7 Tips to Take your Slides from Boring to Brilliant

Slide decks are an essential tool for presentations, whether it’s for work or school. But, they’re not that easy to make. I have taught at the university level for more than four years, presented at dozens of top-tier academic conferences, and worked at four different FAANG companies. With my extensive experience giving presentations, here are my tips for creating a great slide deck.

1. Use minimal text

The most effective slide decks use very little text. A picture is worth a thousand words, and you don’t want your audience to be busy reading while you’re speaking. Instead, use visuals to convey your message and keep the text on your slides to a minimum.

2. Say what’s on the slide

Make sure you say — without reading word for word — what’s on the slide so that your audience doesn’t read and instead pays attention to you. The slide should be a supplemental background to whatever you’re saying, giving context to your presentation.

3. Use a big font size

Make sure to use a big font size for the words on your slides. This will ensure that they are visible from a distance and easy to read.

4. Ensure adequate contrast

Make sure that your slide has enough contrast between the background color and the text/ images. You don’t know what screen you’re going to be presenting on, and a lot of projectors have poor contrast. This can make it difficult for your audience to read the text on your slides.

5. Make your slides accessible

Ensure that your slides are accessible. If there’s an image on the screen, describe it, as not everyone has the luxury of sight. For the love of god, don’t use red and green to differentiate between things — these colors are inaccessible for people with color blindness. If you have to, make sure to double encode, meaning you use a secondary thing like a shape to communicate the difference between the red things and green things.

6. Repeat your message

Say what you’re going to say, say it, and then say it again. Repetition is key when it comes to presentations.

7. Ensure visual consistency

Visual consistency is crucial when creating a slide deck. Don’t use different color schemes for every other slide. Use one typeface, maximum two.

Do you have any tips you want to add to these?

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Happy presenting!