Post on 31-Jan-2016
description
SlidedocsSpread ideas with
effective visualdocuments
originalbyNancyDuarte,summarybyPeterBakker
2©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Content Creation
+ Architecture of a Slidedoc
+ Data and Diagrams Clarify Content
+ Visual Systems Unify
+ Grids Add Structure
+ Typesetting Amplifies What’s Important
+ Printing and Projecting Slidedocs
TABLE OF CONTENTS
+ The Call for Conversations
+ Connecting With Your Audience
TheCaseforSlidedocs
WritingaSlidedoc
DesigningaSlidedoc
DeliveringaSlidedoc
01 02 03 04INTRO
Pages 81–85Pages 58–80Pages 15–57Pages 6–14Pages 3–5
3©Duarte,Inc.2014
CONVERSATIONS BUILD CONSENSUS
Conversations:
Need to build upon, get consensus on, or more fully develop an idea
Need more information about the
group’s wants and needs
Need to build a personal relationship with the audience
Need the group’s input in order to move forward
Need continuous engagement to accomplish your objective
Butwhathappenswhenyouneedtobringagrouptoconsensusormakeadecision
basedonsomesharedinformation?
Formalpresentationsdon’tallowforenoughback-and-forthtoaccomplish
thesegoals.
Instead,consensus-buildinganddecision-makingeventsareperfectopportunities
forinformedconversations,meaning
conversationsinwhichalltheparticipants
haveaccesstoacommon
setofinformation.
Conversationsgiveparticipantstheabilitytobuildonyourideasinsteadofsimply
receivingthem.
Theverbalback-and-forthofchallenging
anddefending,resistingandaccepting,
andcreatinganddestructing,refinesthe
ideawhilehelpingyoubuildcredibilityby
showingyourcommandofthecontent.
Asaresult,informedconversationscanhelpyoubuildconsensusanderode
resistancetoanidea.
Everyonecangetuptospeedquicklyifyougivetheminformationbeforehand,or
allow10minutesatthebeginningofthe
meetingforpeopletoreadaslidedoc.
Then,eachpersonisfullyinformedforthe
discussion.
Plus,theycanrefertothematerialsastheydiscusstheissues.
4©Duarte,Inc.2014
SHORTER COMMUNICATION IS THE NEW NORM
Today,contentnotboileddowntoitsessenceisatime-waster.Long,detailed,
multipagedocumentsofprosetaketoo
longtoreadbetweene-mailsand
meetings.So,weignorethemuntilour
schedulesallowalongblockoftimefor
consumingdenseinformation—ifthattime
evercomes.
Internet and mobile communications have reconditioned people to prefer consuming information in small chunks.
Asaresult,shorter,tighter,visualcommunicationisthego-tomethodfor
gettingeverybodyonthesamepage
quickly.Peoplelearnconceptsbetter
whentheysee
picturescombinedwithprose.Therefore,
visualmedialikepresentationsareused
morereadily.
The best way to spread visual ideas is through slides. The slide format makes it easy for people to capture great ideas and share them.
Theseshort,tight,atomicbitesofcontenthavebecomethedefaultwayofvisually
communicatingideas.
People need their ideas to be understood on their own without the help of a presenter.
5©Duarte,Inc.2014
SLIDEDOCS™: A NEW MEDIUM
Aslidedocisadocumentcreatedusingpresentationsoftware,wherevisualsand
wordsunitetoillustrateoneclearpoint
perpage.
People consume your information better when it is broken into smaller, more visual chunks
Theresultisamediumthatcanbereadanddigestedmorequicklythaneithera
documentorapresentation.
Slidedocsaremeanttobeprintedordistributedandreadonscreenwithoutthe
accompanimentofapresenter.
Slidedocsworkbecause:
Uniformformatofaslideencouragesclear,succinctarticulationand
visualizationofconceptsononepage.
Editablenatureallowsittobealivingdocumentthatiscollaborativeandcan
canevolveovertime.
Overarchingviewallowsyoutoseethewhole,insteadofonlytheparts.By
workinginoutlineorslidesortermode,
youcanseetheentiremessageand
structureinadditiontoindividualpages.
Spreadabilityallowsthesmartestpagestospreadthroughoutan
organization.Greatslidedocsare
reusedagainandagain.
Slidedocs™isatrademarkofDuartePressLLC.Allrightsreserved.
Create persuasive story
content to connect to an audience who responds with
action.
Understand the visual display of information so the audience can see what
you’re saying.
Create persuasive visual documents for the way
people consume information today.
6©Duarte,Inc.2014 6©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ The Call for Conversations
01
7©Duarte,Inc.2014
HOW WILL YOU USE SLIDEDOCS
Slidedocs allow communicators to break complex ideas into small chunks of information and give readers the time to absorb the information at their own pace.
Slidedoc
As a Pre-Read
Themosteffectiveconversations
happenwheneverybodyisfully
informed.Bydistributingaslidedoc
beforeameeting,youcanreservea
majorityofthemeetingforbuilding
consensus.Thisisparticularlyhelpful
whenthetopicishighlycomplex
ortechnical.
As Follow-Up Material
Peopleneedanswerstothequestion,
“HowdoIembraceyouridea?”Follow
upwithdetailssotheycanhelpyou
pushforward.Thisiswhyslidedocs
makegreatmodularsalescollateral.
As an Emissary
Slidedocshelpyoufullyexplainyour
ideawithoutbeingthere.
As Reference Material
Informationshouldenhancea
conversation,notdistractfromit.
Combiningwordsandvisualsarounda
singleideamakesiteasierforpeople
torefertotheinformationintheheatof
adiscussion.
8©Duarte,Inc.2014
DOCUMENTS ARE DENSE
The best way to build consensus during a meeting is to distribute the information beforehand to give people time to review and absorb it. But what is the best way to distribute that information?
Ifyouuseadocumentformat,youcanaddmoredetailwhilestillallowingpeople
toconsumeinformationattheirownpace.
However,thedensenatureofdocuments
canraisesomeissues.Veryfewpeople
lookatapagefullofbusinessproseand
think,“Thislookslikegreatreading.Ican’t
waittodivein!”
Also,documentscanbedifficulttoreferenceduringadiscussion.Has
anyoneeveraskedyoutofindthethird
sentenceinthesecondtolastparagraph
insectionfour?Ifso,howlongdidittaketofindit?
Whenyourefertoadocument,youlose
valuabletimejusttryingtogeteveryone
tothesameplace—nevermindyour
actualpoint.
Finally,manypeopleprocessinformationfasterandunderstanditbetterifit’s
presentedvisually.Byhandingoutpages
fullofparagraphs,you’reputtingup
barriersontheroadtounderstanding—
notthebestwaytostartameeting.
9©Duarte,Inc.2014 9©Duarte,Inc.2014
Once folks have completed the reading, it's time to open it up for discussion. There is no presentation. It's important to stay vigilant on this point as most people who prepared the materials will reflexively begin presenting. If you are concerned about appearing insensitive by not allowing individuals who worked hard on the materials to have their moment, constructively remind the group this is a new practice that is being applied to the entire company and will benefit all meeting attendees, including the artist formerly known as The Presenter. With the presentation eliminated, the meeting can now be exclusively focused on generating a valuable discourse: Providing shared context, diving deeper on particularly cogent data and insights, and perhaps most importantly, having a meaningful debate.
– Jeff Weiner CEO,LinkedIn
At LinkedIn, we have essentially eliminated the presentation.
In lieu of that, we ask that materials that would typically have been presented during a meeting be sent out to participants at least 24 hours in advance so people can familiarize themselves with the content.
Bear in mind: Just because the material has been sent doesn't mean it will be read. We begin each meeting by providing attendees roughly 5 to 10 minutes to read through the deck. If people have already read it, this gives them an opportunity to refresh their memory, identify areas they would like to go deeper on, or just catch up on e-mail.
Photo:Copyright
“
”Source: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130701022638-22330283-a-simple-rule-to-eliminate-useless-meetings
10©Duarte,Inc.2014
SLIDEDOCS FILL THE GAP
Slidedoc
Neitherdensedocumentsnorsparseslidescontaintherightbalanceofdetail
andscanabilitytobeusedasapre-read
orhandout.Slidedocscombinethe
strengthsofdocumentsandpresentations
whileminimizingtheirweaknesses.
Characteristics of a Slidedoc
Explanatory
Modularstructure
Educational
Visualthinkingprocess
Tightvisual-to-proseratio
Understoodquickly
11©Duarte,Inc.2014
PRESENTATION SOFTWARE IS THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
Presentationsoftwarecanbeagreatpublishingtool.Theabilitytointegrate
words,visuals,andotherinteractive
elementslikehyperlinksandvideoarea
fewofthekeyattributesofaslidedoc.
First,it’sapracticalalternativetoprofessionaldesignsoftware,whichis
expensiveandtakesyearstolearnwell.
Whymakethatinvestmentwhenatool
youuseeverydaywillworkformostof
yourcommunicationneeds?Granted,
professionaldesignersserveagreat
purpose.Designersspendyearslearning
theeffectivedisplayofinformation.For
high-stakescollateralofanykind,nothing
canreplaceadesigner’sabilitytovisually
guideandengagethereader.
Second,presentationsoftwareispervasive.PowerPoint®isinstalledon
morethanabillioncomputersworldwide.
You’dbesurprisedbythenumberandqualityofideasthatbegininpresentation
software.Manypeopleuseittocreate
conceptsandstrategies,andplentyof
greatideastrickleoutoftheseapps.
