SlidedocsSpread ideas with

effective visualdocuments

originalbyNancyDuarte,summarybyPeterBakker

2©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ Content Creation

+ Architecture of a Slidedoc

+ Data and Diagrams Clarify Content

+ Visual Systems Unify

+ Grids Add Structure

+ Typesetting Amplifies What’s Important

+ Printing and Projecting Slidedocs

TABLE OF CONTENTS

+ The Call for Conversations

+ Connecting With Your Audience

TheCaseforSlidedocs

WritingaSlidedoc

DesigningaSlidedoc

DeliveringaSlidedoc

01 02 03 04INTRO

Pages 81–85Pages 58–80Pages 15–57Pages 6–14Pages 3–5

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CONVERSATIONS BUILD CONSENSUS

Conversations:

Need to build upon, get consensus on, or more fully develop an idea

Need more information about the

group’s wants and needs

Need to build a personal relationship with the audience

Need the group’s input in order to move forward

Need continuous engagement to accomplish your objective

Butwhathappenswhenyouneedtobringagrouptoconsensusormakeadecision

basedonsomesharedinformation?

Formalpresentationsdon’tallowforenoughback-and-forthtoaccomplish

thesegoals.

Instead,consensus-buildinganddecision-makingeventsareperfectopportunities

forinformedconversations,meaning

conversationsinwhichalltheparticipants

haveaccesstoacommon

setofinformation.

Conversationsgiveparticipantstheabilitytobuildonyourideasinsteadofsimply

receivingthem.

Theverbalback-and-forthofchallenging

anddefending,resistingandaccepting,

andcreatinganddestructing,refinesthe

ideawhilehelpingyoubuildcredibilityby

showingyourcommandofthecontent.

Asaresult,informedconversationscanhelpyoubuildconsensusanderode

resistancetoanidea.

Everyonecangetuptospeedquicklyifyougivetheminformationbeforehand,or

allow10minutesatthebeginningofthe

meetingforpeopletoreadaslidedoc.

Then,eachpersonisfullyinformedforthe

discussion.

Plus,theycanrefertothematerialsastheydiscusstheissues.

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SHORTER COMMUNICATION IS THE NEW NORM

Today,contentnotboileddowntoitsessenceisatime-waster.Long,detailed,

multipagedocumentsofprosetaketoo

longtoreadbetweene-mailsand

meetings.So,weignorethemuntilour

schedulesallowalongblockoftimefor

consumingdenseinformation—ifthattime

evercomes.

Internet and mobile communications have reconditioned people to prefer consuming information in small chunks.

Asaresult,shorter,tighter,visualcommunicationisthego-tomethodfor

gettingeverybodyonthesamepage

quickly.Peoplelearnconceptsbetter

whentheysee

picturescombinedwithprose.Therefore,

visualmedialikepresentationsareused

morereadily.

The best way to spread visual ideas is through slides. The slide format makes it easy for people to capture great ideas and share them.

Theseshort,tight,atomicbitesofcontenthavebecomethedefaultwayofvisually

communicatingideas.

People need their ideas to be understood on their own without the help of a presenter.

5©Duarte,Inc.2014

SLIDEDOCS™: A NEW MEDIUM

Aslidedocisadocumentcreatedusingpresentationsoftware,wherevisualsand

wordsunitetoillustrateoneclearpoint

perpage.

People consume your information better when it is broken into smaller, more visual chunks

Theresultisamediumthatcanbereadanddigestedmorequicklythaneithera

documentorapresentation.

Slidedocsaremeanttobeprintedordistributedandreadonscreenwithoutthe

accompanimentofapresenter.

Slidedocsworkbecause:

Uniformformatofaslideencouragesclear,succinctarticulationand

visualizationofconceptsononepage.

Editablenatureallowsittobealivingdocumentthatiscollaborativeandcan

canevolveovertime.

Overarchingviewallowsyoutoseethewhole,insteadofonlytheparts.By

workinginoutlineorslidesortermode,

youcanseetheentiremessageand

structureinadditiontoindividualpages.

Spreadabilityallowsthesmartestpagestospreadthroughoutan

organization.Greatslidedocsare

reusedagainandagain.

Slidedocs™isatrademarkofDuartePressLLC.Allrightsreserved.

Create persuasive story

content to connect to an audience who responds with

action.

Understand the visual display of information so the audience can see what

you’re saying.

Create persuasive visual documents for the way

people consume information today.

6©Duarte,Inc.2014 6©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ The Call for Conversations

01

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HOW WILL YOU USE SLIDEDOCS

Slidedocs allow communicators to break complex ideas into small chunks of information and give readers the time to absorb the information at their own pace.

Slidedoc

As a Pre-Read

Themosteffectiveconversations

happenwheneverybodyisfully

informed.Bydistributingaslidedoc

beforeameeting,youcanreservea

majorityofthemeetingforbuilding

consensus.Thisisparticularlyhelpful

whenthetopicishighlycomplex

ortechnical.

As Follow-Up Material

Peopleneedanswerstothequestion,

“HowdoIembraceyouridea?”Follow

upwithdetailssotheycanhelpyou

pushforward.Thisiswhyslidedocs

makegreatmodularsalescollateral.

As an Emissary

Slidedocshelpyoufullyexplainyour

ideawithoutbeingthere.

As Reference Material

Informationshouldenhancea

conversation,notdistractfromit.

