Overview

Presentation slides should support the moderator and help participants follow the seminar. Slides are not meant to be the full script, the handout, or the center of attention. The strongest presentations use clear visuals, readable text, purposeful contrast, and a simple structure.

These recommendations are adapted from presentation design principles often associated with Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen approach: simplicity, visual clarity, restraint, and audience-centered design.

By the End of This Training, You Will Be Able To:

• Explain why simple slides are often more effective than dense slides.
• Use images, spacing, contrast, and large text to improve participant understanding.
• Avoid creating “slideuments” that try to function as both slides and handouts.
• Design slides that are readable from the back of the room.
• Use charts, graphs, video, color, fonts, and animation more intentionally.
• Review slides in slide sorter view to improve pacing and flow.

Core Presentation Principles

Use the following principles as a quick guide when creating or revising seminar slides.

Keep It Simple

Presentation software is best used to display graphical information that supports the speaker and supplements the presentation. The slides themselves should not be the star of the show. Participants come to hear you, engage with the topic, and learn with one another.

Avoid slides that are unnecessarily complicated, crowded, or full of distracting visual elements. Nothing on a slide should be superfluous. If an item does not help participants understand the message, remove it or simplify it.

Slides should include plenty of empty space, sometimes called white space or negative space. Do not feel compelled to fill every blank area with a logo, decoration, text box, or graphic. Less clutter usually creates a stronger visual message.

Use Pictures

Pictures can help participants remember and understand ideas, especially when the image reinforces what you are saying. Strong visuals can also provide variety, spark discussion, and help participants connect emotionally or intellectually with the seminar topic.

Use images and words together when they reinforce the same message. Avoid using decorative images that look attractive but do not clarify the topic.

Possible Image Sources

Do Not Create Slideuments

Slides are slides. Documents are documents. When a presentation tries to serve both purposes, it often becomes a “slideument” — too crowded to work as a slide and too incomplete to work as a useful handout.

Projected slides should be visual, focused, and easy to understand quickly. Your explanation, evidence, examples, and stories come primarily from your spoken facilitation.

If participants need detailed information, consider creating a separate handout or resource document rather than placing every detail on the slide.

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Aim for a High Signal-to-Noise Ratio

Signal-to-noise ratio refers to the amount of relevant information compared with irrelevant information. In slide design, a high signal-to-noise ratio means the important message is clear and distractions are minimized.

Remove elements that do not support the message, such as unnecessary icons, decorative lines, repeated logos, complicated labels, excessive footers, and overly dense tables.

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Design for the Back of the Room

Many presentation visuals fail because the text is too small. Make text large enough for the last row to read easily. Fill the screen with the most important information and make elements easy to see.

Presentation slides are glance media. Participants should be able to understand the main point quickly, much like reading a roadside sign or billboard.

One large, powerful image is usually better than several small ones. If you need to compare two images, place them side by side and keep each image large enough to see clearly.

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Use Contrast

Contrast helps participants know where to look. Use contrast in size, color, spacing, type, and placement to create a clear focal point.

If everything on the slide has the same visual weight, participants may not know what matters most. Strong contrast creates interest and clarifies the message.

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Use the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a simple composition technique that can make slides feel more balanced and visually interesting. Imagine the slide divided into a three-by-three grid. Place important visual elements along the grid lines or near their intersections.

This approach often creates more dynamic slides than placing everything directly in the center.

Example

Example

Use Clear Charts and Graphs

Charts, graphs, and tables should help participants understand the data quickly. The most important rule is simplicity. When presenting data, use three principles: restrain, reduce, and emphasize.

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Choose Fonts Wisely

Keep fonts simple and make text large. For projected slides, sans serif fonts are often easiest to read, though serif or slab serif fonts may work well at large sizes.

At larger sizes, adjust spacing if needed. Large type can sometimes look too spread out, so reducing character spacing or line spacing may improve readability.

Use Short Videos

Video and audio can be very effective when they show a concrete example, provide a change of pace, or help participants see something that is difficult to explain with words alone.

Keep clips short and purposeful. Set up the clip before playing it, then allow time afterward for observation, reaction, or discussion.

Use Color With Purpose

Color can help direct attention, create emphasis, and support the mood of a presentation. Choose a small, consistent color palette rather than using many unrelated colors.

Use color to make meaning, not simply to decorate. Strong contrast between text and background is especially important for readability.

Limit Animation and Transitions

Animation and transitions can help guide attention, but overuse quickly becomes distracting. Use motion sparingly and only when it improves understanding.

Avoid using dramatic transitions between most slides. If using animations, choose simple effects that reveal information gradually or clarify a sequence.

Spend Time in Slide Sorter View

Slide sorter view helps you see the overall flow of your presentation. It allows you to check whether the sequence makes sense, whether sections are balanced, and whether any slides feel redundant.

You may discover that one dense slide should be split into two or three simpler slides. You may also find that certain slides can be removed entirely.

Final Slide Review Checklist

Common Questions