Don't be a slave to your PowerPoint slides! (c) Thinkstock

You have an important internal presentation coming up where you’re going to present to a group of senior managers at your company. Here’s your big chance to make a great impression and land the promotion you’ve been after. You’re excited to learn that they’re going to give you a full hour. You invest a lot of time in creating the perfect presentation. However, as you finish your last slide right before the hour is up, you realize you made a critical mistake — you left no time for group discussion. As your audience quickly files out the door to their next appointment, you’re left wondering if you should have structured your PowerPoint presentation differently.

I recently witnessed some colleagues experience this problem in their internal presentations.The content was great, but they just didn’t budget their presentation time effectively to allow for discussion between key stakeholders. They missed an opportunity to get all of the executives engaged in a discussion around their topic, and gain their commitment to support critical next steps for their projects. As I’ve said before, time is frequently the root of all PowerPoint evil.

At conferences, most presenters leave some time for questions from the audience. However, in smaller business meetings, presenters too frequently take up all of the allotted time presenting and don’t allow sufficient time for discussion. In many cases, the discussion during or after a presentation is the most important part. Here are six reasons why you want to encourage a discussion during your smaller presentation settings:

1. Your audience may provide suggestions, which enhance or strengthen your ideas
2. Your audience might have significant concerns about your content and resist your ideas. If you don’t hear what their concerns are, you’ll miss a valuable opportunity to resolve them
3. In a discussion, you have the ability to further tailor your content to your audience’s needs
4. By actively participating in a discussion on your topic, your audience may more readily support and understand what is being proposed
5. The retention of your content will be much stronger with your audience if they discuss it rather than just passively listen to it
6. The goal of most presentations is to drive some kind of action, and by discussing possible next steps at the end of your presentation, you can gain commitments from your audience to accomplish specific tasks

Presentation scenarios

I thought it would be helpful to identify some different scenarios that I’ve seen in the business world, and discuss why they work or don’t work. Perhaps you’ll recognize some of the scenarios, and hopefully you’re not the presenter on the bad ones.

Which scenario matches your last internal presentation?

“100% me” (Scenario A): As described above, the presenter uses all of the time to present and nothing else. It’s a one-way fire hose of content. The presenter leaves the audience with no time to discuss the key points of his or her slides.Opportunity missed.

“Oh yeah, any questions?” (Scenario B): The presenter mostly presents and then leaves only a token amount of time for group discussion. His or her audience may leave the presentation with questions unanswered and not be totally bought into the ideas presented.

Discussion is usually a good thing during presentations. (c)Thinkstock

“Let’s burn through the rest of my slides” (Scenario C): The presenter generates some discussion at the beginning of his or her presentation, but gets nervous about timing and powers through the rest of the slides to complete it on time. The presenter ends up rushing through his or her content, misses an opportunity to discuss next steps, and fails to answer any outstanding questions. What might have started well, ends badly.

“We’re going into overtime” (Scenario D): The presentation sparks an interesting discussion at the end, but the presenter didn’t factor in enough time for it. The discussion runs beyond the allotted time, resulting in some key people having to leave before it’s finished or causing other key people to be late to their next appointment. Right idea but bad execution.

“Present and discuss” (Scenario E): The presenter lays out his or her content and has budgeted ample time to discuss the key points of the PowerPoint presentation. Everybody has had a chance to discuss the content, fully understand it, and determine next steps. Hooray!

“A discussion interspersed with slides” (Scenario F): The presenter is well prepared and comfortable with having focused discussion during his or her presentation. The presenter has a specific goal in mind and realizes that discussion may get to the desired action more quickly than force-feeding his or her audience with more slides. Bonus: Everybody leaves happy when the meeting ends early.

Summary

Two-way communication is generally encouraged for most presentations. However, communication between audience members can be equally or more valuable than just communication between a presenter and his/her audience. The next time you present in a smaller business setting ensure that you leave ample time for discussion, and you’ll see a difference in the action and success your presentation is able to drive. Don’t let PowerPoint slides interrupt a good discussion!

Image fades can be useful in many situations (just like a good pair of jeans). (c) Thinkstock

You may have run into a situation where you wanted to fade a part of an image for a PowerPoint slide. By fade, I don’t mean the fade animation effect in PowerPoint. By fade, I mean blending the image into the background color or another solid color of your choice. You may have thought you needed Photoshop to create a fade effect with your images. However, you can achieve a fade effect directly in PowerPoint using an object with a blended transparent gradient fill.

Step 1 - Identify where a fade is required

Typically, I use the image fading technique in two ways. First, you can use it to emphasize a key part of an image and still leave the audience with a sense for the bigger picture. Second, you can also use it to hide or de-emphasize less important parts of an image. In the example below, I wanted to soften or remove the edge of the image so that it didn’t stand out so much on the slide. I’ve used this approach to allow bullet points to overflow on to an image and not have the text become lost in the image.

On the left, the edge of the image stands out. On the right, using the fade technique I was able to soften the edge so the image blends into the slide better (c) Thinkstock.

Step 2 - Choose an appropriate shape and size

I used a long, narrow rectangle for this fade effect.

Normally, I use rectangles to fade out parts of an image (objects need to be positioned on top of images). However, you can use other shapes to create more interesting fade effects. Sizing also becomes an issue with the fade effect as a wider shape makes the fade more gradual while a narrower shape makes the fade more sharp or abrupt.