Lastly,veryfewtoolsallowyoutopickupentirepages,rearrangethem,easily
mergethemintoexistingdocuments,or
savethemintotheirownfile.Theease
withwhichyoucanaccomplishthese
taskswithpresentationsoftwaremakesit
theperfectplatformforspreading
information.I’veseenslideswehelped
createforaclientinonepartofthe
companycomebacktousrepackagedin
adeckfromacompletelydifferent
department.It’satestamentto
presentationsoftware’suniqueabilityto
facilitateandspreadideas.
Benefits of slide software:
Visual: Visualizinginformationhelpsyour
readersseewhatyou’reexplaining.
Versatile: Itincorporatesphotos,
illustrations,sketches,andevenvideoif
it’spostedonline.
Interactive: Youcanembedlinksand
jumparoundthedocumentitselfor
outtotheInternet.
Tablet-ready: Itsaspectratiomakesit
easytoloadontodevices.
Spreadable:Itsmodularnatureallows
slidestobeincorporatedintootherdecks
andspreaditthroughouttheorganization.
Shareable: PlatformslikeSlideShare™
makeitembeddableandshareable.
SlideShare™ is a trademark of LinkedIn Corporation. All rights reserved.
12©Duarte,Inc.2014 12©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Connecting WithYour Audience
01
13©Duarte,Inc.2014
SLIDEDOCS ARE BETTER FOR THE AUDIENCE
Space limitations
forceaslidedoc’sauthor
toboildownthematerial
toitsessence.Done
correctly,thismakesthe
materialmoreclearto
thereader.
The advantages below trickle down to the audience, who reaps the benefits of consuming clear and concise prose paired with helpful visual aids.
Visualized ideas
helptheaudience“see”
whatyou’resaying.
Whencriticalbusiness
decisionsneedtobe
madequickly,visually
articulatedconcepts
reducethetimetoreach
consensus.
Time savings
areachievedby
allowingtheaudienceto
readthematerial
insteadoflisteningtoit
bepresented.(Imagine
ifIpresentedthis
documenttoyou
insteadofgivingit
toyoutoread!)
Consensus building
isaccomplishedwhen
peoplehavetimeto
discussthematerial.
Afterreadingaslidedoc,
peoplecangatherto
haveconversations
aboutitthatcreate
movementtoward
objectives.
Shorter time to
understanding
happenswithmaterial
that’sbeenparsed,
structured,and
visualized.
14©Duarte,Inc.2014
SPREAD YOUR SMART THINKING
Chunking
Thebestwaytodigestinformationistochunkitintoadigestibleformusing
slidesoftware.
Unlikeadocument,slidedocscreatetheflexibilitytoreusesmallunitsofcontent.
Theseunitsofinsightspreadreadily,
becauseallofthecopyandimages
clearlysupportoneuniquethought.
Trapped Ideas
There’satimeandaplaceforcomplexreports,proposals,andcollateral.
Businessesneeddensedocumentsfor
thingslikecontracts,fullresearchreports,
andtranscripts.
However,importantinformationcangetlostifit’slockedinaseaofprose.The
slidedocformatputsthisinformationinto
thehandsofthepeople.
Make It Spreadable
Reallygreatslidedocs—theoneswhere
smartthinkingmeetsinformativevisuals
—spreadlikewildfire.Theygetpickedup,
reused,andre-expressed.
Ifyouwantyourbrilliantworkpopulatedthroughoutanorganization,slidedocs
areoneoftheeasiestwaysforyourideas
totakerootineverydepartment.
15©Duarte,Inc.2014 15©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Content Creation
02
16©Duarte,Inc.2014
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Take a mental walk in their shoes.
Inallthreeofmybooks,I’vespentasignificantamountoftimetalkingabout
theneedtocraftyourmessagearound
theaudience’sconcerns.Youcouldsay
somethingsneverchange.
Thetruthisthatnomatteryourmodeofcommunication,youraudienceshould
alwaysbeyournumberonepriority.They
mustunderstandyourmessage.Without
theirbuy-in,yourmessagedoesn’tgo
anywhere.
Peoplearen’tmotivatedbywhat’simportant.They’remotivatedby
“What’sinitforme?”Asyoucreate
yourslidedoc,remembertomakeit
evidenttoyourreaderswhat’sinit
forthem.
Takeamentalwalkintheirshoes.Anticipatetheirconcerns,theirquestions,
andtheircircumstances,andkeepthose
thoughtsinmindasyouconstructyour
copy.You’llbegladyoudid.
17©Duarte,Inc.2014
STATE YOUR BIG IDEA
Youknowwhenyourunintooneofthesepieces,becauseyoulookupattheend
(ifyoumakeittotheend)andthinkto
yourself,“Whatjusthappened?”
Youdon’teverwantsomeonetofinishyourslidedocwithaconfusedlookon
theirface.That’swhyyoustateyourBig
Idea.Traditionally,theBigIdeamust
containthefollowingthreerequirements:
It goes without saying that your slidedoc should have a point, but you’dbe surprised by how many pieces of communication (from e-mail all theway to full-length books) are distributed without the author ever thinking,“What exactly am I trying to do here?”
Big Idea Requirements Example
Your unique point of viewSlidedocsspreadyourmessagethroughmodularcontent.
What’s at stake for those who do or do not adopt your point of view
Slidedocsempowerpeopletoquicklyunderstandandeasilyshareyourideas.
These elements must be written in a complete sentence
Slidedocs spreadyourmessagethroughmodularcontentthatempowerspeople toquicklyunderstandandeasilyshareyourideas.
Stating your Big Idea in this format distinguishes it from simply being a
topic.
18©Duarte,Inc.2014
UNITE AROUND ONE POINT
Puttingeachideaonasinglepageallowsyoutoeliminatedistractionsandfocusthe
reader’sattention.
Theone-idea-per-slidementalitywillalsokeepyoufocusedasyouwriteyour
slidedocandpreventyoufrom
overelaborating.
Presentationsoftwareisespeciallyusefulforkeepingyouhonestinthatregard.
Beginauthoringyourslidedocbyputting
yourideasfortopicsandsubtopicson
individualslides.
Onceyou’vesettledonacertainnumberoftopics,theseideaswillbecomeyour
pagetitles.Asyoudevelopthesupporting
content,usethetitleasalitmustesttotell
whetherornotyou’restayingontopic.
Just as your slidedoc should have a single Big Idea, each page should also focus on a single, core point.
Ifyoufindyourselfcrowdingthepagewithwords,thenyoumayhavestrayedoff
topic.Eitheredityourmaterialdownor
createanewsubtopiconanotherpage.
Ifyoudocreateanotherpage,makesureitsupportstheoverallpointyou’remaking
withyourslidedocandthatitreallyis
relevanttoyouraudience.Ifnot,the
contentmaybeextraneous.
Remember,it’slessaboutdemonstratingwhatyouknow,andmoreaboutmaking
theinformationeasytoconsumeand
understand.Curbthetemptationtocreate
afullexplanationofeverythingyouknow
aboutthetopic.
19©Duarte,Inc.2014
RECOMMENDED LENGTH OF SLIDEDOCS
Pre-read:
Before the meeting:
Ifyoudistributetheslidedoc
beforeameeting,itshouldbe
abletobereadin20minutes
orless.Itmaybehardfor
reviewerstofindlargeblocks
oftimeintheirworkdayfor
focusedreading.
Beginning of the meeting:
Ifyoudistributetheslidedoc
forpeopletoreadatthe
beginningofameeting,it
shouldtakelessthan10
minutestoread.Thatmeansit
shouldbe
10pagesorless.Thisis
particularlyhelpfulwhen
thetopicishighlycomplex
ortechnical.
Slidedocs vary in length depending on how you use them. Here are some guidelines for the most common uses.Emissary:
Sent to executive:
Ifanexecutiveasksyouto
“sendalongyourslides,”they
justwantthefactsanda
reasontobelievethatyour
ideaisagoodone.Fiveslides
seemstobethetolerancelevel
forpeopleinpower.Sendthem
whattheyrequested;they’re
sharpenoughtofillinthe
gapsthemselves.
Sent to potential client:
Slidedocsmakeamazing
modularcollateral.Apotential
clientmakingabuying
decisionshouldhavealltheir
questionsansweredina
slidedoc10pagesorless.
Reference material:
Sent before or after a talk:
Ifyouneedtodeliverdetailed
informationduringatalk,send
contextaheadoftimeorshare
adetailedreportwith
referencesafterthetalkso
youraudiencecanstudyyour
findings.Theseslidedocscould
beupto50pages.
Distributed during a talk:
Ifyouwanttodistribute
referencematerialduringa
talk,itneedstobelimitedto
informationtheaudiencewill
hearinthetalkorthey’llread
insteadoflisteningtoyou.10
pagesisthemostyoushould
haveforthesetypesof
slidedocs.
Follow-up material:
Sent after a talk or meeting:
Usingslidedocsforfollow-up
helpsyousealadealoradd
moreinsightstohelppersuade
keystakeholders.These
documentscanbeintheform
ofslidedoccollateral
(10pages)orevenaslidedoc
booklikethisone(upto200
pages);italldependsonthe
contentandtheaudience.
20©Duarte,Inc.2014
SELL YOUR IDEA WITH GREAT COPY
Now that you know when to use a slidedoc, let’s look at how to compose one.
Writingaslidedocdoesn’tmeanyouhavelicensetotranscribe
everythoughtthatcomesintoyourhead.Nomatterthemedium,
effectivecommunicationrequiresplanning,thought,andskillful
execution.Thatmeansdustingoffthewritingskillsthatyou
mighthavesetasidewhileyouwerecrankingoutfragmented
bulletpoints.
