Are you familiar with the 10/20/30 rule? It states that a presentation should have 10 slides, last no more than 20 minutes, and should not have a font sizes less than 30 pt.
This rule was made due to the gradual decrease of people’s attention spans. Making presentations concise and straightforward will save time while still getting the core message across.
Let us elaborate.
10 Slides
It can be quite a challenge to comprehend more than 10 concepts during a meeting.
The 10/20/30 rule suggests using 10 slides to discuss your core message, and provides the following example flow of topics for investor proposals and venture capitalist presentations:
Problem
Your solution
Business model
Underlying magic/technology
Marketing and sales
Competition
Team
Projections and milestones
Status and timeline
Summary and call-to-action
Remember these if you want to get your point across in a concise and straightforward way. Depending on the type of presentation you’re giving, you can tweak these to fit your purpose, but try to keep your slides to a 10 slide minimum, with a visible flow like the one above.
20 Minutes
Ideally, a 10-slide presentation would only take 20 minutes to finish. Beyond that and you’ll start losing your audience’s attention.
Keep your presentations short so you can address questions and other concerns at the end.
30pt Font Size
People usually use smaller font sizes to cram chunks of information into their slides. Doing so might distract your audience from listening to you and leave them unable to focus or retain the information you present. They may also question whether you are familiar with your own material. A straightforward presentation will assure the audience that you know the topic well enough to explain it in a way that they will understand, especially if they’re new to the concept.
Use a larger font and remove the unnecessary details. Remember, your presentation shouldn’t do the talking for you, but instead, be there to guide your audience.
Use the 10/20/30 rule as a consistent baseline to keep your audience engaged during your next presentation. Working within its boundaries will push you to craft a more refined presentation that focuses purely on the essentials, leaving out any distractions for your audience. It’s important to remember that people naturally have a limit to their attention span. This simple and effective rule is meant to guide you in creating a presentation that fits fully within the peak time of your audience’s attention. It’s at that point when your message is most effective and will lead to a more memorable experience for all.
Custom fonts evoke emotions, making them an essential tool for defining your brand. Some fonts may portray traditional aesthetics, others a modern taste and can even give communicate grace and elegance. Brands strategically utilize fonts to help visually define their overall identity. Considering fonts can express a distinct “personality” it’s important to choose one that fits well with the brand and message you want to convey.
Often you are conveying your brand message through presentations internally, to customers, or even to potential investors so it is important to consistently use your brand’s font across all platforms. Employing your custom font in your presentations can help revitalize your design and define your brand’s aesthetics through your PowerPoint presentation.
Using Custom Fonts in PowerPoint
In order to use your brand’s custom font in your presentation, you’ll need to install it on your computer. Go to Control Panel > Fonts, then drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste the fonts into the Fonts Manager. Make sure the files are unzipped before you do.
Avoiding Your Custom Font Being Replaced When Shared
When you use custom fonts, there’s a possibility that PowerPoint will replace them if you share the deck with others. To avoid this try embedding the font in the presentation. PowerPoint allows this as long as the font file type is TTF or OTF. All you have to do is to click File > Option > Save, and then check the box that says, “Embed fonts in this file.”
Keep in mind that this will likely increase your file size, so choose “Embed only the character used in the presentation” if you need to be wary of your file size.
You can also share the font file itself when you’re sending the deck to others that need to edit your deck. PowerPoint will replace custom fonts with standards ones if you don’t embed the custom font, so this can be a great way to ensure your coworkers are also using the custom font and keeping your brand consistent. Keep your custom font file in an easy-to-find location for when you need to send it out.
Present Online
This is especially helpful when you want to share your PowerPoint via online hosting without having to embed the custom font (or increase your file size). Your audience may or may not have your custom font installed in their version of PowerPoint. But by taking this route, you can ensure whatever custom font you have used will appear on the audience’s end without worrying if the custom font has been installed.
Companies with digital asset management platforms (DAMs) or learning management systems (LMS) often allow readers to view their content online. Broadcast Slide Show is a feature that lets you livestream your presentation to an online audience.