Step 3 - Add a two-stop gradient fill to shape

With the shape on top of the image, you right-click on the shape and click on “Format Shape” at the bottom of the pop-up menu. Under the Fill tab, you select Gradient fill. Under the Gradient stops, remove one of the stops so you only have two (by default you get three stops but the third one is unnecessary).

Step 4 - Ensure the direction of the fade is correct

While still in the Fill tab, click on the Direction and choose the appropriate orientation of the fade. For example, if you want the fade to go left to right (or vice versa), make sure you select Linear Right or Left.

You need to make sure the direction of the fade is correct to achieve the desired effect.

Step 5 - Change stops to desired color for fade

Within the Format Shape > Fill tab, you configure your fade object.

In the Fill tab under Gradient stops, you select each stop and choose your desired color. For example, if your background is white and you want to fade an image into the background then you would select white as the color for both stops.

Step 6 - Change transparency of one stop to 100%

Next, you’ll need to adjust the transparency setting of one of the stops under the Gradient stops section to 100% (transparent). The other stop will be 0% (opaque). You may need to reverse the transparency settings of the stops depending on whether the fade flows the way you need it to.

With the image fading technique added to your toolbox, you’re better equipped to emphasize or de-emphasize key parts of images in your PowerPoint slides. This technique can add polish to your slides and help them communicate better. Good luck!

Composition also makes images better. (c)Thinkstock

In the first part of this article, I discussed how good presentation images need to be both relevant and unique. In terms of the uniqueness of an image, there are two factors: the subject of the photo and the composition of the photo. In the previous article, I looked at how the subject of the photo can make a presentation image more interesting, and now I’m going to turn my attention to the second area: composition.

Composition of the Photo

The method that the photographer uses to capture or manipulate a photo can contribute significantly to the uniqueness of a particular presentation image. I’m certainly not a professional photographer, but there are some basic composition techniques in photography that when well executed can make a stock photo more interesting or unique:

• Asymmetry: Most amateur photographers try to make sure that the subject is centered in the middle of their photographs. However, you can achieve some interesting and more realistic-looking results by having your photos more asymmetrical, where the subject or focus of your picture is not directly centered. Most asymmetrical photos come from photographers following the well-known design principle, the Rule of Thirds.

Can you see the rule of thirds in these pictures? Lay an imaginary tic-tac-toe board on top of them. The subject of your images do not have be centered in the middle. (c)Thinkstock

• Empty space: All of the space within an image doesn’t need to be filled. In fact, having some empty or neutral space within a photo can create a nice contrast with the rest of the picture. In addition, you have a convenient location for text.

Empty space gives you a great spot for text. (c)Thinkstock

• Point of view: By simply finding fresh or unique angles for taking their pictures, photographers can create attention-grabbing images of even everyday items or scenes.

The position or angle of the photographer can create a more interesting image. (c)Thinkstock

• Perspective: With an eye for capturing perspective, photographers can add dramatic depth and distance to two-dimensional images.

Perspective puts your audience in the image. (c)Thinkstock

• Cropping: It can be more appealing to see part of an object up close rather than seeing the entire object at a normal view. A close-up can reveal interesting details that normally go unnoticed.

Extreme close-ups and cropping can make subjects even more interesting. (c)Thinkstock

• Background: Some images have the subject cut out and placed on a white background. These images can work well with presentations because most PowerPoint templates use a white background. These images can pop a little more in a slide because the subject contrasts sharply with the white space around it.

Using cut-out images on a white or black background creates a nice contrast and can really make your images stand out. (c)Thinkstock

• Focus or depth of field: The skilled use of depth of field can create an interesting emphasis or focal point in an image. A key part of the photo will be in focus while other parts of the background or foreground will be blurred.

Focus is used to emphasize the focal point of the image. The focus of an image isn't always in the foreground as you can see in the match example on the right. (c)Thinkstock

• Framing: A photographer can frame the focal point of the photo using objects in the foreground, adding a feeling of depth which makes the overall image more interesting and unique.

The unfocused foreground frames the focal point of the image. (c)Thinkstock

• Action or motion: A photo that captures the movement of an object can add dynamic impact to a presentation slide.

Motion or action can energize an image. (c)Thinkstock

• Repetition: By showing repetition or a pattern, you can really emphasize a key point and catch the attention of your audience.

Repeated objects or people can create an interesting visual effect. (c)Thinkstock

• Color: Colorful images can draw your audience into your presentation slide. Colors may highlight specific parts of an image, and they can also convey specific moods and emotions.

Color can show contrast, draw attention, or convey an emotion. (c)Thinkstock

You have noticed that many of these sample images above have incorporated multiple composition techniques. You can target a particular main composition technique in your image search, but you’re going to find that other secondary composition elements will contribute to making an image unique or interesting for your PowerPoint presentation.

I’ve only covered a sampling of different composition techniques. A number of photography bloggers have covered other composition techniques (Darren Rowse, Amateur Snapper). Effective presentation images will most likely be a combination of different uniqueness elements — both subject and composition.

Choosing relevant and unique images for your presentation can significantly enhance the impact of your PowerPoint slides. Good presentation images can have the power to move and influence your audience. Rather than just knowing that you need to use more images in your PowerPoint slides, I hope this article helps you to identify better images for your future presentations. Happy hunting!

Lots of photos are taken, but few are chosen. (c) Thinkstock

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Sometimes you want to adjust a group of objects together and other times you want to adjust just one element within a group. (c) Thinkstock

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