Combiningwordsandvisualsarounda

singleideamakesiteasierforpeople

torefertotheinformationintheheatof

adiscussion.

8©Duarte,Inc.2014

DOCUMENTS ARE DENSE

The best way to build consensus during a meeting is to distribute the information beforehand to give people time to review and absorb it. But what is the best way to distribute that information?

Ifyouuseadocumentformat,youcanaddmoredetailwhilestillallowingpeople

toconsumeinformationattheirownpace.

However,thedensenatureofdocuments

canraisesomeissues.Veryfewpeople

lookatapagefullofbusinessproseand

think,“Thislookslikegreatreading.Ican’t

waittodivein!”

Also,documentscanbedifficulttoreferenceduringadiscussion.Has

anyoneeveraskedyoutofindthethird

sentenceinthesecondtolastparagraph

insectionfour?Ifso,howlongdidittaketofindit?

Whenyourefertoadocument,youlose

valuabletimejusttryingtogeteveryone

tothesameplace—nevermindyour

actualpoint.

Finally,manypeopleprocessinformationfasterandunderstanditbetterifit’s

presentedvisually.Byhandingoutpages

fullofparagraphs,you’reputtingup

barriersontheroadtounderstanding—

notthebestwaytostartameeting.

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Once folks have completed the reading, it's time to open it up for discussion. There is no presentation. It's important to stay vigilant on this point as most people who prepared the materials will reflexively begin presenting. If you are concerned about appearing insensitive by not allowing individuals who worked hard on the materials to have their moment, constructively remind the group this is a new practice that is being applied to the entire company and will benefit all meeting attendees, including the artist formerly known as The Presenter. With the presentation eliminated, the meeting can now be exclusively focused on generating a valuable discourse: Providing shared context, diving deeper on particularly cogent data and insights, and perhaps most importantly, having a meaningful debate.

– Jeff Weiner CEO,LinkedIn

At LinkedIn, we have essentially eliminated the presentation.

In lieu of that, we ask that materials that would typically have been presented during a meeting be sent out to participants at least 24 hours in advance so people can familiarize themselves with the content.

Bear in mind: Just because the material has been sent doesn't mean it will be read. We begin each meeting by providing attendees roughly 5 to 10 minutes to read through the deck. If people have already read it, this gives them an opportunity to refresh their memory, identify areas they would like to go deeper on, or just catch up on e-mail.

Photo:Copyright

“

”Source: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130701022638-22330283-a-simple-rule-to-eliminate-useless-meetings

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SLIDEDOCS FILL THE GAP

Slidedoc

Neitherdensedocumentsnorsparseslidescontaintherightbalanceofdetail

andscanabilitytobeusedasapre-read

orhandout.Slidedocscombinethe

strengthsofdocumentsandpresentations

whileminimizingtheirweaknesses.

Characteristics of a Slidedoc

Explanatory

Modularstructure

Educational

Visualthinkingprocess

Tightvisual-to-proseratio

Understoodquickly

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PRESENTATION SOFTWARE IS THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

Presentationsoftwarecanbeagreatpublishingtool.Theabilitytointegrate

words,visuals,andotherinteractive

elementslikehyperlinksandvideoarea

fewofthekeyattributesofaslidedoc.

First,it’sapracticalalternativetoprofessionaldesignsoftware,whichis

expensiveandtakesyearstolearnwell.

Whymakethatinvestmentwhenatool

youuseeverydaywillworkformostof

yourcommunicationneeds?Granted,

professionaldesignersserveagreat

purpose.Designersspendyearslearning

theeffectivedisplayofinformation.For

high-stakescollateralofanykind,nothing

canreplaceadesigner’sabilitytovisually

guideandengagethereader.

Second,presentationsoftwareispervasive.PowerPoint®isinstalledon

morethanabillioncomputersworldwide.

You’dbesurprisedbythenumberandqualityofideasthatbegininpresentation

software.Manypeopleuseittocreate

conceptsandstrategies,andplentyof

greatideastrickleoutoftheseapps.

Lastly,veryfewtoolsallowyoutopickupentirepages,rearrangethem,easily

mergethemintoexistingdocuments,or

savethemintotheirownfile.Theease

withwhichyoucanaccomplishthese

taskswithpresentationsoftwaremakesit

theperfectplatformforspreading

information.I’veseenslideswehelped

createforaclientinonepartofthe

companycomebacktousrepackagedin

adeckfromacompletelydifferent

department.It’satestamentto

presentationsoftware’suniqueabilityto

facilitateandspreadideas.

Benefits of slide software:

Visual: Visualizinginformationhelpsyour

readersseewhatyou’reexplaining.

Versatile: Itincorporatesphotos,

illustrations,sketches,andevenvideoif

it’spostedonline.

Interactive: Youcanembedlinksand

jumparoundthedocumentitselfor

outtotheInternet.

Tablet-ready: Itsaspectratiomakesit

easytoloadontodevices.

Spreadable:Itsmodularnatureallows

slidestobeincorporatedintootherdecks

andspreaditthroughouttheorganization.

Shareable: PlatformslikeSlideShare™

makeitembeddableandshareable.

SlideShare™ is a trademark of LinkedIn Corporation. All rights reserved.

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+ Connecting WithYour Audience

01

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SLIDEDOCS ARE BETTER FOR THE AUDIENCE

Space limitations

forceaslidedoc’sauthor

toboildownthematerial

toitsessence.Done

correctly,thismakesthe

materialmoreclearto

thereader.