Soundlikemorework?Afterall,thosebulletpointswererelativelyeasytosqueezeout.Butifyouaretakingthetimeto
communicateyourideainthebestpossibleformat,itmakes
sensetomaximizetheuseofthatformat.
Don’tassumethatyourreaderswillfollowyourleadbecauseyourideaisimportanttoyou.Usewordsandvisualstoexplain
toyouraudiencewhyyourideaisimportanttothem.
Filter
21©Duarte,Inc.2014
HAVE AN EDITORIAL PROCESS
Some slidedocs can be created by you alone. But when the stakes are high for your slidedoc to make a big impact, having an editorial process is helpful.
First,followinganeditorialprocesswillhelpbothyouandyourteamfocusonthemainmessageyouwanttocommunicate.Second,itwillfocusyourattentiononasingletask
andkeepyoufromfeelingoverwhelmed.
Tosetupyoureditorialprocess,stepbackandlookattheprojectasawhole.Definetheintentoftheslidedoc,andstayfocusedonthebestwaytoconveythatinformation
toyouraudience.Then,followthesethreestepstocompletingthecontent:ideate,
create,andrefine.
oneIdeate two Create three Refine
22©Duarte,Inc.2014
WRITE SCANNABLE COPY
Duringapresentation,youhaveacaptiveaudience.Withaslidedoc,theycan
simplystopreading.
So,organizeyourinformationinawaythat’seasilydigestibleandhelpsguide
yourreadersthroughtheslidedoc.
Thebestpresentationslidesusejustatitleandminimaltext,whereasaslidedoc
canusemanymoreorganizational
techniquesthatmakeiteasiertoscanand
drawtheeyethroughthematerial.
As you’re refining the copy into clearer and more succinct text,start thinking about the best way to organize that information on the page itself.
They usually contain this type of copy:
A. Headlines use6-to10-wordtitles
aroundtheslide’smaintopic.
B. Subheads includethethesisora
summaryoftheslide’smainpoint.
C. Paragraphs clustersentencesinto
completethoughts.
D. Bullets usefullsentencesanda
parallelstructure.
E. Pull-quotes areusedforemphasisand
helpimportantcontentstandouteitherin
lineorrepeatedinabox.
Inthefollowingpages,we’lldiscusshowtoturntextintosomethingthatgrabs
youraudienceandeffectivelyconveys
youridea.
a b c
d e
23©Duarte,Inc.2014
CONCISION PAYS OFF
Constraint requires more thought and effort, but it’s worth it because it will keep your audience reading.
Informationseekersthriveonconcision.Ifourtendencytoreadtweetsandtext
messagesoverlong-formarticlesisn’t
enoughtoconvinceyouofthisfact,
considerthis:Asmuchas50percentof
dailycognitionisspentdaydreaming.
Thismeansyoudon’thavealotoftimetosaywhatyouwanttosay,sogetto
thepoint.Clarityandconcisionshould
alwaysbeyourguidewhencommunicatingamessage,especially
whenwritingyourslidedoccopy.
We’vefoundthat100wordsperpagesis
concise.Thisbookyou’rereadingis
considereddensewithupto250words
perpage.Anymorethanthat,andyou
shouldcreateadocument.
Itkeepsyoufromexhaustingyour
audience.
Itmakesiteasiertostayfocusedonasinglesubject.
Itprovidesroomforvisuals.
1 2 3Putting a word count in
place offers three benefits:
24©Duarte,Inc.2014
DEVELOP TITLES WITH MEANING
Forexample,youcouldhaveatitleread“NetworkRouterOptions.”Butwhatabout
theoptions?Andwhatdoesitmeanto
youraudience?Instead,youcouldsay,
“FastNetworkRoutersSpeedTimeto
Market.”
Insteadofinformingyourreadersthatyou’reabouttotellthemaboutrouters,by
changingthetitleyou’veintroducedtwo
moreideas:1)It’safastrouter.2)Itwill
helpyouraudienceaccomplishagoal.
That’snotabadtradeforfivemorewords.
Strong titles are important. They introduce your overall topic and your point of view on that topic.
Reviewthetitleafteryouwritethebodycopyandaskyourselfthreequestions.
First,doesthecopysupportthetitle?If
not,youmightneedtochangethetitleor
changethecontenttosupportthetitle.
Second,doesthetitlefitwithinand
supportthegreaterslidedocmessage?If
not,thenyoumightnotneedtheslideat
all.Third,isthetitleconcise?Ifyourtitleis
longerthantwolines,tightenitbycutting
outthefluff.
25©Duarte,Inc.2014
OPPORTUNITY FOR STRONG TOPICAL STRUCTURE
Viewingyourslidedocinoutlineviewgivesyouanopportunitytoaudityourstoryflow.
Presentationsoftware’sdefaultdisplayis
theleftpanelhighlightslideview.Toview
slidetitlesonly,simplyclickthetabfor
outlineviewandreadthroughyourslide
titlesinorder.Eachtitleshouldgiveyoua
goodunderstandingofwhatthatpageis
about.Whenyoureadthemsequentially,
iftheyarewrittenwell,thepagetitles
shouldmakealogicalcaseor
persuasivearc.
Manypeoplewritefragmentedslidetitlesthatstatethecategory,insteadofthe
point,oftheinformation.Writingclear
headlinesoneverypagewillhelpthe
readerguessthecontentthatwillfollow.
Havingthetitlesflowintoeachothernotonlyhelpsyourreaders,butitcanalso
assistyouduringthecreationand
refinementprocesses.Asyoureadyour
titlesinoutlineview,checktomakesure
theyformacompletearc.Askyourselfif
thethematicintentisclear.Doeseach
topicbuildnaturallyontothenext?
Aretheresubordinateideasthatdon’t
needtheirownslide?Viewingyour
slidesinthiscontextwillmakeyour
contentstronger.
This is the actual screenshot of outline view for
this book. Note how the titles create a sense of
what you’ll learn and hang together to create
structure.
26©Duarte,Inc.2014
TOPICAL STRUCTURE IS STRONGERTHAN OUTLINING CATEGORIES
Traditional outline reads like a list: Topical outline creates meaning:
Source:http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Curric_7-12/Chapter_1.pdf
Solar Evolution
I. Introduction• Summary• OurGalaxy• OurSun
II. The Protostar• TheSolarSystem• BinaryStarSystems• OtherPlanetarySystems• SupportingFacts• DefinitionofaProtostar
III. The Hydrogen Burning Stage• Birthto4.5BillionYears• LuminosityOverTime• Hurtzprung-RussellDiagram
IV. The Red Giant• HydrogenFusionattheCore• ExpandedHydrogenFusion• SunLifecycleDiagram
Solar Evolution
• OurSun’sPlaceintheUniverse
• TheBirthofOurSolarSystem
• ThePossibilityofOtherPlanetarySystems
• Protostar:TheFirstStageofaStar
• HydrogenBurning:TheSecondStageofaStar
• GrowthinSizeandBrightness
• ContinuedGrowthandIncinerationofMercury
The difference between a traditional outline and topical headings is apparent. Topical themes dramatically increase the reader’s ability to predict content and read more like a story.
27©Duarte,Inc.2014
FOLLOW GOOD WRITING PRACTICES
Slidedocsrequirefullsentences,becausetheydon’thaveapresentertofillinthe
gaps.Buttheyalsorequireprecisionand
clarity,bothofwhichcanbeachievedby
writinginfullsentencesversusbullets.
Makingyourcopymoredirectcanhelpsharpenyourthinking.Thebestwaytodo
thatistouseanactivevoice.Theactive
voicehelpsmakeyourwritingsoundmore
interestingbypropellingyourreaders
throughyourprose.
Grammarnerdscantellwhetheryou’reusingtheactivevoiceoritseviltwin,the
passivevoice.Theysimplysearchfor
formsoftheverb“tobe,”akeyindicator
ofthepassivevoice’spresence.Youcan
thinkofthepassivevoiceasanywording
thatdelaysoravoidsyourmainpoint.
A strong title will entice your audience to read the rest of the text on your slide. Clear copy, however, will make sure they fully absorb your message.
Changingyourcopyfrompassivetoactivevoicemostoftenmeansputting
yoursubjectatthebeginningofyour
sentenceandhavingitperformanaction.
Writinginactivevoiceisn’talways
possible—somesentencesarestubborn.
Themosteffectiveauthorsuseitasoften
astheycan.
Formorewritingpointers,checkoutWilliamZinsser’sclassic,
“OnWritingWell”.
Passive Voice Active Voice
Thenewversionofourproductwasdevelopedin9months.
Wedevelopedthenewversionofourproductin9months.
Thespeech-to-textfeatureisavailableonbothproducts.
Bothproductsofferthespeech-to-textfeature.
28©Duarte,Inc.2014
WRITE COMPELLING COPY
The slidedoc format gives you a higher word count than a traditional slide, but less than a document.
Bywritingfullparagraphs,youhaveroomtocraftmorecompelling,persuasivecopy.
Thisisimperativesince,withouta
presenter,yourcopyandvisualsarethe
onlythingguidingtheaudiencethrough
theslidedoc.Thatsaid,aslidedocdoesn’t
havetobeboringorineffectual—hereare
afewwaystoavoidthat:
Use emotional appeal: Businesscopy
tendstobecoldandfactual.Butdecisions
aremadefromthegutbeforetheyarerationalized.Incorporateemotivevisuals,
shockingstatistics,andstoriesthatcreate
anemotionalresponseinthereader.
Make benefits explicit: Beforea
readerwillgetonboardwithwhat
you’reproposing,theyneedtoseewhat’s
initforthem.Makeitclearwhatreward
theywillreceiveiftheytaketheriskof
aligningwithyou.
