You cannot build a house on a piece of land just like that. You have to make sure there’s no river running in the foundation of the construction, right? The same goes for presentation building, says Tony, and sometimes our presentations are worth way more than our houses. Invest enough time into finding out who your audience is and what they are expecting from you. Are they someone who needs to be educated about something or are they potential investors who’ll fund your business? When you have this clarified, think about your own goals and those of the event organisers, if there are any. The audience may be your top concern, but determining your objectives is important, too. 

Tony describes the planning phase with Benjamin Franklin’s words: Failing to plan is planning to fail. Most likely this stage will take you much more time than the actual presentation building and you shouldn’t rush it. There are two approaches to putting your research into form: 

You can try outlining the presentation. You can use a software package for that, but there’s a simpler way to go about it. Use sticky notes, says Tony. They’re easy to rearrange, discard and even recycle, so why not? 

Another thing you might find useful for planning, especially if you’re a presentation professional, is storyboarding. Taken from the motion picture industry, storyboarding is a great way to combine writing, drawing and sketching out progressions before you start making the slides. 

The design expert that he is, Tony Harmer devotes the largest part of his session to presentation design. Here are three of his tips. Watch the recording if you want to hear the rest. 

1. Colours. If you’re not a graphic artist, you might be struggling with colour schemes. Tony suggests using the triadic rule of separating colours or combining complementary ones. Color.adobe.com is great for colour harmonies (especially when you don’t have to comply with brand guidelines). 

2. Type and text. The font size should be large enough to be read on a phone screen and words should be kept to the minimum. (Slides are there to reinforce what you’re saying, not to say it for you). A large font and fewer words are all it takes to create a visual hook for your audience. 

3. Layout. A great helper in deciding how to place elements on your slides is the rule of thirds, which is used in painting and photography. Tony explains how he creates a grid in PowerPoint presentations for better object balance, so don’t miss the recording.