The advantages below trickle down to the audience, who reaps the benefits of consuming clear and concise prose paired with helpful visual aids.

Visualized ideas

helptheaudience“see”

whatyou’resaying.

Whencriticalbusiness

decisionsneedtobe

madequickly,visually

articulatedconcepts

reducethetimetoreach

consensus.

Time savings

areachievedby

allowingtheaudienceto

readthematerial

insteadoflisteningtoit

bepresented.(Imagine

ifIpresentedthis

documenttoyou

insteadofgivingit

toyoutoread!)

Consensus building

isaccomplishedwhen

peoplehavetimeto

discussthematerial.

Afterreadingaslidedoc,

peoplecangatherto

haveconversations

aboutitthatcreate

movementtoward

objectives.

Shorter time to

understanding

happenswithmaterial

that’sbeenparsed,

structured,and

visualized.

14©Duarte,Inc.2014

SPREAD YOUR SMART THINKING

Chunking

Thebestwaytodigestinformationistochunkitintoadigestibleformusing

slidesoftware.

Unlikeadocument,slidedocscreatetheflexibilitytoreusesmallunitsofcontent.

Theseunitsofinsightspreadreadily,

becauseallofthecopyandimages

clearlysupportoneuniquethought.

Trapped Ideas

There’satimeandaplaceforcomplexreports,proposals,andcollateral.

Businessesneeddensedocumentsfor

thingslikecontracts,fullresearchreports,

andtranscripts.

However,importantinformationcangetlostifit’slockedinaseaofprose.The

slidedocformatputsthisinformationinto

thehandsofthepeople.

Make It Spreadable

Reallygreatslidedocs—theoneswhere

smartthinkingmeetsinformativevisuals

—spreadlikewildfire.Theygetpickedup,

reused,andre-expressed.

Ifyouwantyourbrilliantworkpopulatedthroughoutanorganization,slidedocs

areoneoftheeasiestwaysforyourideas

totakerootineverydepartment.

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+ Content Creation

02

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KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Take a mental walk in their shoes.

Inallthreeofmybooks,I’vespentasignificantamountoftimetalkingabout

theneedtocraftyourmessagearound

theaudience’sconcerns.Youcouldsay

somethingsneverchange.

Thetruthisthatnomatteryourmodeofcommunication,youraudienceshould

alwaysbeyournumberonepriority.They

mustunderstandyourmessage.Without

theirbuy-in,yourmessagedoesn’tgo

anywhere.

Peoplearen’tmotivatedbywhat’simportant.They’remotivatedby

“What’sinitforme?”Asyoucreate

yourslidedoc,remembertomakeit

evidenttoyourreaderswhat’sinit

forthem.

Takeamentalwalkintheirshoes.Anticipatetheirconcerns,theirquestions,

andtheircircumstances,andkeepthose

thoughtsinmindasyouconstructyour

copy.You’llbegladyoudid.

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STATE YOUR BIG IDEA

Youknowwhenyourunintooneofthesepieces,becauseyoulookupattheend

(ifyoumakeittotheend)andthinkto

yourself,“Whatjusthappened?”

Youdon’teverwantsomeonetofinishyourslidedocwithaconfusedlookon

theirface.That’swhyyoustateyourBig

Idea.Traditionally,theBigIdeamust

containthefollowingthreerequirements:

It goes without saying that your slidedoc should have a point, but you’dbe surprised by how many pieces of communication (from e-mail all theway to full-length books) are distributed without the author ever thinking,“What exactly am I trying to do here?”

Big Idea Requirements Example

Your unique point of viewSlidedocsspreadyourmessagethroughmodularcontent.

What’s at stake for those who do or do not adopt your point of view

Slidedocsempowerpeopletoquicklyunderstandandeasilyshareyourideas.

These elements must be written in a complete sentence

Slidedocs spreadyourmessagethroughmodularcontentthatempowerspeople toquicklyunderstandandeasilyshareyourideas.

Stating your Big Idea in this format distinguishes it from simply being a

topic.

18©Duarte,Inc.2014

UNITE AROUND ONE POINT

Puttingeachideaonasinglepageallowsyoutoeliminatedistractionsandfocusthe

reader’sattention.

Theone-idea-per-slidementalitywillalsokeepyoufocusedasyouwriteyour

slidedocandpreventyoufrom

overelaborating.

Presentationsoftwareisespeciallyusefulforkeepingyouhonestinthatregard.

Beginauthoringyourslidedocbyputting

yourideasfortopicsandsubtopicson

individualslides.

Onceyou’vesettledonacertainnumberoftopics,theseideaswillbecomeyour

pagetitles.Asyoudevelopthesupporting

content,usethetitleasalitmustesttotell

whetherornotyou’restayingontopic.

Just as your slidedoc should have a single Big Idea, each page should also focus on a single, core point.

Ifyoufindyourselfcrowdingthepagewithwords,thenyoumayhavestrayedoff

topic.Eitheredityourmaterialdownor

createanewsubtopiconanotherpage.

Ifyoudocreateanotherpage,makesureitsupportstheoverallpointyou’remaking

withyourslidedocandthatitreallyis

relevanttoyouraudience.Ifnot,the

contentmaybeextraneous.

Remember,it’slessaboutdemonstratingwhatyouknow,andmoreaboutmaking

theinformationeasytoconsumeand

understand.Curbthetemptationtocreate

afullexplanationofeverythingyouknow

aboutthetopic.

