fit in more than is appropriate for that format.
posted by philosophygeek at 10:10 AM on October 8, 2010
The reason minimalism is so popular is because there's only so much an audience member can take in, especially if you are talking at the same time. The more you can focus the content of your presentation on the take-aways, the better you will be. If the audience needs to have access to additional data, ask whether it makes sense to present all of it during the presentation, or if it is better suited to handouts that they can peruse at home. The presentation is only one form of information-transfer, and often times information-dense presentations try to fit in more than is appropriate for that format.
posted by philosophygeek at 10:10 AM on October 8, 2010
This presentation was on the blue last week. Might be helpful.
posted by morganannie at 10:16 AM on October 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by morganannie at 10:16 AM on October 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Interesting feedback so far. I agree that, for students, the current trendy/good design principles of minimal content, arresting images may be the best choice. I'll try one and see what happens.
For presentations which are data heavy - real data heavy (equations, output tables, complex diagrams) - I worry that not only does this stuff not work, but it makes you look less professional, even if it is more interesting. Has anyone seen an example of a real data heavy presentation that is actually good? Not just a pie chart, but real data?
posted by blahblahblah at 11:15 AM on October 8, 2010
For presentations which are data heavy - real data heavy (equations, output tables, complex diagrams) - I worry that not only does this stuff not work, but it makes you look less professional, even if it is more interesting. Has anyone seen an example of a real data heavy presentation that is actually good? Not just a pie chart, but real data?
posted by blahblahblah at 11:15 AM on October 8, 2010
seconding philosphygeek on all points.
The point of Tufte on PP is that data heavy stuff doesn't work in PP, period. If it's really data heavy, you need handouts, and things the people can markup, move nearer and further from their eyes, discuss, etc.
Animations, images are both very data heavy presentation formats that can work, though, as shown in Tufte's own presentations!
If you really want to do something crazy, consider having and assistant to point at, highlight (or otherwise callout) the interesting parts of complex data displays. Or give a pointer to audience members to make them ask questions along the way.
>> I don't need s massive overhaul of my style or approach, just more attractive...
You might want to reconsider that constraint :)
posted by gregglind at 7:43 PM on October 8, 2010
The point of Tufte on PP is that data heavy stuff doesn't work in PP, period. If it's really data heavy, you need handouts, and things the people can markup, move nearer and further from their eyes, discuss, etc.
Animations, images are both very data heavy presentation formats that can work, though, as shown in Tufte's own presentations!
If you really want to do something crazy, consider having and assistant to point at, highlight (or otherwise callout) the interesting parts of complex data displays. Or give a pointer to audience members to make them ask questions along the way.
>> I don't need s massive overhaul of my style or approach, just more attractive...
You might want to reconsider that constraint :)
posted by gregglind at 7:43 PM on October 8, 2010
Sorry to double answer, but I assume you have already done the obvious things...
* remove borders and margins
* removing everything possible from headers and footers, like the title, your name, page numbers, unless they somehow add value.
* no bullets (new paragraph is enough to note new point)
* decent, screen readable fonts
* solid, reasonable color palette, maybe even b/w
* repeating slides as necessary (so that you don't have to 'go back' so much)
posted by gregglind at 7:46 PM on October 8, 2010
* remove borders and margins
* removing everything possible from headers and footers, like the title, your name, page numbers, unless they somehow add value.
* no bullets (new paragraph is enough to note new point)
* decent, screen readable fonts
* solid, reasonable color palette, maybe even b/w
* repeating slides as necessary (so that you don't have to 'go back' so much)
posted by gregglind at 7:46 PM on October 8, 2010
There probably isn't much you can do about the equations accept maybe use some animations to shrink/fade the whole equations and maybe move it up so that you can expand parts of the equation as you talk about them. I'm thinking about something like the Black-Scholes option pricing model in economics. It is a big equation that is easy to break down into smaller parts. I don't know if the stuff you're presenting breaks down that way.
It might work to really simplify the graphs. For example, lets say you have a line graph but there is only one line that is really important. You could make that line bold and think or emphasize it some other way. Minimize the unimportant lines. Maybe get rid of most or all of the numbers except for a couple of data points that are important.
I've found that it adds a bit of polish to use the fade-out/fade-in transitions at the highest speed between all of the slides, most of the slides, or between major sections of the presentation.
I also like to use one style of background for one section and then change it a little when the topic shifts.
It would be handy to have an example of one of your presentations to look at to get an idea of what might be able to be changed.
For me, the problem with PowerPoint is that, even if I use every trick there is to make the slides and slick as possible, it still looks like PowerPoint. I don't think anyone could use PowerPoint to make a slide look as slick as the worst Steve Jobs slides.
posted by VTX at 7:56 PM on October 8, 2010
It might work to really simplify the graphs. For example, lets say you have a line graph but there is only one line that is really important. You could make that line bold and think or emphasize it some other way. Minimize the unimportant lines. Maybe get rid of most or all of the numbers except for a couple of data points that are important.
I've found that it adds a bit of polish to use the fade-out/fade-in transitions at the highest speed between all of the slides, most of the slides, or between major sections of the presentation.
I also like to use one style of background for one section and then change it a little when the topic shifts.
It would be handy to have an example of one of your presentations to look at to get an idea of what might be able to be changed.
For me, the problem with PowerPoint is that, even if I use every trick there is to make the slides and slick as possible, it still looks like PowerPoint. I don't think anyone could use PowerPoint to make a slide look as slick as the worst Steve Jobs slides.
posted by VTX at 7:56 PM on October 8, 2010
I'd disagree with gregglind on one point, in certain cases. I would absolutely have page numbers on the slides for really technical stuff if there are going to be questions/discussion during/after. If I'm watching the presentation and I see something interesting or something I want to ask about later, I would like to be able to write down the slide number. Then, at the end, I can something like, "On slide number XX there was graph of Y. My question is..." Then you can go back to that slide and everyone can look at the graph. It makes it really easy to find.
I would tell you to make the slide numbers obvious but unobtrusive. I gave a presentation on Best Buy in college where I put the slide numbers in little yellow Best Buy tags in the corner.
I really like gregglind's idea of putting complicated graphs on a handout and maybe complimenting that with a streamlined/simplified version on your slide.
posted by VTX at 8:05 PM on October 8, 2010
I would tell you to make the slide numbers obvious but unobtrusive. I gave a presentation on Best Buy in college where I put the slide numbers in little yellow Best Buy tags in the corner.
I really like gregglind's idea of putting complicated graphs on a handout and maybe complimenting that with a streamlined/simplified version on your slide.
posted by VTX at 8:05 PM on October 8, 2010
* removing everything possible from headers and footers, like the title, your name, page numbers, unless they somehow add value.
If I may reformulate this:
* if something is on every single slide, it doesn't really need to be on any slide, except maybe on the first and/or last ones.
posted by signal at 8:42 AM on October 10, 2010
If I may reformulate this:
* if something is on every single slide, it doesn't really need to be on any slide, except maybe on the first and/or last ones.
posted by signal at 8:42 AM on October 10, 2010
the current trendy/good design principles of minimal content, ... may be the best choice
Don't know about trendy, but the actual good design principle is: "minimal noise, maximum content".
posted by signal at 8:44 AM on October 10, 2010
Don't know about trendy, but the actual good design principle is: "minimal noise, maximum content".
posted by signal at 8:44 AM on October 10, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 8:43 AM on October 8, 2010 [3 favorites]