Cite examples: Showreadersexamples
oftimeswhenothersinasimilarsituation
madeadecisiontoalignwithyour
perspectiveandhadasuccessful
outcome.Casestudiesandproofhelp
peoplethroughtheirdecisionprocess.
Use analogies: Peoplerespondwhen
theycanidentifythingsaseithersimilaror
differentfromtheirperspective.Using
analogiestocomparethesimilaritiesand
differencesaidsunderstanding.
This type of language helps people rationalize, remember your ideas, and make decisions easier.
29©Duarte,Inc.2014
EDIT THE EXTRANEOUS AND AMPLIFY THE ESSENTIAL
Cuttingdownyourslidedoc'stextcanbeoneofthemostliberatingstepsofthe
entireprocess—andthemostdifficult.Itis
painfultodeletesomethingyouspentalot
oftimecreating.Andit’stemptingtojustify
keepingeverythingtoavoidwhatwriters
call“murderingyourdarlings.”Thinking
aboutwhatyouwantyourslidedocto
accomplishhelpsmotivateyoutorefine
yourcontent.
First,youwantpeopletoreadyourslidedoc—notskim,read.Inordertodo
thatyoumustkeepitshort.Second,you
wanttomaintaincontroloverwhat
readerstakeawayfromyourslidedoc.
Think about what you want your slidedoc to accomplish.
Themorecontentyouhave,themorechoicereadershaveoverthebitsand
piecestowhichtheychoosetopay
attention.Bynarrowingthenumberof
choices,youhavemorecontrolover
theirfocus.
So,whentighteningthecopyinyourslidedoc,thinktoyourself,“Isthisoneof
themainpointsthatIwantmyreadersto
takeaway?”Ifnot,getoutyourax.
Youcanseeanexampleofapassagetrimmeddowntoitsessenceonthe
followingpage.Review your document, highlight the main points to keep, then cut the rest.
30©Duarte,Inc.2014
EXAMPLE OF PURGING
Source:nursinghometraining.ppt
EmergencyEvacuationFindings Basedonobservations,reviewoflocalfiredepartmentresponsetofirealarms,reviewofresidentcouncilminutereports,staffinterviews,andresidentinterviewsregardingtheirperceptionofthestaffduringemergencyevacuation,itwasdeterminedthefacilitystaffononeofthreefloorsofthefacility(thesecondfloor)wasnotfamiliarwithprocedurestoexitthebuildingincaseofanemergencyand/orfireasevidencedbythreestaffmemberswhodidnotknowthecodeforthekeypadtoopenthelockedexitdoortotheoutsidestairwellonthesecondfloor.Thefailureofthestafftoknowthecodetoopenthelockedexitdoorplacedtheresidentsonthesecondfloorinaseriousandimmediatethreattotheirhealthandsafetyifanevacuationwasneededthroughthelockeddoortothestairwell.
Full passage (140 words)
EmergencyEvacuationFindings Basedonathoroughreview,wedeterminedthefacilitystaffonthesecondfloorwasnotfamiliarwithemergencyexitprocedures.
Threestaffmembersdidnotknowthecodeneededtoopentheexitdoortotheoutsidestairwell.
Thissituationposedaseriousandimmediatethreattothatfloor’sresidents.
The passage above shows the original copy boiled down to its essence. This is exactly what you need to take away from the original, no more. The copy was cut by 64 percent.
Edited passage (51 words)
“When a sentence becomes stronger,
it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor.”
–Strunk&White,ElementsofStyle
31©Duarte,Inc.2014
CHUNK INFORMATION INTO BITE-SIZED PIECES
Your information is competing against a lot of distractions. So, you need to take every precaution possible to make sure people consume, understand, and embrace it.
Thereareseveralwaystomakeyourcontentmoreconsumable.
Youcanmakeyourinformationsoentertainingthatnobodywantstostop
reading.Youcantrimyourmessage.Or,
youcanchunkitintobite-sizedpieces.
There’salimittohowentertainingcopycanbe.Andnomatterhowmuchyoucut,
there’salimittothat,too.Chunkingis
anothertooltohelpgetthroughtopeople.
Chunkingstructuresyourmaterialinsmall,uniformbitsofdiscoursethatbuild
towardalargerpoint.Thismakes
informationlooklessdenseand
intimidatingtothereader.
Chunkingyourcopyalsomakesiteasiertoconsumeintoday’shecticenvironment.
Whenreadingadensedocumentonline,
it’seasytoloseyourplaceifyou’re
interrupted.Butwhenreadingaslidedoc,
youcanpickuprightwhereyouleftoff.
Slidedocsareanaturaltoolforchunking.Bykeepingyourcopybriefandchanging
thesubjectoneverypage,youprovide
easilydigestiblecontent.It’sless
intimidatingandmakesyourmessage
seemmorecleartothereader.
32©Duarte,Inc.2014
CRITIQUE FOR EXCELLENCE
Onceyouhaveadraftthatyou’resatisfiedwith,it’stimeforanothercritique.Don’t
waituntilyourdraftispolishedand
perfect.Acceptthattheroughdraftof
nearlyanythingisjustthat—rough.
By putting an early draft in front of your colleagues, you can get feedback earlier, which will help you stay focused and avoid rabbit trails.
Theirinputcanalsohelpyoujumpdifficulthurdles,likeanawkwardtransition,a
particularlydifficultconcepttoexplain,or
adullheadline.
Again,slidedocsareperfectforgroupeditingbecauseyoucanlaythemoutin
anopenareaandthegroupcangather
aroundanddiscussvariousideasand
improvements.
Witheachslideasanindividualtopic,you
caneasilyalterthestructurebymoving
slidesaround.Ifyouweretoposta
documentofproseonthewall,there
wouldbemultiplepointsperpage.
Subjectingyourselftopeerreviewcanbepainful,butitoffersgreatrewards.
Embracingotherperspectivesofyour
workhelpsitreachabroaderaudience,
andhelpsyougrowintoastronger
communicator.
Strengthenthequalityoftitles
Validatethestructureandflow
Suggestareastocutinformation
Lookforflawsin
reasoningorexecution Improve
examples,phrases,ordata
Here are someways the group might help improve your slidedoc.
33©Duarte,Inc.2014
WRITE AN INTRODUCTION OR SUMMARY
Slidedocs can have an introduction and/or a summary—this is onething that makes them different from presentations. The introductionshould give a succinct overview of what’s in the slidedoc.
Youcantakeastabattheintroductionbeforeyoubeginwriting.However,sinceslidedocstendtoevolve
asyouwrite,youmayneedtorevisittheintroduction
whenyourslidedociscomplete.Onceyou’vefinished
writing,you’llhaveamoreaccurateideaofthepoints
thatarecovered.Keypointsinyourintroductioncan
comefromthetitlesoftheslidesthemselves.
Writingasummaryisagreatfinaltestofyourflow.If
youcan’twritethesummaryfromaderivativeofyour
titles,theremaybeaflawinyourstructure.
Introduction
Summary
GOTOTHISSLIDE6
GOTOTHISSLIDE157
34©Duarte,Inc.2014 34©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Architecture of a Slidedoc
02
35©Duarte,Inc.2014
DRAWING INSIGHTS FROM BOOKS
Slidedocsborrowsomespecificdesignaspectsfrombooks.Bookshaveacover,
tableofcontents,clearchapterindicators,
prose,pagenumbers,andothersmall
designdecisionsthathavebiginformation
architectureimplicationstohelpreaders
navigatethecontents.
Flippingthroughthepagesofaslidedocshouldbesimilartoflippingthroughthe
printedpagesofabook.Inthecaseofa
slidedoc,youmightturnaprintedpage,
clicktoadvanceifreadingonacomputer
screenorswipewithyourfingerifreading
onatablet.
A great slidedoc is a bit like a well-designed book. It combines content with a visual style, consistent formats, and clear visuals, and then sequences them together into a cohesive whole.
Thissectiontakesinsightsfrombookdesignandpublishingtomakesureyou
getthemostoutofyourslidedoc.
36©Duarte,Inc.2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
When a reader looks at the Table of Contents (TOC), they should “get” what the book is about and want to read it based on how the page titles string together.
Whenreadersaretryingtoconsume
informationforapurpose,theywantto
knowwhatthey’regettinginto.Infictional
prose,it’sgreattobuildsuspenseand
havesurprisesandplottwists.Butit’s
differentifthegoalistoconvey
informationquickly.
EventhoughtheTOCwillbeatthefrontoftheslidedoc,itshouldbethelastthing
youwrite.TheTOCwillbeaderivativeof
youroutlineviewinyourpresentation
software.Don’taddpagenumbersuntil
youarecertaintheywon’tchange.
AboveistheTOCforaslidedocaboutendangeredspecies.Moreofthisslidedoc
isshownonpage(74).Youcanseehow
readersgetthegistofwhatthedocument
isabout,sotheycanchoosetoreaditall
orjumptoaspecificsection.
Section heads
Page numbers
Section names
Contentlinking
37©Duarte,Inc.2014
ANATOMY OF A TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section heads
Content links: Each TOC item can have a hyperlink embedded that jumps to each section within PowerPoint®
Page numbers
Section names
38©Duarte,Inc.2014
HEADERS AND FOOTERS
Allbookshaveheadersand/orfootersthatindicatethesection
orchapternametohelporientthereaderastowhatsectionthey
arein.Inthecaseofaslidedoc,usethefooterareatoaddyour
corporateconfidentialityorcopyrightinformationwhich
discouragespeoplefromspreadingyoursecrets.
Havingyourcompany’sgreatthinkingfloatingaroundwithout
copyrightinformationputsyouatriskforideatheft.