19©Duarte,Inc.2014

RECOMMENDED LENGTH OF SLIDEDOCS

Pre-read:

Before the meeting:

Ifyoudistributetheslidedoc

beforeameeting,itshouldbe

abletobereadin20minutes

orless.Itmaybehardfor

reviewerstofindlargeblocks

oftimeintheirworkdayfor

focusedreading.

Beginning of the meeting:

Ifyoudistributetheslidedoc

forpeopletoreadatthe

beginningofameeting,it

shouldtakelessthan10

minutestoread.Thatmeansit

shouldbe

10pagesorless.Thisis

particularlyhelpfulwhen

thetopicishighlycomplex

ortechnical.

Slidedocs vary in length depending on how you use them. Here are some guidelines for the most common uses.Emissary:

Sent to executive:

Ifanexecutiveasksyouto

“sendalongyourslides,”they

justwantthefactsanda

reasontobelievethatyour

ideaisagoodone.Fiveslides

seemstobethetolerancelevel

forpeopleinpower.Sendthem

whattheyrequested;they’re

sharpenoughtofillinthe

gapsthemselves.

Sent to potential client:

Slidedocsmakeamazing

modularcollateral.Apotential

clientmakingabuying

decisionshouldhavealltheir

questionsansweredina

slidedoc10pagesorless.

Reference material:

Sent before or after a talk:

Ifyouneedtodeliverdetailed

informationduringatalk,send

contextaheadoftimeorshare

adetailedreportwith

referencesafterthetalkso

youraudiencecanstudyyour

findings.Theseslidedocscould

beupto50pages.

Distributed during a talk:

Ifyouwanttodistribute

referencematerialduringa

talk,itneedstobelimitedto

informationtheaudiencewill

hearinthetalkorthey’llread

insteadoflisteningtoyou.10

pagesisthemostyoushould

haveforthesetypesof

slidedocs.

Follow-up material:

Sent after a talk or meeting:

Usingslidedocsforfollow-up

helpsyousealadealoradd

moreinsightstohelppersuade

keystakeholders.These

documentscanbeintheform

ofslidedoccollateral

(10pages)orevenaslidedoc

booklikethisone(upto200

pages);italldependsonthe

contentandtheaudience.

20©Duarte,Inc.2014

SELL YOUR IDEA WITH GREAT COPY

Now that you know when to use a slidedoc, let’s look at how to compose one.

Writingaslidedocdoesn’tmeanyouhavelicensetotranscribe

everythoughtthatcomesintoyourhead.Nomatterthemedium,

effectivecommunicationrequiresplanning,thought,andskillful

execution.Thatmeansdustingoffthewritingskillsthatyou

mighthavesetasidewhileyouwerecrankingoutfragmented

bulletpoints.

Soundlikemorework?Afterall,thosebulletpointswererelativelyeasytosqueezeout.Butifyouaretakingthetimeto

communicateyourideainthebestpossibleformat,itmakes

sensetomaximizetheuseofthatformat.

Don’tassumethatyourreaderswillfollowyourleadbecauseyourideaisimportanttoyou.Usewordsandvisualstoexplain

toyouraudiencewhyyourideaisimportanttothem.

Filter

21©Duarte,Inc.2014

HAVE AN EDITORIAL PROCESS

Some slidedocs can be created by you alone. But when the stakes are high for your slidedoc to make a big impact, having an editorial process is helpful.

First,followinganeditorialprocesswillhelpbothyouandyourteamfocusonthemainmessageyouwanttocommunicate.Second,itwillfocusyourattentiononasingletask

andkeepyoufromfeelingoverwhelmed.

Tosetupyoureditorialprocess,stepbackandlookattheprojectasawhole.Definetheintentoftheslidedoc,andstayfocusedonthebestwaytoconveythatinformation

toyouraudience.Then,followthesethreestepstocompletingthecontent:ideate,

create,andrefine.

oneIdeate two Create three Refine

22©Duarte,Inc.2014

WRITE SCANNABLE COPY

Duringapresentation,youhaveacaptiveaudience.Withaslidedoc,theycan

simplystopreading.

So,organizeyourinformationinawaythat’seasilydigestibleandhelpsguide

yourreadersthroughtheslidedoc.

Thebestpresentationslidesusejustatitleandminimaltext,whereasaslidedoc

canusemanymoreorganizational

techniquesthatmakeiteasiertoscanand

drawtheeyethroughthematerial.

As you’re refining the copy into clearer and more succinct text,start thinking about the best way to organize that information on the page itself.

They usually contain this type of copy:

A. Headlines use6-to10-wordtitles

aroundtheslide’smaintopic.

B. Subheads includethethesisora

summaryoftheslide’smainpoint.

C. Paragraphs clustersentencesinto

completethoughts.

D. Bullets usefullsentencesanda

parallelstructure.

E. Pull-quotes areusedforemphasisand

helpimportantcontentstandouteitherin

lineorrepeatedinabox.

Inthefollowingpages,we’lldiscusshowtoturntextintosomethingthatgrabs

youraudienceandeffectivelyconveys

youridea.

a b c

d e

23©Duarte,Inc.2014

CONCISION PAYS OFF

Constraint requires more thought and effort, but it’s worth it because it will keep your audience reading.

