The document is a presentation by Ian Lurie critiquing common mistakes in presentations. It begins by showing an example of a poorly designed presentation with issues like self-promotion, random colors and fonts, lack of structure. It then provides an annotated version explaining the problems with each slide and better alternatives. The overall message is to focus presentations on the audience, only include necessary information, and rehearse properly.
2. NEW BOLD COLOR!Hi. I’m Ian Lurie. CEO of an
overflowing-with-awesome internet
marketing agency called Portent.
@portentint
3. NEW BOLD COLOR!
This presentation is every bad
thing I’ve ever done when
creating a presentation. Read,
learn, and avoid my embarrassing
moments.
@portentint
4. NEW BOLD COLOR!It’s actually TWO presentations:
First, the bad presentation. Then
the same presentation, annotated.
@portentint
5. CATCHY
TITLEWITH SQUARED FONTS
Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
WHICH IS WONDERFUL, BUT NOW YOU NEED A SUBTITLE
SIMPLY TO EXPLAIN THE TITLE
17. • Now I’m going to use bullets
• So I can string stuff together
• And because I got really tired
• And because I didn’t rehearse, so I’m going to read this to
you
@portentint
18. • OK but now
• I’m using bullets because
• I know people will
• want to read this later and remember
• what I talked about
@portentint
55. CATCHY
TITLEWITH SQUARED FONTS
I’m guilty of this.
Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
WHICH IS WONDERFUL, BUT NOW YOU NEED A SUBTITLE
SIMPLY TO EXPLAIN THE TITLE
59. SELF-PROMOTION
K now it’s becoming a
problem. 5 minutes of self-
promotion in a 30-minute
presentation? Not OK.
@portentint
60. WITTY ANECDOTE!
Please, make it relevant
And not offensive
I once cracked a joke making fun of
economists and their fashion choices.
At an economics conference.
Guess what? They didn’t laugh. I felt
like an idiot for the rest of my talk.
Oh, see that? That was an anecdote.
@portentint
67. Oy. This is bloody awful.
Don’t use bullets as
punctuation, or to string
thoughts together
• Now I’m going to use bullets
• So I can string stuff together
• And because I got really tired
• And because I didn’t rehearse, so I’m going to read this to
you
@portentint
68. Still no.
Consider doing a separate
annotated version (like
what you’re reading now)
instead.
• OK but now
• I’m using bullets because
• I know people will
• want to read this later and remember
• what I talked about
@portentint
73. F-BOMB!!!! SWEARING!
AUDIENCE LAUGHS, SO
I’LL DO IT MORE!!!
Not recommended,unless you
can really pull it off and
have the right audience.
The audience often
laughs because they’re
uncomfortable with you
swearing like a sailor.
79. DRONEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@portentint
I have a habit of putting
the cool stuff at the start
and end, and then filling
the middle with endless
stuff.
Don’t do that. Otherwise it
goes on…
86. JOKE ABOUT HOW IT’S JUST BEFORE/AFTER
LUNCH/COFFEE/A BIG PARTY LAST NIGHT
Yeah, none of us have EVER
heard that one before.
Avoid it if you can.
Again, I’m guilty of this
one far too often.
88. HEY, LET’S GET POLITICAL!!!!!
BE CAREFUL. Especially in
the US. I’m a lefty pinko
liberal
I only make political jokes
after that disclaimer. And
I poke fun at everyone.
89. LAST YEAR’S SLIDE
Don’t do 100% exact
repetition. Always bring
something new to a repeat
presentation.
@portentint
90. ANOTHER LAYOUT
Use alternate layouts to
delineate or emphasize
ideas. Not to ‘make it
interesting.’
AT RANDOM
You make it interesting.
Not your slides.
@portentint
91. STOCK PHOTO TO
‘HUMANIZE’ PRESENTATION
Were all these people grown
in vats?
Your audience will not
connect with this image
unless they’re clones.
Don’t use stock images
unless they’re truly
relevant and approachable.
92. BETCHA CAN’T READ THIS
You’ve already blinded your
audience with the optic
yellow background.
Keep some contrast w/ a
transparent fill, or
something. Anything.
93. BETCHA CAN’T READ THIS
Images must serve a purpose:
Elicit an emotional response,
or illustrate a specific
idea. Don’t use them just
because.
I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THIS IMAGE
SO I’M GOING TO USE IT DAMMIT.
94. I FORGOT
YOU USE 4:
Check your slide dimensions
against your A/V setup.
Otherwise, hilarity may
ensue.
@portentint
95. I have no words. Just go
read this presentation,
instead.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1
2
3
4
5
Foobly
stuff
Foobly
stuff
101. DIFFERENT FONTS
BECAUSE IT’S ARTISTIC
TOO
Don’t make your slide look
like a ransom note. Unless
that’s what you want.
@portentint
102. WTF??! THIS ISN’T
KNOCKOUT BOLD!!!
You used a special font,
didn’t you? Now you get to
read your presentation in
poorly formatted Times.
Bring copies of your fonts,
or use a ‘safe’ font.
A nice list here.
103. LOOK! I GOT ALL
DESIGNY AND STUFF.
If you know how to do a good
gradient, cool! Go for it.
But it’s important to
recognize your design
limitations and stay within
them.
If you want, I’ll show you my
presentation stick figures
sometime…
104. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
logo here
phone
address
first-born male child’s name
CONTACT ME!
PLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASE
When you list 12 different ways for
folks to contact you, it just confuses
them, and maybe sounds a little
desperate…? Keep it simple: E-mail,
Twitter, maybe website.
105. NEW BOLD COLOR!
Here’s my point: Your presentation has
a purpose. Everything you put in it
should work towards that purpose. So be
clear. Only use what you need. And
create for your audience, not for you.
@portentint
106. Ian Lurie
@portentint
www.portent.com
HAVE I COMMITTED OTHER
PRESENTATION HORRORS?
YES. PAY ME, AND I MIGHT TELL
YOU. I ACCEPT PAYMENTS IN
CHOCOLATE AND CASH.
Oh, also: Don’t try
to extort your
audience.