Using headers and footers in a slidedoc is even more important than in a book. Because slidedocs can be copied, pasted, and spread, you want your copyrighted or confidential information to travel with your slide pages.
Byinsertinga“HeaderandFooter”inPowerPoint®,youcanadd
afootertotheslideviewandheadertothenotesview.
Theheaderandfootersettingisalsowhereyouaddpage
numbers.Projectedpresentationsdon’tusuallyshowpage
numbers,butthey’reimperativeforaslidedoc.
PagenumbershelpusersnavigatetheTOC.Duringmeetings
whereyou’rediscussingtheslidedoc,referencepagenumbers
sopeoplecanquicklyturntotheappropriatesection.
The “header” setting in PPT
appears on the notes page
Confidentiality and copyright information should appear at the bottom of every page
Page numbers need to be readable so they are easily referenced during dialogue
39©Duarte,Inc.2014
SECTION HEADS
Thesectionheadislikeanewchapterheadinabook.Youknowwhenyou’ve
leftonechapterandareenteringthenext.
Eachtimethematerialtransitionstoanewsection,useadistinctlydifferent
layouttodistinguishthechangevisually.
Transitioningtoanewsectioncanbesignifiedbycolor,boldgraphic,or
memorabletype.Nomatterwhatvisual
cueyouuse,thedesignshouldbedistinct
enoughtomakeitobviousthatyou’re
enteringanewsection.
Contrasthelpsmaketransitionsclearandsetsupthereadertoknowwhattoexpect
fromeachsection.
Section heads inform readersthey are entering a new section.
You can see that the first and last pages serve as section heads. They have large type and images of endangered animals while the rest of the pages have dense prose. In the slidedoc you’re reading right now, we made the section heads full color, while the rest of the information is on white.
40©Duarte,Inc.2014
SECTION SIGNIFIERS
Differentiating sections visually lets the reader know when they’re transitioning into a new topic. There are several visual mechanisms you can employ to alert the reader they’re moving into a new section.
Tabs
Inphysicaldocuments,tabshelpreadersfliptoanewsectionquickly.Youcanusevisualdevicesthatmimictabsonyour
slidestohelpreadersjumptoanysectionfromanypagein
yourslidedoc.
Color Coding
Eachsectioncouldbeassigneditsowncolor.Colorbarsontheveryedgeofaslidecouldchangeasyoumovefromsectionto
section,orthepagesthemselvescouldbefloodedwithbold
colorsineachsection.
The top of this slidedoc clearly identifies you arein section 3.
Side bars map back to the colors of the major section heads. Here you can see we’re in section 2 of 5.
41©Duarte,Inc.2014
SECTION SIGNIFIERS
Distinct layout
Asreadersturnpages,adistinctpagelayoutwillstandout.Forexample,contentpagestendtobewhiteandfulloftext
andimages,soadistinctlayoutwoulduseboldtextor
conceptualimages.
Graphical device
Whencontentinaslidedocfitstogetherlikeasystemor
process,youcanuseadiagramasanavigationdevice.Show
thesectionsdemarcatedandclearlylabeled.Then,highlightthe
segmentofthediagramthatidentifiesthesectionyou’rein.
This slidedoc uses a flood of color that is different from the white, content-filled pages. The contrast signifies that it’s a new section.
Navigational diagrams help readers stay oriented. In this example, the lower left segment is highlighted to signify the section the reader is in.
42©Duarte,Inc.2014
TEXT EMPHASIS
If your readership is particularly pressed for time, you may need tohighlight the parts of the slidedoc that are most important to them. There are several ways to make text jump off a page.
Change the color or apply an effect to
the text, like bold or italic.
Pull out important pieces of text and
frame them with a box to make the
content skimmable.
Increase the text size and place it on the page in a way that breaks or crossesthe grid.
Set text in a graphic that amplifies your message with a visual metaphor.
43©Duarte,Inc.2014
STRONG FIGURE-TO-TEXT RELATIONSHIP
When using slidedocs, words are more closely associated with the graphics, because both exist on the same page.
I’msureyou’vereadabookwhereapagereferences“figure4,”butthere’snographiconthepagecalled“figure4.”Booksand
densedocumentstypicallyinterspersegraphicswithlong
sectionsofprose,whichmeansyouhavetoturnpagesbackand
forthtofindthevisualassociatedwiththetext.
Traditionalbooksdon’thaveoneideaperpage,sothegraphicgetsseparatedfromthetextitisrelatedto.Thisistrueinmy
ownbook,theHBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations.The
graphicsandtextareondifferentpagessoyoucannotseeboth
atonce.
My Harvard Business Review book is a long-form document. Several of the images don’t
appear on the same page as the text that explains them.
44©Duarte,Inc.2014
INTERACTIVE NAVIGATION
Anotherwaytomakenavigatingcontenteasierforthereaderistoletthemjumptothecontenttheyfindmostinteresting.Slidedocsareself-navigableifyouaddhyperlinks
andinter-applicationlinkssouserscanjumparoundthematerial.Thisisanaddeduser
benefitandamajoradvantageofdigitalslidedocs.Herearesomeexamplesofnatural
waystoaddinteractivityandnavigation:
Click directly to sections Cookie trail Hyperlinks Buttons Tabs
45©Duarte,Inc.2014
END MATTER
Summary
Encapsulatethemainpointsinasummarytoremindthe
audienceofthemost
importantideas.
It should be clear when the reader is at the end of a section or at the end of the entire document. Below is a list of elements often found at the end of sections or documents:
Activities
Testifthereaderlearnedwhatyouneededthemtoknowby
addingaquizorworksheets.
Topics of discussion
Frameupprovocativequestionsfordiscussionat
theendofyourslidedocto
helpreadersthink.
Appendix
Addsupportingstatisticalandresearchinformation
asanappendixforreaders
whowantadeepdive.
Glossary
Helpreadersunderstandyourdistinctvocabularyor
acronymsbyclarifyingwhat
theymeaninaglossary.
Additional info
Linktoin-depthmaterials(forums,discussionboards,
whitepapers)forreaders
whowanttoresearchfurther.
Reference pages
Citeresourcesandgivecredittoyoursourced
authorssoreaderscan
gainmoreinsights.
Index
Keywordsarepulledout,displayedalphabetically,
andassociatedwithapage
numberbyusinganindex.
46©Duarte,Inc.2014
SLIDEDOCS ARE INTERACTIVE
Slidedocs are a great opportunity for interaction. Clicking a button or swiping a screen kinesthetically stimulates the brain in short bursts.
Manypeopleunderstandandconsumeinformationbetteriftheyinteractwithit.Chunkingcontentintobite-sizedpiecesand
loadingitontoatabletortouchscreenkeepsreadersengaged.
Theactionofclickingtoadvanceorswipingtoturnpagesoftenkeepsreadersinvolvedwiththeinformation.Youcanaddlinks
thatjumparoundtheslidedocitselforlinkouttotheInternet,
whichgivesthereaderamoreinteractiveexperience.
47©Duarte,Inc.2014 47©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Data and DiagramsClarify Content
02
48©Duarte,Inc.2014
DATA CREATES MEANING
When it comes to incorporating data and diagrams in your slidedoc, you needto be cognizant of the meaning they create and how to make that clear.
Data
Dataisn’treallyjustaboutthenumbers—it’saboutthemeaning
behindthenumbers.Theconclusions.Theinsights.Theactions
humanswilltakebecauseofthenumbers.It’syourjobto
uncovertheseelements.
Whenincorporatingdata,don’tjuststickachartonapage.
Determinethefindingsandnarrativeofthedataandinclude
prosearoundthat.
Remember,yourcopyneedstobeclearandsuccinct—thesame
appliestoyourdata.Unfortunately,presentationsoftwarehasa
wealthofbuttons,bullets,lines,ticks,gradients,borders,fills,
andotherchartdecorationsthatcanquicklyoverwhelmthedata
onyourslide.Avoidusinganyunnecessaryinformationsothat
yourmessagewillcomethroughmoreclearly.
Diagrams
Diagramsarecontent,too.Puttingwordsintoshapesandplacingthemnextto,orconnectingthemto,eachothercreates
meaningandestablishesrelationshipsbetweentheinformation.
Makesureyou’vechosentherighttypeofrelationship,becausehowyouplacetextinshapesonasurfacecreatesmeaning:Are
theysimilar?Aretheydifferent?Aretheyconnected?Isthere
hierarchy?Doesitindicateprocess?
Everytimetextinashapeisplacedonapage,makesuretheproximityandconnectionsareconveyingtherightmessage.
49©Duarte,Inc.2014
Display data in a way that the audience will understand.
GET TO THE POINT
Audienceswhoareanalytical,financial,scientific,orengineer-mindedtendtolook
atdatawithaskepticaleye—it’swhat
they’retrainedtodo.Iftheyfeelyourdata
hasbeenmanipulatedorbecome
“marketing-drivendata,”itwillfeelless
substantialandaccuratetothem.
Avoiddecoratingyourdata;ornamentationcandetractfromcredibility
andskewtheperceptionsofthenumbers.
Anydatathat’sportrayedinaseeminglymanipulatedwaywillcausepeopleto
challengetheaccuracyoftherestofyour
contentanddiminishyourcredibility.
Addingdepthtoachartwhenthere’snorealdataforthez-axisdetractsfromthe
accuracyoftheinformation.Forexample,
trytodeterminewhatthenumberisthat
wasplottedinthechartabovetodisplay
attendanceintheNorth.Hint:thedepth
andperspectivechangesthenumber
significantly.
Youcanseethattheactualfigureis21.Youprobablywouldn’thaveguessedthat.