Informationseekersthriveonconcision.Ifourtendencytoreadtweetsandtext

messagesoverlong-formarticlesisn’t

enoughtoconvinceyouofthisfact,

considerthis:Asmuchas50percentof

dailycognitionisspentdaydreaming.

Thismeansyoudon’thavealotoftimetosaywhatyouwanttosay,sogetto

thepoint.Clarityandconcisionshould

alwaysbeyourguidewhencommunicatingamessage,especially

whenwritingyourslidedoccopy.

We’vefoundthat100wordsperpagesis

concise.Thisbookyou’rereadingis

considereddensewithupto250words

perpage.Anymorethanthat,andyou

shouldcreateadocument.

Itkeepsyoufromexhaustingyour

audience.

Itmakesiteasiertostayfocusedonasinglesubject.

Itprovidesroomforvisuals.

1 2 3Putting a word count in

place offers three benefits:

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DEVELOP TITLES WITH MEANING

Forexample,youcouldhaveatitleread“NetworkRouterOptions.”Butwhatabout

theoptions?Andwhatdoesitmeanto

youraudience?Instead,youcouldsay,

“FastNetworkRoutersSpeedTimeto

Market.”

Insteadofinformingyourreadersthatyou’reabouttotellthemaboutrouters,by

changingthetitleyou’veintroducedtwo

moreideas:1)It’safastrouter.2)Itwill

helpyouraudienceaccomplishagoal.

That’snotabadtradeforfivemorewords.

Strong titles are important. They introduce your overall topic and your point of view on that topic.

Reviewthetitleafteryouwritethebodycopyandaskyourselfthreequestions.

First,doesthecopysupportthetitle?If

not,youmightneedtochangethetitleor

changethecontenttosupportthetitle.

Second,doesthetitlefitwithinand

supportthegreaterslidedocmessage?If

not,thenyoumightnotneedtheslideat

all.Third,isthetitleconcise?Ifyourtitleis

longerthantwolines,tightenitbycutting

outthefluff.

25©Duarte,Inc.2014

OPPORTUNITY FOR STRONG TOPICAL STRUCTURE

Viewingyourslidedocinoutlineviewgivesyouanopportunitytoaudityourstoryflow.

Presentationsoftware’sdefaultdisplayis

theleftpanelhighlightslideview.Toview

slidetitlesonly,simplyclickthetabfor

outlineviewandreadthroughyourslide

titlesinorder.Eachtitleshouldgiveyoua

goodunderstandingofwhatthatpageis

about.Whenyoureadthemsequentially,

iftheyarewrittenwell,thepagetitles

shouldmakealogicalcaseor

persuasivearc.

Manypeoplewritefragmentedslidetitlesthatstatethecategory,insteadofthe

point,oftheinformation.Writingclear

headlinesoneverypagewillhelpthe

readerguessthecontentthatwillfollow.

Havingthetitlesflowintoeachothernotonlyhelpsyourreaders,butitcanalso

assistyouduringthecreationand

refinementprocesses.Asyoureadyour

titlesinoutlineview,checktomakesure

theyformacompletearc.Askyourselfif

thethematicintentisclear.Doeseach

topicbuildnaturallyontothenext?

Aretheresubordinateideasthatdon’t

needtheirownslide?Viewingyour

slidesinthiscontextwillmakeyour

contentstronger.

This is the actual screenshot of outline view for

this book. Note how the titles create a sense of

what you’ll learn and hang together to create

structure.

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TOPICAL STRUCTURE IS STRONGERTHAN OUTLINING CATEGORIES

Traditional outline reads like a list: Topical outline creates meaning:

Source:http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Curric_7-12/Chapter_1.pdf

Solar Evolution

I. Introduction• Summary• OurGalaxy• OurSun

II. The Protostar• TheSolarSystem• BinaryStarSystems• OtherPlanetarySystems• SupportingFacts• DefinitionofaProtostar

III. The Hydrogen Burning Stage• Birthto4.5BillionYears• LuminosityOverTime• Hurtzprung-RussellDiagram

IV. The Red Giant• HydrogenFusionattheCore• ExpandedHydrogenFusion• SunLifecycleDiagram

Solar Evolution

• OurSun’sPlaceintheUniverse

• TheBirthofOurSolarSystem

• ThePossibilityofOtherPlanetarySystems

• Protostar:TheFirstStageofaStar

• HydrogenBurning:TheSecondStageofaStar

• GrowthinSizeandBrightness

• ContinuedGrowthandIncinerationofMercury

The difference between a traditional outline and topical headings is apparent. Topical themes dramatically increase the reader’s ability to predict content and read more like a story.

27©Duarte,Inc.2014

FOLLOW GOOD WRITING PRACTICES

Slidedocsrequirefullsentences,becausetheydon’thaveapresentertofillinthe

gaps.Buttheyalsorequireprecisionand

clarity,bothofwhichcanbeachievedby

writinginfullsentencesversusbullets.

Makingyourcopymoredirectcanhelpsharpenyourthinking.Thebestwaytodo

thatistouseanactivevoice.Theactive

voicehelpsmakeyourwritingsoundmore

interestingbypropellingyourreaders

throughyourprose.

Grammarnerdscantellwhetheryou’reusingtheactivevoiceoritseviltwin,the

passivevoice.Theysimplysearchfor

formsoftheverb“tobe,”akeyindicator

ofthepassivevoice’spresence.Youcan

thinkofthepassivevoiceasanywording

thatdelaysoravoidsyourmainpoint.