Consistency is Key
Much like all the other aspects of your company’s identity, consistency is key to how you present yourself, your brand, and your products or services. Using your brand’s custom font in your PowerPoint templates and presentations is a simple, yet effective way to authentically represent your company no matter who you are presenting to.
Don’t let distance get in between you and your audience. Livesteaming your PowerPoint allows you to still be the face of your presentation. Several online platforms can bring your presentation out of the boardroom and into digital spaces. These enable you to reach a wider audience without having to sacrifice your personal presentation style.
While many people may have figured out workarounds to livestreaming, the truth is there are many options, which are not too difficult to navigate once pointed in the right direction. Here are three ways you can livestream your next PowerPoint presentation.
Broadcast Online from PowerPoint
Microsoft itself offers a safe, reliable means to broadcast your PowerPoint presentation online to remote audiences (for PowerPoint 2013 and newer versions).
First, find your presentation and open it up. In the File tab, you can start livestreaming your presentation through the Share button.
Next click the Present Online button. A dialog box will generate a custom URL for your presentation. You can then copy the link to send directly to your audience.
Once they’ve received the link, click Start Presentation. Viewers will then be able to see your presentation as you guide them through each slide in real time.
This highlights how Presenter View will appear only on your screen. Your audience will see your slide show as you present it.
Once you’re done, simply hit the End Online Presentation in the Present Online tab.
This option is convenient when meeting in person is not possible. However, the slight downside is that some of your original deck’s features may be compromised. All transitions will automatically be set to “fade” from the audience’s view and a file size limit may be imposed on your upload.
In this situation, a concise deck is more advisable for livestreaming to minimize the lag in your loading times.
Use Office Mix
Office Mix is a free downloadable add-on for Office 365 subscribers. It makes livestreaming presentations much easier.
Office Mix retains more content such as audio, video, polls, and quizzes than broadcasting through PowerPoint alone. These features are helpful for presenters seeking to maximize audience engagement. using their deck. Consider reviewing each feature to see which will work best in your presentation, especially as you are livestreaming.
In the Mix tab, you can see Quizzes Video Apps.
The platform also features “live digital inking.” This is a more hands-on approach that enables you to guide the audience using video, audio, and illustrations. Office Mix offers several helpful tutorials on their site for navigating these useful features.
Office Mix requires an internet connection to share your presentation. However, your audience will be able to review your slides after you’ve concluded the presentation. And because Office Mix gathers audience data and feedback for in-depth analysis you can keep track of how your presentation went over with your audience and maximize on keeping track of after-presentation impact.
Upload to Online Platforms
This third option offers the least audience interactivity in the moment but can maximize your audience reach. And it may be the easiest to execute.
Publishing your slides online will allow you to reach out to a wider audience. While you can configure the presentation to be viewed by selected viewers only, default settings keep your deck open for public viewing. Adding tags to your presentation makes it easier to search online, further enabling mass sharing.
These online platforms often require compressing your presentations to a size that websites can handle. While uploading to online platforms can be limited in file size, audiences will be able to view them at their own pace which can be a great benefit for a leave-behind aspect to your presentation.
Livestreaming Design Elements to Enhance Viewer Experience
Your deck plays a key role in the impact of your presentation and there are many ways to make your presentation accessible.
Because the presentation is being streamed from your source, you won’t need to worry about losing any of your custom fonts. That’s a common pain when people send their decks via email. Here are a few other assets that add value and enhance viewer experience:
Interstitial Graphics: Controls broadcast flow and breaks it into segments
Overlay Graphics: Media that plays over the main content
Alert Overlays: Pulls live data from online sources and displays over the stream
You may notice these things on streaming platforms like Twitch. Adding these elements to your presentation can give you a leg-up over other presenters and help you stand out with your audience.
Planning for the Future
Being able to present your deck effectively online will help amplify your message and showcase your skills as a presenter to your audience even while remote. And while working from home or hybrid interactions continue to be the norm, it’s essential to utilize all the tools you have at your disposal. Livestreaming solutions have made it so much easier to deliver a smooth online presentation experience. Take these tips as unique chances to improve your skills for your next big presentation.