Notonlydoesthischartprovideaclear
viewofthedata,italsohighlightswhat’s
mostimportant.ByusingblueforNorth,
youinstinctivelyfocusonitinsteadof
allotherregionsthatareshownin
neutralshades.
The trouble with 3D charts is that the data gets visually skewed.
This chart is the same data, but plotted without depth with a flat, front-on view.
50©Duarte,Inc.2014
HIGHLIGHT WHAT’S IMPORTANT
When your organization needs to make decisions from data, make sureto show the conclusions of the data. A data chart has three layers:
Background Data Emphasis Result1 2 3
The background layer contains elements like tick marks, scales, legends, and grid lines. It provides context and scale. Backgrounds should use neutral colors.
The data plotted is usually pulled from a data table. Colors and attributes can be assigned when it’s visually plotted. Plot all the data in a neutral color and then continue to the next step.
Select the parts of your data that you need the reader to notice. Use a bright highlight color that contrasts with the neutral color so the important conclusions are quickly identified.
These final results contain all the data, but use contrast to draw the eye to the most critical information.
+
+
+
+
=
=
51©Duarte,Inc.2014
DIAGRAMS SHOW RELATIONSHIPS
Flow
Shapesareconnectedbyanarrowtoconvey
directionormovement.
Process
Cycle
Timeline
Gears
Sequence
Five common diagram types are displayed below with visual exampleson the pages that follow.
Network
Shapesareconnectedbyalinetoshow
hierarchy.
Tree
Mind-Map
Cluster
Ecosystem
Radial
Web
Segment
Shapeisdividedintomultiplesegments.
Pie
Donut
Circle
Core
Stack
Shapesstackinanascendingor
descendingorder.
Bar chart
Concentric circles
Join
Shapesareinterconnectedorshare
asetofvalues.
Puzzle
Venn
Link
Professionalshavebeenusingtext-filleddiagramstoexplainabstractconceptsforhundredsofyears.Thebestwaytoshowhowthingsrelatetoeachotheristouseproximity,scale,andlinkssothehierarchyandrelationshipsareclear.
52©Duarte,Inc.2014
DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | FLOW
Shapes are connected by an arrow to convey direction or movement(process, cycle, timeline, gears, sequence).
Merge andDivide
Shape separates from or combines with other shapes.
Linear Shapes flow linearly, but not necessarily straight.
Parallel Shapes flow in a parallel direction where no shape intersects.
Loop Shapes flow creating a closed loop.
53©Duarte,Inc.2014
DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | NETWORK
Shapes are connected by a line to show hierarchy(tree, mind-map, cluster, ecosystem, radial, web).
Ring
Network expands from a central hub concentrically.
Spokes
Network bursts in a vertical or horizontal direction.Flare
Network expands from the center without a hub.
Hub and Spokes
Network connects exterior shapes with each other through a closed loop.
54©Duarte,Inc.2014
DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | SEGMENT
Shape is divided into multiple segments (pie, donut, circle, core).
Donut Shape is cut into pieces, but has a hole or hub in the middle.
Pie Shape is cut into pieces, with the center pieces coming to a point.
55©Duarte,Inc.2014
DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | STACK
Shapes stack in an ascending or descending order(bar chart, concentric circles).
Horizontal
Shapes stack horizontally.
Vertical Shapes stack vertically.
56©Duarte,Inc.2014
DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | JOIN
Shapes are interconnected or share a set of values(puzzle, Venn, link).
Hook Shapes have a hook and eye that causes them to interlock.
Overlap Shapes touch or share space with each other.
57©Duarte,Inc.2014
OVER 4,000 FREE DIAGRAMS
Duarte’s Diagrammer.com
Duarte,Inc.hasbuiltthousandsofdiagramsthatfitintothetaxonomyonthepreviousfivepages.Gotodiagrammer.com
forover4,000free,custom-madediagramsthatfitinthis
framework.
58©Duarte,Inc.2014 58©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Visual SystemsUnify
03
59©Duarte,Inc.2014
SLIDEDOCS ENABLE VISUAL CONVERSATIONS
Visualsclarifyideas.Whenvisualsare
usedtoexplainconcepts,readers
understandthembetter.Avisualbriefis
betterthanatextbrief,becauseifpeople
canseewhatyou’resaying,theywill
understandyoumoreclearly.
ToolslikePowerPoint®,Keynote®,andGoogleSlides®easilyincorporategraphics
andtextaroundasingleidea.
Createaslidedocthatactsasaresourceforyourorganization,withestablished
layoutordesignguidelinesthataperson
canworkwithinormanipulate.This
slidedoctemplateshouldallowspacefor
densetextandleaveroomforavisual
thatcanamplifythemeaningoftheprose.
Visualizinginformationshowsyouhavecommandoverthesubjectmatterandthat
youcareenoughaboutittomakeit
easilyunderstood.
Keynote®isaregisteredtrademarkofAppleInc.GoogleSlides®isaregisteredtrademarkofGoogle.Allrightsreserved.
Ultimately, you’re communicating so you get people on board with your idea. When there’s agreement, there’s action.
60©Duarte,Inc.2014
ESTABLISH A VISUAL LANGUAGE
Consistent visual language helps readers associate a visual style withyou or your brand. Baking it into a template will help employeesexpress your brand through slidedocs.
Use a consistent color palette. Select 3–5 colors, plus a neutral and highlight color.
Buy or create a robust illustration library that’s relevant to your industry and stylistically consistent. Avoid cheesy clip art.
Create or curate a library of photography that looks like it was shot by the same photographer.
61©Duarte,Inc.2014
THIS SLIDEDOC USES THIS VISUAL LANGUAGE
Captions to graphics and photos use Georgia italics 12 pt. font size
TITLES USE ARIAL NARROW ALL CAPS 22 PT. FONT SIZE
MainbodycopyuseArial12pt.fontsize
Subtitles use Georgia italics 16 pt. font size
Typesetting and color are a strong design element in this slidedoc.
Constrain your color palette and always include at least two neutral colors. In this case, there are two shades of gray.
All the custom illustrations use the same style and overlap to create a sense of depth and richer colors.
62©Duarte,Inc.2014
FREE PRESENTATION SOFTWARE TEMPLATES
Duarte, Inc. created two templates for you to download. You can use them as-is or as inspiration for your own slidedoc template. Visit www.slidedocs.com to receive free slidedoc templates.
Each template has a unique
look to it. Notice how they look
more like printed collateral than a
projected slide presentation.
63©Duarte,Inc.2014
MAKE SLIDEDOCS EASY TO IDENTIFY
As an organization, you may want to develop two distinctly different templates for presentations and slidedocs. It will be easy for your employees to identify whether their content is to be read or presented.
Eachorganizationshouldmakeitself-evidentwhichtemplates
shouldbeusedforpresentations(slidestobeprojected),and
whichonesshouldbeusedforslidedocs(pagestoberead).
Thispracticewillmakeiteasierforemployeestoquicklyidentify
whichtooltouseforthejob.
Thefollowingpagesofferdifferentwaysyoucoulddistinguishapresentationfromaslidedoc.Youcoulduseoneora
combinationofthedistinguishingidentifierstohelpyour
organizationcommunicateeffectively.
64©Duarte,Inc.2014
MAKE SLIDEDOCS DISTINCT
The4:3aspectratioworkswellforslidedocstoreadondevicesand
printswellonlettersizepaper.You
mightchoosethisoptionforaslidedoc
andkeepa16:9versionofatemplate
forpresentations.Moreprojectorsare
usingthewideraspectratiowhich
makeitgreatforcorporate
presentations.
Below are choices that help differentiate between slidedocs and presentations.You can choose one or multiple.
Anotherpossiblewaytodifferentiatebetweentheslidedocsandslidesisto
useportraitmodeforslidedocs,which
allowsittomimicatraditional
document,anduselandscapemode
forprojectedpresentations.Thisisnot
ahardrule,justanoptionalwayto
helpdistinguishthedifferences.
Sinceanimationscanonlybeviewedinslideshowmode,usingthemin
presentationsmakesperfectsense.
Eliminatinganimationsandbuildsina
slidedocisagoodruleofthumbsince
theyareusuallyprintedandneedto
beclearofallartifactsfromanimations
thatobscuresanycontent.
4:3
16:9
Aspect ratio Orientation Animation
portrait
landscapestatic
animates
65©Duarte,Inc.2014
TableofContents
BIGIDEA
MAKE SLIDEDOCS DISTINCT
Below are choices that help differentiate between slidedocs and presentations.You can choose one or multiple.
Sinceslidedocsaretoberead,the
layoutsshouldhaveamuchlonger
wordcountanddensergraphical
contentasadefault.
Whereaspresentationsare
conceptualandusedtoamplifythe
spokenwordthroughsimple,
emotiveconcepts,aslidemay
haveonlyoneword.
Word density
Oftenslidedocsareprintedorread
onscreen.It’sbestifthebackground
isawhiteoralightcolortomakeit
easyontheeyetoreadandalso
print-friendly.
Ifyouwanttomakeadistinction
usingcolor,youcouldprojectyour
slidesonadarkbackgroundwith
lighttext.Thiscreatesamore
formalpresentationsetting.
Background color
Severalfeaturesofaslidedocare
inspiredbybooksanddense
documents.Layoutscanhaveupto
175wordsandotherdocument
featureslikeatableofcontents,
pagenumbers,andsectionheads.
Presentationsaremorevisualthan
wordsandusuallyhaveonly
cinematicemotivevisuals.
Document-like features
OneConcept
Light
Dark
66©Duarte,Inc.2014 66©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Grids Add Structure
03
67©Duarte,Inc.2014
EVERYTHING WAS MADE WITH STRUCTURE
Grids are everywhere in nature. Our skeletal system is what makes humans have a similar shape and structure. The leaf to the right has a strong vein structure. The grid system helps us identify things that are alike.