A strong title will entice your audience to read the rest of the text on your slide. Clear copy, however, will make sure they fully absorb your message.

Changingyourcopyfrompassivetoactivevoicemostoftenmeansputting

yoursubjectatthebeginningofyour

sentenceandhavingitperformanaction.

Writinginactivevoiceisn’talways

possible—somesentencesarestubborn.

Themosteffectiveauthorsuseitasoften

astheycan.

Formorewritingpointers,checkoutWilliamZinsser’sclassic,

“OnWritingWell”.

Passive Voice Active Voice

Thenewversionofourproductwasdevelopedin9months.

Wedevelopedthenewversionofourproductin9months.

Thespeech-to-textfeatureisavailableonbothproducts.

Bothproductsofferthespeech-to-textfeature.

28©Duarte,Inc.2014

WRITE COMPELLING COPY

The slidedoc format gives you a higher word count than a traditional slide, but less than a document.

Bywritingfullparagraphs,youhaveroomtocraftmorecompelling,persuasivecopy.

Thisisimperativesince,withouta

presenter,yourcopyandvisualsarethe

onlythingguidingtheaudiencethrough

theslidedoc.Thatsaid,aslidedocdoesn’t

havetobeboringorineffectual—hereare

afewwaystoavoidthat:

Use emotional appeal: Businesscopy

tendstobecoldandfactual.Butdecisions

aremadefromthegutbeforetheyarerationalized.Incorporateemotivevisuals,

shockingstatistics,andstoriesthatcreate

anemotionalresponseinthereader.

Make benefits explicit: Beforea

readerwillgetonboardwithwhat

you’reproposing,theyneedtoseewhat’s

initforthem.Makeitclearwhatreward

theywillreceiveiftheytaketheriskof

aligningwithyou.

Cite examples: Showreadersexamples

oftimeswhenothersinasimilarsituation

madeadecisiontoalignwithyour

perspectiveandhadasuccessful

outcome.Casestudiesandproofhelp

peoplethroughtheirdecisionprocess.

Use analogies: Peoplerespondwhen

theycanidentifythingsaseithersimilaror

differentfromtheirperspective.Using

analogiestocomparethesimilaritiesand

differencesaidsunderstanding.

This type of language helps people rationalize, remember your ideas, and make decisions easier.

29©Duarte,Inc.2014

EDIT THE EXTRANEOUS AND AMPLIFY THE ESSENTIAL

Cuttingdownyourslidedoc'stextcanbeoneofthemostliberatingstepsofthe

entireprocess—andthemostdifficult.Itis

painfultodeletesomethingyouspentalot

oftimecreating.Andit’stemptingtojustify

keepingeverythingtoavoidwhatwriters

call“murderingyourdarlings.”Thinking

aboutwhatyouwantyourslidedocto

accomplishhelpsmotivateyoutorefine

yourcontent.

First,youwantpeopletoreadyourslidedoc—notskim,read.Inordertodo

thatyoumustkeepitshort.Second,you

wanttomaintaincontroloverwhat

readerstakeawayfromyourslidedoc.

Think about what you want your slidedoc to accomplish.

Themorecontentyouhave,themorechoicereadershaveoverthebitsand

piecestowhichtheychoosetopay

attention.Bynarrowingthenumberof

choices,youhavemorecontrolover

theirfocus.

So,whentighteningthecopyinyourslidedoc,thinktoyourself,“Isthisoneof

themainpointsthatIwantmyreadersto

takeaway?”Ifnot,getoutyourax.

Youcanseeanexampleofapassagetrimmeddowntoitsessenceonthe

followingpage.Review your document, highlight the main points to keep, then cut the rest.

30©Duarte,Inc.2014

EXAMPLE OF PURGING

Source:nursinghometraining.ppt

EmergencyEvacuationFindings Basedonobservations,reviewoflocalfiredepartmentresponsetofirealarms,reviewofresidentcouncilminutereports,staffinterviews,andresidentinterviewsregardingtheirperceptionofthestaffduringemergencyevacuation,itwasdeterminedthefacilitystaffononeofthreefloorsofthefacility(thesecondfloor)wasnotfamiliarwithprocedurestoexitthebuildingincaseofanemergencyand/orfireasevidencedbythreestaffmemberswhodidnotknowthecodeforthekeypadtoopenthelockedexitdoortotheoutsidestairwellonthesecondfloor.Thefailureofthestafftoknowthecodetoopenthelockedexitdoorplacedtheresidentsonthesecondfloorinaseriousandimmediatethreattotheirhealthandsafetyifanevacuationwasneededthroughthelockeddoortothestairwell.

Full passage (140 words)

EmergencyEvacuationFindings Basedonathoroughreview,wedeterminedthefacilitystaffonthesecondfloorwasnotfamiliarwithemergencyexitprocedures.

Threestaffmembersdidnotknowthecodeneededtoopentheexitdoortotheoutsidestairwell.

Thissituationposedaseriousandimmediatethreattothatfloor’sresidents.

The passage above shows the original copy boiled down to its essence. This is exactly what you need to take away from the original, no more. The copy was cut by 64 percent.

Edited passage (51 words)

“When a sentence becomes stronger,

it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor.”

–Strunk&White,ElementsofStyle

31©Duarte,Inc.2014

CHUNK INFORMATION INTO BITE-SIZED PIECES

Your information is competing against a lot of distractions. So, you need to take every precaution possible to make sure people consume, understand, and embrace it.

