Great slides will not compensate for an otherwise lackluster presentation, one that doesn’t have a clear message or isn’t engaging. That’s primarily what I work on as a presentation coach (slides are usually the last part of my content development process, and I do not consider them required for most presentations, except webinars). But, your slides can make a difference in how your presentation is perceived, and how your audience understands and engages with your content for critically important presentations, such as:
- A TEDx Talk or similar “showcase” opportunity
- A keynote or workshop that you will give again and again
- A conference presentation
- An online webinar that you will monetize
Because I’m not a slide designer (although I have helped presenters improve their slides), when a presentation design company, Punch Slide Design, offered to re-design a few slides at no charge, to show what they can do, I took them up on the offer. I sent them a very lengthy presentation and asked them to pick the slides they wanted to re-design.
You can do the same with one of your presentations, and get a free quote at Punch Slide Design
Below are the “before” and “after” slides:
It’s fascinating to see the before-and-after slides side-by-side, so thanks for publishing them. Funnily enough, I actually prefer your originals! (except that I quite like what they did with the quote slide)
It seems they’ve an obsession with photos. As I wrote in my post called Don’t blame bullet points…, using too many photos (or too many of any other type of slide) can be about as boring as over-using bullet points.
I really like the simplicity of the original slides, with such strong layouts and a bold colour scheme. To me, the remakes tend to have too many design elements (e.g. photo + icons + 3D), which makes them busy and takes the focus off the message.
I’ve a couple of ideas for the original slides, so I’d also be happy to do a makeover on them. If you’re open to that, by all means email the slides and I’ll show you what I have in mind!