Becauseslidedocshavedensecontent,gridsserveamoreimportantfunctionfor
themthantheydowithslides.Grids
providestructurefromwhichtoorganize
yourimagesandtextandkeepsyour
layoutstidy.
Gridshelpyoudeterminetheplacement
ofimagesbygivingthemaspinetowhich
theycanalign.Aligningimagestoagrid
makesitfeelliketheyhaveasenseof
place,asiftheyhaveaspacethey
“belong”in.
Layingoutthetypewithinagriddeterminesthewidthofyourtext.In
slidedocs,longtextblocksshouldbe
arrangedincolumns.Thegriddetermines
howwideyoumakethecolumns.
The next page has an example of a magazine layout. After that, you’ll see the underlying grid used to create it.
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GRIDS IN USE
Publications have structure.
Ontheleft,weoverlaidagridoverthestructureofamagazinespread.
Thisgridisconstructedsoyoucaninserttextandplaceimagesanywherewithin
thegrid,anditlookstidy.
Eachpageinthearticlehasimagesandtextthatfallneatlyintothisstructural
systemandnaturallylookorganized.
Likepublications,slidedocsalsoneedtohaveagrid.Granted,thegridforthis
magazinearticlewasdevelopedbya
professionaldesignerandismore
complexthanyou’llneedforaslidedoc.
Layoutcourtesyof:http://content-magazine.com/welcome/
DOWNLOAD10%OFSLIDE:OLOGYFREE
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TYPICAL SLIDEDOC 4X3 GRID
4 squares horizontally
3 squares vertically
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GRIDS CREATE CONSISTENT ORGANIZATION
Original content
Identify grid
Clean and organized resultContent flowed into grid
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4X3 IS A CLASSIC SLIDEDOC GRID
Togetaposter-sizedPDFofeveryoptionforlayingoutaslidedocina4:3grid,goheretogetaPDFofthesegrids,courtesyofDubberlyDesign.
There are 892 unique ways to partition the 4x3 grid.
72©Duarte,Inc.2014 72©Duarte,Inc.2014
+ Typesetting Amplifies What’s Important
03
73©Duarte,Inc.2014
WHY TYPESETTING IS IMPORTANT
Upuntilnow,we’velearnedhowtowriteslidedoc-worthycopy.We’velearnedhowtointroducepeopletothatcopybytaking
somepointersfromprint.Andwe’velearnedabitaboutlayout
anddesign.Sofar,sogood.Inthissection,you’lllearnhowto
makethetextitselflooklikeitwasdesignedbyaprofessional.
Professionaldesignersusesophisticateddesignsoftwaretomakecopyeasilyconsumable.WhilePowerPoint®and
Keynote®don’thaveallthecapabilitiesthatcomewith
professionalprintdesign,thereareafewsimplestepsyoucan
takewithinpresentationsoftwaretoachieveaprofessionallook.
Putting in this extra effort will not only make your text look nicer, it will make it easier to consume; which is an important factor when trying to get your message across to readers.
Createhierarchy
Selectyour type
Set up your typeto increase legibility
74©Duarte,Inc.2014
FORMATTING LIKE A PRO
Thefirstruleofformattinglikeaproisstayingconsistent.Layingoutyourtextisn’tjustaboutmakingitfitormakingitpretty;it’s
aboutmakingitconsumable.
Theideallinelengthfortextisbasedonthephysiologyofthehumaneye.Atnormalreadingdistancethearcofthevisualfield
isonlyafewinches.Researchshowsthatreadingslowsand
retentionratesfallaslinelengthbeginstoexceedtheideal
width.*Thismaybecausedbyoneoftwoproblems:
Columns are too wide: Iflinesoftextaretoolong,yourreaders
getlostwhentheireyesreturntotheleftside.Thelonglength
makesitdifficulttodeterminewhenthetextstartsandends.
Donotusethefulllengthofyourslide;breakyourpagesinto
columns.
Columns aren’t wide enough: Iflinesoftextaretooshort,the
eyehastotravelbackandforthtoooften.Thisistiringonthe
eyeandfrustratingtoreaderswhoareunabletoreadacomplete
thought.
Setyourcolumnsandfontsizesothattherearebetween50and70charactersperlineoftext(or12to15words).Thisisthe
optimallengthforlegibilityandwillsignificantlyincreasethe
readabilityoftheonlineorprintedtext.
*Source:Lynch,PatrickJ.andSarahHorton.WebStyleGuide:BasicDesignPrinciplesforCreatingWebSites.
NewHaven:YaleUP,2009.
Thefirstruleofformattinglikeaproisstaying
consistent.Layingoutyourtextisn’tjustabout
makingitfitormakingitpretty;it’sabout
makingitconsumable.Theideallinelength
fortextisbasedonthephysiologyofthe
humaneye.Atnormalreadingdistancethearc
ofthevisualfieldisonlyafewinches.
Researchshowsthatreadingslowsand
retentionratesfallaslinelengthbeginsto
exceedtheidealwidth.Thismaybecausedby
oneoftwoproblems:
Columnsaretoowide:Iflinesoftextaretoo
long,yourreadersgetlostwhentheireyes
returntotheleftside.Thelonglengthmakesit
difficulttodeterminewhenthetextstartsand
ends.Donotusethefulllengthofyourslide;
breakyourpagesintocolumns.
Columnsaren’twideenough:Iflinesoftextare
tooshort,theeyehastotravelbackandforth
toooftenwhichistiringontheeyeand
frustratingtoreadersunabletoreadacomplete
thought.
The default for PowerPoint®
is for a one-column layout that spans the entire slide. Instead, select the two- or three-column layouts for your slidedocs.
75©Duarte,Inc.2014
TEXT HIERARCHY
Yourlayoutshelpreadersmakeawholehostofchoices—whattheyshouldread
first,wherethemainmessageis,what
textgoeswiththediagram,what’sextra
readingthattheycanskipfornow,andthe
listgoeson...Thatmeansyouhaveto
curatethecopy,andthat’swhyit’s
importanttomakeyourtextconsistent.
Consistentdoesn’tmeanrepetitive.
Ofcourse,you’regoingtowantsome
variationinthewayyourslideslook.But
givingpeopleanideaofwhattoexpect
makesthecontentmoreaccessible.
Giving your readers a clear typographic system to follow will helpthem digest your slidedoc clearly.
The most effective way tostay consistent is to establisha text hierarchy. A text hierarchy is a set of rules that govern how individual text elements will look.
Forexample,youmaydecidethattheslide’stitlewillalwaysbeinALL CAPS in
theupperlefthandcorner,footnoteswill
alwaysbeinitalics, andsubtitleswill
alwaysbebright blue. Youwillneedto
establishyourowntexthierarchy.These
arethedecisionsthatwillmakeiteasier
foryoutokeepaconsistentfeeltoyour
slidedoc,andforyourreaderstoeasily
navigateyourinformation.
Youshouldestablishyourtexthierarchybeforeyoustartlayingoutyourcopy.It’s
mucheasiertoedityourproseusinga
predefinedsetofrulesthanitistomakeit
upasyougoandcontinuallybacktrackif
youchangeyourmindaboutfontsor
colors.It’sokaytotestandupdateyour
texthierarchyasyoulayoutyour
slidedoc.Infact,it’samust.Thatsaid,
takesometimetothinkaboutthebasics
before
youstart.
Whenestablishingyourtexthierarchy,it’s
helpfultoknowwhatpeopleexpectfrom
certainkindsoftext.Onthenextslide
we’veincludedsomeguidelinestohelp
youasyouestablishahierarchyforthe
varioustextualelementsonthepage.
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TEXT HIERARCHY GUIDELINES
Thetitleintroducesyourslideandshouldbethefirstthingthatpeopleread.
Therefore,youwantittostandoutin
someway.Forinstance,itcouldbe
bolder.Ifyou’reusingathinnerfont,you
couldputthetitleinallcapsormakeit
verylarge.Justmakesureit’sthefirstbit
oftextthatpeoplearedrawnto.
Thesubtitle goesrightbelowyourtitle
andexpandsonitinsomeway.This
copyshouldbesignificantlysmallerthan
thetitle,butnotsmallerthanthemain
textontheslide.
Subheadslabelthedifferentsections
withineachslide.Theyarethenextlevel
oftexthierarchy,sotheyshouldbe
smallerthanthetitleandsubtitle.Your
subheadsmightevenbeequalinsizeto
themaincopyonyourslide,butyou
shoulddifferentiatetheminsomeway.
Forinstance,theymightbeabitbolder
oradifferentcolor.
Thebody copy,themainblocksoftext
onyourslide,willtakethemostamount
oftimetoread.So,thinkabout
consumabilitywhenpickingafont.
Peopledon’treadwordsletterbyletter.
Theyseetheentirewordasapicture
andunderstandtextbyconnectingthat
picturewithitsmeaning.Whenyou
makeitdifficulttorecognizethatpicture,
you’reputtingabarrierbetweenyour
readerandyourmessage.Classic,clean
fontsarethewaytogohere.Besureto
makethetextbigenoughanddark
enough,
soreadersdon’thavetostraintoseeit.
Calloutsarethesmallblocksoftextthat
areusedtopointsomethingoutina
graphordiagram.Thistextcanbeequal
insizetothebodycopy,butitalso
needstobedistinguishedinsomeway.A
classicwaytosetyourcallouttextapart
istoitalicizeit.Youcanalsomakeita
separatecolor.