Thereareseveralwaystomakeyourcontentmoreconsumable.

Youcanmakeyourinformationsoentertainingthatnobodywantstostop

reading.Youcantrimyourmessage.Or,

youcanchunkitintobite-sizedpieces.

There’salimittohowentertainingcopycanbe.Andnomatterhowmuchyoucut,

there’salimittothat,too.Chunkingis

anothertooltohelpgetthroughtopeople.

Chunkingstructuresyourmaterialinsmall,uniformbitsofdiscoursethatbuild

towardalargerpoint.Thismakes

informationlooklessdenseand

intimidatingtothereader.

Chunkingyourcopyalsomakesiteasiertoconsumeintoday’shecticenvironment.

Whenreadingadensedocumentonline,

it’seasytoloseyourplaceifyou’re

interrupted.Butwhenreadingaslidedoc,

youcanpickuprightwhereyouleftoff.

Slidedocsareanaturaltoolforchunking.Bykeepingyourcopybriefandchanging

thesubjectoneverypage,youprovide

easilydigestiblecontent.It’sless

intimidatingandmakesyourmessage

seemmorecleartothereader.

32©Duarte,Inc.2014

CRITIQUE FOR EXCELLENCE

Onceyouhaveadraftthatyou’resatisfiedwith,it’stimeforanothercritique.Don’t

waituntilyourdraftispolishedand

perfect.Acceptthattheroughdraftof

nearlyanythingisjustthat—rough.

By putting an early draft in front of your colleagues, you can get feedback earlier, which will help you stay focused and avoid rabbit trails.

Theirinputcanalsohelpyoujumpdifficulthurdles,likeanawkwardtransition,a

particularlydifficultconcepttoexplain,or

adullheadline.

Again,slidedocsareperfectforgroupeditingbecauseyoucanlaythemoutin

anopenareaandthegroupcangather

aroundanddiscussvariousideasand

improvements.

Witheachslideasanindividualtopic,you

caneasilyalterthestructurebymoving

slidesaround.Ifyouweretoposta

documentofproseonthewall,there

wouldbemultiplepointsperpage.

Subjectingyourselftopeerreviewcanbepainful,butitoffersgreatrewards.

Embracingotherperspectivesofyour

workhelpsitreachabroaderaudience,

andhelpsyougrowintoastronger

communicator.

Strengthenthequalityoftitles

Validatethestructureandflow

Suggestareastocutinformation

Lookforflawsin

reasoningorexecution Improve

examples,phrases,ordata

Here are someways the group might help improve your slidedoc.

33©Duarte,Inc.2014

WRITE AN INTRODUCTION OR SUMMARY

Slidedocs can have an introduction and/or a summary—this is onething that makes them different from presentations. The introductionshould give a succinct overview of what’s in the slidedoc.

Youcantakeastabattheintroductionbeforeyoubeginwriting.However,sinceslidedocstendtoevolve

asyouwrite,youmayneedtorevisittheintroduction

whenyourslidedociscomplete.Onceyou’vefinished

writing,you’llhaveamoreaccurateideaofthepoints

thatarecovered.Keypointsinyourintroductioncan

comefromthetitlesoftheslidesthemselves.

Writingasummaryisagreatfinaltestofyourflow.If

youcan’twritethesummaryfromaderivativeofyour

titles,theremaybeaflawinyourstructure.

Introduction

Summary

GOTOTHISSLIDE6

GOTOTHISSLIDE157

34©Duarte,Inc.2014 34©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ Architecture of a Slidedoc

02

35©Duarte,Inc.2014

DRAWING INSIGHTS FROM BOOKS

Slidedocsborrowsomespecificdesignaspectsfrombooks.Bookshaveacover,

tableofcontents,clearchapterindicators,

prose,pagenumbers,andothersmall

designdecisionsthathavebiginformation

architectureimplicationstohelpreaders

navigatethecontents.

Flippingthroughthepagesofaslidedocshouldbesimilartoflippingthroughthe

printedpagesofabook.Inthecaseofa

slidedoc,youmightturnaprintedpage,

clicktoadvanceifreadingonacomputer

screenorswipewithyourfingerifreading

onatablet.

A great slidedoc is a bit like a well-designed book. It combines content with a visual style, consistent formats, and clear visuals, and then sequences them together into a cohesive whole.

Thissectiontakesinsightsfrombookdesignandpublishingtomakesureyou

getthemostoutofyourslidedoc.

36©Duarte,Inc.2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

When a reader looks at the Table of Contents (TOC), they should “get” what the book is about and want to read it based on how the page titles string together.

Whenreadersaretryingtoconsume

informationforapurpose,theywantto

knowwhatthey’regettinginto.Infictional

prose,it’sgreattobuildsuspenseand

havesurprisesandplottwists.Butit’s

differentifthegoalistoconvey

informationquickly.

EventhoughtheTOCwillbeatthefrontoftheslidedoc,itshouldbethelastthing

youwrite.TheTOCwillbeaderivativeof

youroutlineviewinyourpresentation

software.Don’taddpagenumbersuntil

youarecertaintheywon’tchange.

AboveistheTOCforaslidedocaboutendangeredspecies.Moreofthisslidedoc

isshownonpage(74).Youcanseehow

readersgetthegistofwhatthedocument

isabout,sotheycanchoosetoreaditall

orjumptoaspecificsection.

