Slideshows have become the lifeline of today’s business meetings. A presentation accompanies almost every office meeting explaining work or a project.
And why shouldn’t it be? Slideshows are a boon to the world with the great ease they provide us. Presentations help us effectively communicate with the help of pre-designed slides. The slides consist of relevant pieces of information accompanied by extremely explanatory infographics. The proper flow of slides and the presenter’s narration make slideshows nothing short of a boon for the corporations of today.
Making a Business Slideshow
Most of us know and understand the basics involved in creating a slideshow. But a business slideshow is different from a regular slideshow. The difference lies in the information to be presented and the manner of presenting it.
When learning how to create a unique slideshow for your business, you might wonder, how many slides do you actually need for your presentation. This can be a crucial consideration for an effective business presentation.
So, how can someone make a slideshow specifically for businesses? A simple answer would be to use an Online Slideshow Maker, which is readily available online. But the best way to do so would be to keep the following simple tricks and tips in mind.
1. Choose a Professional Template
The first step to making a professional presentation is to use a template that gives your slideshow a professional look. Templates greatly impact the general tone your presentation will have overall, and selecting the correct template is very important.
Every presentation creation software comes loaded with plenty of templates for you to select from.
A large number of Slideshow Makers also have a plethora of templates. If those do not appease your requirement, you can also download more templates through various online sources.
2. Make use of Interesting Layouts
While the most basic form of presentation involves the same thing: simple text on every slide, it is counter-productive to use the same slide layout repeatedly. Instead, what you can do is, use varied layouts in your presentation.
Every template has various layouts for different kinds of information that may have to be presented. Feel free to experiment with all of them. Make columns of your text to compare them. Create flow charts to define the steps of a process. If you feel that a specific layout is quite effective at displaying the information you are conveying, feel free to duplicate it.
While using the same blank layout creates boredom, using the same design layout for consecutive pieces of information creates interlinks between information that appeals to the overall purpose of the slideshow.
3. Use Colours Effectively
Colours are handy tools when it comes to communication. Research has proven that certain colours invoke specific emotions in our minds when we see them. Helpful insight into the use of colours can be beneficial for your presentations.
For example, the colour green symbolises teamwork and will be very useful in presentations about collaboration with a specific entity or merging resources. Similarly, the colour purple denotes wealth and would be helpful in the presentation about the finances of the business.
On the other hand, colours can also be used to be more relatable to an organisation as a whole. Using the company’s colours looks very professional and safe to take in confusing times.
For example, the colour blue is synonymous with Facebook, and any presentation regarding the company would do very well with blue as the central colour theme.
4. Keep the Presentation Readable
Most of the information in slideshows is in a text format. This makes sense as the presenter usually writes whatever they have to say in the slide. But this poses a huge problem, as reading through large paragraphs is much more cumbersome than listening to the same thing from a live person. Therefore, if you plan to include text in your slideshows, make sure that you do not write a lot of it, as most of it will end up being ignored.
If you have a lot of important information, present it in points rather than paragraphs. Bullet points are more concise and readable. Also, keep in mind that too many bullet points in a slide are a problem. Keep a total of four or five short bullet points in each slide.
5. Fonts are Important
The fonts used for the text in your slides are very vital. It can improve or deteriorate the readability of your entire presentation. Hence, it is advised that the text is in a readable font and looks professional.
Another piece of advice in this area is not to use the standard fonts that we see every day. Using newer fonts introduces a sense of curiosity in the viewer. Just keep in mind that they do not look unprofessional.
The size of the text is also crucial. Tiny text will not be readable and cause readers to become uninterested. Too large text, on the other hand, will use up too much space and significantly increase the slides in your slideshow.
6. Just Text is Boring
Lastly, remember that no one likes to read information from a screen plainly. Plain text induces boredom and monotony and, therefore, is not very advisable for use. Instead, you should use infographics such as graphs and charts to relay essential pieces of information.
Images and relevant text go a long way in creating suitable imagery in the viewer’s mind. Use them to your advantage. Remember that text is the least effective way to make a lasting impression.
If you manage to include other forms of media such as audio and video, then your slideshow will have a permanent place in your audience’s thoughts.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to make a slideshow suitable for your office space, all that is left is for you to use these newfound skills to astound your coworkers at the next meeting. Keep in mind the basics, be confident, and you will find that your office presence has gone up exponentially thanks to these newfound skills of yours.
ASLO READ: TOP 3 PROGRAMS FOR CREATING PERFECT PRESENTATIONS