Anoteaboutcolortreatments:It’sveryeasytoincludetoomanycolorsas
you’retryingtodifferentiateonekindof
textfromanother.Trytoavoidcreatinga
textrainbowandremembercolorisonly
oneofthetoolsinyourtoolbelt.Weight,
CASE,size,anditalicsareallgoodways
tosetdifferentkindsoftextapart.
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ANATOMY OF TEXT HIERARCHY
Subtitle supports the main title.
Title text is larger and the most
dominant text on the page.
Web links can be color-
coded, underlined, or
both.
Body copy is a neutral color and smaller than headline copy, so headlines and subheads stand out.
Colored box is great for emphasized text or pull quotes.
Footers are the least dominant
element on the page.Tabulated navigation helps identify where you are; colored text identifies the current page.
78©Duarte,Inc.2014
TEXT LAYOUT
After setting up your text hierarchy and designing your page, another step on the path to consistency and readability is actual typesetting.
Typesettingisadjustingalltheseeminglysmallthingsthatmakeiteasytonavigate
yourcopy.Herearesomebasic
typesettingitemstothinkabout:
Line spacing istheamountofroom
betweenlinesoftext.Providingenough
spaceherehelpsthereaderkeeptrackof
hisorherplaceandmakesforamore
comfortablereadingexperience.
Properparagraph spacing,orthespace
betweenparagraphs,helpsthereader
takeabreakbetweenparagraphsand
helpsdenoteachangeinideas.The
spacebetweenparagraphsalsomakes
bodycopylooklessintimidatingwhen
lookingatlargeblocksoftext.
AsImentioned,columnsmakeyourtext
easiertoconsume.Splitupbigchunksof
textintotwoormorecolumnsfor
maximumreadability.
Don’tgetfancywhenaligning your text.
Leftjustifiedusuallyworksbest.Idon’t
likethebiggapsbetweenwordsthat
justifiedtextcreates,andpeopleareused
toseeingtheircopyalignedtotheleft.
Thatsaid,ifyouhaveacalloutthatneeds
togowithaspecificgraphic,aligntothe
sideofthetextthat’sclosesttotheitem
thatyou’retalkingabout.Thispractice
makesthetwoitemsseemmore
connected.
Whenyou’refinishedadjustingthe
formattingofyourtextusingthese
guidelines,takealookatitasawhole.
Aretherightsidesofyourlinesoftext
reallyjagged?Doyouhavesinglewords
orshortphrasesdanglingontheendofa
paragraph?Goaheadandcleanthose
lastfewlinesoftextmanuallywithsoft
returns(shift+return)forthatfinalpolish.
79©Duarte,Inc.2014
SMALL SCREEN READABILITY
Don’tassumethatyourreaderswillalwaysaccessyourslidedoconalaptop
ordesktop.Ifyouraudienceisonthego
(andwhoisn’tthesedays?),youmay
consideroptimizingyourslidedocfor
mobiledevices.Thiswillrequiresome
extraconsideration.
Mostimportantly,forthesesmallerscreens,textneedstobelarger.Useless
text,butlargerinsize,perslideifyou
knowyouraudiencewillbereadingyour
materialfromtheirphones.Herearesome
recommendationstoconsiderforviewing
onvariousscreens:
Usage Tablet* Phone* 13" Laptop Printouts
Slide Title 40pt 50pt 22pt 21pt
Subtitle 28pt 38pt 18pt 16pt
Body Copy 24pt 34pt 11pt 10pt
Graphic Callouts 30pt 40pt 10pt 8pt
*Retinadisplay
80©Duarte,Inc.2014
TESTING YOUR SLIDES
Anybody who’s ever tried to follow a complicated recipe knows that just because you’ve completed the steps doesn’t mean that your creation is going to look exactly like the picture.
Likewise,whileit’simportanttofollowtheguidelineslaidoutinthisslidedoc,youshoulddoanoverallaudittomakesureyour
pageshangtogetherwell.
Lookatyourslidedocasawholeinslidesorter(lightbox)view.Youshouldn’thavealltextslidesandyoushouldhavepages
withwhitespaceandbreathingroom.
Remember,graphicdesignersspendtheirlivesstudyingdesign,sodon’tbetoohardonyourself.Butyoushoulddoaquickaudit
ofeachpageusingthetypeofscreenyouthinkmostpeoplewill
usetoconsumeyourslidedoc.
Whenreviewingyourwork,youshouldaskyourselfthe
questionslistedontheright.
DoIhavetoomanywordsontheslide?
Ismytextbigenoughorwillpeoplehavetostraintoreadit?
Doesmyeyeknowwhichtexttoreadfirst?
Aremainmessageseasytopickout?
Ismytextscannablelikeaslidedocordenselikeadocument?
Doesmyeyehaveaclearpathtofollow?
DoIhavetoomanyfontsorfontcolors?
Slidedoc Checklist
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+ Printing and Projecting Slidedocs
04
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YOUR JOB IS TO COMMUNICATE
Wow. This must feel like a lot of work. You have a “real job” with real results you’re supposed to deliver that have nothing to do with writing or distributing a slidedoc.
Whenyouhaveanideaorinitiativethatmustbearfruit,then
spendingyourtimeclearlycommunicatingcouldbewhatbrings
youthemosttraction.
Setasidetimetoconceptualizewhatyouaregoingtosay,howtovisualizeitsotheycanseewhatyou’resaying,andthen
determinethebestmeanstocommunicateit.
Whendeliveringinformation,somepeopledelivertoomuchand
itdoesn’tgetconsumed,whileotherscommunicatesovaguely
thatclarifyingconversationswastetime.Providingslidedocshits
agreatsweetspotthatdeliversenoughinformationina
consumableformat.
Businesstodayoperatesinacompressedenvironment,soyouneedtocreateandspreadthoughtfulinsightsquicklyandclearly.
Your Real Job
Writer
Visualizer
Communicator
83©Duarte,Inc.2014
PRINT SLIDEDOCS
Handout
Printhandoutsofslidedocssopeople
canreadthematthe
beginningofthe
meeting.Orusethem
ashandoutsthatthe
audiencemayreference
whileyouspeakand
thatsupportyourtalkas
anappendixwith
additionalinformation.
There are multiple ways to printyour slidedoc.
Book
Slidedocs,designedwell,makegreatbooks.
Whetherspiral-boundor
perfect-bound,theycan
makethecontentfeel
moresubstantialand
formal.Infact,youcan
professionallypublish
andprintslidedocsat
blurb.comand
bookemon.com.
Placemat
Placematsareasingleslidedocpageprinted
on11"x17"paper.They
aregreatfor
collaboratingarounda
sharedpieceofpaper
whereallstakeholders
canwriteandsketchon
theconcepts.
Sometimesone
placematisall
youneedtosparka
greatconversation.
Poster
Slidedocpagescanbeprintedoversizedand
postedaroundthe
room.Readersstand,
walkaround,andread
thematerial.Youcan
alsoputblankpostersin
betweeneachoneto
capturenotesand
feedback.Scientistsat
conferencesoften
presentposters.
Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins printed a slidedoc book called “USA, Inc.” with pages printed2-up. She sent one to everyone in Congress to help them understand the distressing state of the U.S. economy.
USA,INC.
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PROJECTING SLIDEDOCS
Collaboration:
Projectapagetoreadanddiscussit
indetailtorefinetheideaorbuild
consensus.
Review meeting:
Whileeditingaslidedocwithagroup,
youmayneedtoprojectitsoyoucan
collaborativelyeditit.
Visual reference:
Duringaformalpresentation,youmay
wanttoprojectapagefromaslidedoc
solelyasavisualreferencesothe
audienceknowswhatpageyou’reasking
themtoread.
Overlay sketches:
Ifyouprojectontoawhiteboard,people
cansketchovergraphicstohelpclarify
meaning.
Slidedocs should be printed and not projected, but there are some instances when it is okay to project them:
Usuallyifslidedocsareprojected,itwouldbeinaroomwithtenorfewerinternal
people,becauseit’snotaformal
presentation.Ifyouareinaroomwithsix
ormorepeopleorarepresenting
externally,rethinkwhetheraslidedocis
therightmediumorifyoushouldbuilda
presentationinstead.
To the right is a slide I used in a vision meeting. I projected cinematic
slides and provided a slidedoc as a handout. When I wanted the
audience to refer to a specific page, I projected a picture of that page as
a visual reference.
85©Duarte,Inc.2014
YOUR HARD WORK WILL PAY OFF
Presentationtoolsareeasytouseifyou’retryingtothrowsomethingtogetherquickly.However,whenthestakesarehigh
—adealwillbewonorlost,yourvisionadoptedorrejected,your
projectwillmovealongorbestoppedinitstracks—youneedto
spendextratimecreatingtheslidedoc.
Regardless of the tool you use, good work always pays off.
High-stakessituationsmayalsocallforadifferentkindofcontent.Traditionally,high-stakespresentationsareinspirational
whileslidedocsaremorepragmatic.Butwhenyourslidedocis
thatimportant,andneedstoinfluenceamake-or-breakdecision,
itmustembodythetypeofinspirationalpersuasionusually
reservedforin-personpresentations.
Good content, a good storyline, and a structure that compels people to act or decide are worth the time you put into them.
86©Duarte,Inc.2014 86©Duarte,Inc.2014
About the author:
Nancy Duarte is a communication expert. Her firm, Duarte, Inc., is the global leader behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture.
She is the author of three award-winning books. Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences, identifies the hidden story structures inherent in great communication, and it spent more than 300 days on Amazon’s top 100 business book bestsellers list. Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations teaches readers to think visually and has been translated into eight languages. Plus, the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, a field guide with quick ways to up your presentation game and more effectively present data-rich information.