For more from Sarah Hartley, please visit sarahhartley.info.

1. Presented by Sarah Hartley

2. Seek to explain something, not use a specific method to present your data. We tend to
start creating PowerPoint slides way too early in the process. Nancy Duarte, the presentation
designer behind Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth presentation, talks about creating ideas, not
slides. Try to take a step back and visualize the great story you want to tell your audience
before you decide how you’re going to tell it, then pick the right tool for the job.

3. THINK TALKING, NOT READING
Sometimes presenters are afraid they will get
lost in the middle of their presentation and not
know what to say, so they end up basically
jamming their entire script onto the slides
they’re presenting. The PowerPoint slide
becomes a crutch you don’t need if you are
really prepared to present. When you turn to
the screen and read off the slide, you simply
lose your audience. Nobody is listening to you
because you’re no longer really talking to
them. You’re reading. There’s a big difference.

4. THINK HEADLINES, NOT LABELS
All too often we’re labeling slide
content after the presentation is
nearly complete. Your headlines are
the skeleton and structure of your
story. You should be able to write
them before you ever approach a
PowerPoint slide. They should be
simple, get to the point, and highlight
what’s important.

5. Use examples, visuals and facts to back your story up. Don’t cherry-pick only the facts that
support your case. It not only leads into unethical territory; it’s also usually pretty obvious to
your audience. Tell the whole truth. It’s so much more interesting than the watered down
version and will make your audience more likely to put their faith in you.
Don’t be vague about where you got your data. Providing sources gives your story credibility.
Not just as a footnote – literally say the words out loud. You’ll sound smarter, because you’re
actually being smarter.

7. THE AUDIENCE IS LIKE YOU
Your audience is like you. If you get it and simply explain why you get it, they’ll get it.
If you don’t get it, you’ll never be able to sell it.

8. PRESENT IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS
Part of respecting your audience is working hard to keep them
engaged. According to a recent study by the University of
Tennessee, the average adult’s attention span is no more than
20 minutes. The reason Ted Talks holds all their presenters to a
strict 18 minute time limit is because they know after 18 minutes
you get dangerously close to losing your audience before you
get to bring your message home. This 20 minute policy applies
to the decks you email out for client reference as well. You
should tighten that story up in the same way you would for a
live presentation, so they read through it with ease.
Here are a few rules people in the presentation design industry
use for keeping their stories on point.

9. SLIDES MINUTES POINT FONT
One rule some people in the presentation design industry use for keeping their stories on
point is the 10-20-30 rule (10 slides, 20 minutes, and nothing smaller than 30 point font).
It let’s you break your story up into 10 supporting ideas. It gives you 2 minutes for each of
those concepts. It keeps you on point and it prevents you from jamming too much info
onto the slide by keeping your text large. You have to choose your words carefully if you
can’t fit too many of them on the screen.

10. SLIDES SECONDS
Another trick is the 20-20 rule (20 slides, 20 seconds for the content of each slide). 20
seconds is longer than it may sound. It’s enough time for you to explain something simply
and succinctly. If you at least try to keep close to 20 or even 30 seconds per slide when you
rehearse (and yes, you should rehearse), it gives you cushion for when natural presenting
jitters slow you down – or when someone or something interrupts your flow. This way, even
if you end up spending a full minute on each slide or longer on a few select slides with data
that needs to be studied, you still keep to the 20 minute rule.

12. THE AUDIENCE IS LIKE YOU
Remember, your audience is just like you. They don’t need to be told how to understand your
stuff. Treat your audience as you would your friends, your family, and even yourself. If the
content is relatable to you, it probably will be to them too.

13. THE POINT OF AN INFOGRAPHIC IS
TO LEARN SOMETHING
The point of an infographic isn’t to gain understanding at a
glance; it’s to learn something. It’s better to have people
study data than dictate it to them. The Relevance Matrix is a
great example of presenting an audience with an engaging
visual representation of a tremendous amount of data that is
revealed the more you explore it. It’s effective because it’s an
engagingly informative experience, not because it’s a magic
bullet to instant understanding of our entire portfolio offering.
YoungSuccessfulMen
YoungSuccessfulW
om
en
Youn
g
Successful People
Mainstream Moms
Upmarket Moms
Upmarket Families
Older Affl
ue
Healthy
Green
Emotional
Trusted
Relatable
Smart
Creative
Glamorous
Indulgent
Fun
HighEnergy
Advice
Relationships
Style
PopCulture
Lifestyle
Love&Sex
ATTRIBUTES
DEMOGRAPHICS

14. AVOID UNNECESSARY CLUTTER
You don’t need 3+ logos on every slide. They’re not going to
forget where they are or why they’re there. Choose your branding
opportunities wisely and they’ll be more memorable. You don’t
need to project headshots of the people presenting live right in
front of you. There’s a good chance they’re outdated anyway.
Try not to distract your audience from the point you are trying to
make at that very moment.
#makeyourpresentationssparkle

15. (IN 15 WORDS OR LESS)
You should be able to summarize the content of your entire presentation in 15
words or less. If a summary is hard to write, then your content is weak, your
presentation is sprawling, and your story is getting away from you. Think of it as
pitching an idea for a new tv show to the big wigs. Stick to your 15 word pitch
when creating your presentation and you’ll be on the right track.

17. Henry Ford famously claimed that if he’d held
focus groups, we’d have faster horses. If you
can decide who the deciding storytellers are
going to be (keep it to a small, but mighty
group) and get them all on the same page on
what that story and even that 15 word summary
is going to be, you’ll have more valuable time to
devote to strengthening your presentation –
rather than constantly reinventing it.

18. Yale professor Edward Tufte, arguably the world’s foremost expert in presenting
data, recommends always finishing your presentation early. Give your audience
the time and space to discuss and digest your story. Show them you have
respect for their precious time. At least rehearse it under your time limit so you
can have the extra time to field questions or deal with unexpected delays.

19. Projecting too much redundant info on the screen will only distract your
audience. They will either listen to you or – more likely – ignore you and
try to read ahead. Instead, put together a simple leave behind version of
your presentation (like this one you’re reading now) with all the little
details you talked about included.

20. THANK YOU
ART DIRECTION:
Sarah Hartley
GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Paulina Niewinska