Section heads

Page numbers

Section names

Contentlinking

37©Duarte,Inc.2014

ANATOMY OF A TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section heads

Content links: Each TOC item can have a hyperlink embedded that jumps to each section within PowerPoint®

Page numbers

Section names

38©Duarte,Inc.2014

HEADERS AND FOOTERS

Allbookshaveheadersand/orfootersthatindicatethesection

orchapternametohelporientthereaderastowhatsectionthey

arein.Inthecaseofaslidedoc,usethefooterareatoaddyour

corporateconfidentialityorcopyrightinformationwhich

discouragespeoplefromspreadingyoursecrets.

Havingyourcompany’sgreatthinkingfloatingaroundwithout

copyrightinformationputsyouatriskforideatheft.

Using headers and footers in a slidedoc is even more important than in a book. Because slidedocs can be copied, pasted, and spread, you want your copyrighted or confidential information to travel with your slide pages.

Byinsertinga“HeaderandFooter”inPowerPoint®,youcanadd

afootertotheslideviewandheadertothenotesview.

Theheaderandfootersettingisalsowhereyouaddpage

numbers.Projectedpresentationsdon’tusuallyshowpage

numbers,butthey’reimperativeforaslidedoc.

PagenumbershelpusersnavigatetheTOC.Duringmeetings

whereyou’rediscussingtheslidedoc,referencepagenumbers

sopeoplecanquicklyturntotheappropriatesection.

The “header” setting in PPT

appears on the notes page

Confidentiality and copyright information should appear at the bottom of every page

Page numbers need to be readable so they are easily referenced during dialogue

39©Duarte,Inc.2014

SECTION HEADS

Thesectionheadislikeanewchapterheadinabook.Youknowwhenyou’ve

leftonechapterandareenteringthenext.

Eachtimethematerialtransitionstoanewsection,useadistinctlydifferent

layouttodistinguishthechangevisually.

Transitioningtoanewsectioncanbesignifiedbycolor,boldgraphic,or

memorabletype.Nomatterwhatvisual

cueyouuse,thedesignshouldbedistinct

enoughtomakeitobviousthatyou’re

enteringanewsection.

Contrasthelpsmaketransitionsclearandsetsupthereadertoknowwhattoexpect

fromeachsection.

Section heads inform readersthey are entering a new section.

You can see that the first and last pages serve as section heads. They have large type and images of endangered animals while the rest of the pages have dense prose. In the slidedoc you’re reading right now, we made the section heads full color, while the rest of the information is on white.

40©Duarte,Inc.2014

SECTION SIGNIFIERS

Differentiating sections visually lets the reader know when they’re transitioning into a new topic. There are several visual mechanisms you can employ to alert the reader they’re moving into a new section.

Tabs

Inphysicaldocuments,tabshelpreadersfliptoanewsectionquickly.Youcanusevisualdevicesthatmimictabsonyour

slidestohelpreadersjumptoanysectionfromanypagein

yourslidedoc.

Color Coding

Eachsectioncouldbeassigneditsowncolor.Colorbarsontheveryedgeofaslidecouldchangeasyoumovefromsectionto

section,orthepagesthemselvescouldbefloodedwithbold

colorsineachsection.

The top of this slidedoc clearly identifies you arein section 3.

Side bars map back to the colors of the major section heads. Here you can see we’re in section 2 of 5.

41©Duarte,Inc.2014

SECTION SIGNIFIERS

Distinct layout

Asreadersturnpages,adistinctpagelayoutwillstandout.Forexample,contentpagestendtobewhiteandfulloftext

andimages,soadistinctlayoutwoulduseboldtextor

conceptualimages.

Graphical device

Whencontentinaslidedocfitstogetherlikeasystemor

process,youcanuseadiagramasanavigationdevice.Show

thesectionsdemarcatedandclearlylabeled.Then,highlightthe

segmentofthediagramthatidentifiesthesectionyou’rein.

This slidedoc uses a flood of color that is different from the white, content-filled pages. The contrast signifies that it’s a new section.

Navigational diagrams help readers stay oriented. In this example, the lower left segment is highlighted to signify the section the reader is in.

42©Duarte,Inc.2014

TEXT EMPHASIS

If your readership is particularly pressed for time, you may need tohighlight the parts of the slidedoc that are most important to them. There are several ways to make text jump off a page.

Change the color or apply an effect to

the text, like bold or italic.

Pull out important pieces of text and

frame them with a box to make the

content skimmable.

Increase the text size and place it on the page in a way that breaks or crossesthe grid.

Set text in a graphic that amplifies your message with a visual metaphor.

43©Duarte,Inc.2014

STRONG FIGURE-TO-TEXT RELATIONSHIP

When using slidedocs, words are more closely associated with the graphics, because both exist on the same page.

I’msureyou’vereadabookwhereapagereferences“figure4,”butthere’snographiconthepagecalled“figure4.”Booksand

densedocumentstypicallyinterspersegraphicswithlong

sectionsofprose,whichmeansyouhavetoturnpagesbackand

forthtofindthevisualassociatedwiththetext.

Traditionalbooksdon’thaveoneideaperpage,sothegraphicgetsseparatedfromthetextitisrelatedto.Thisistrueinmy

ownbook,theHBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations.The

graphicsandtextareondifferentpagessoyoucannotseeboth

atonce.

My Harvard Business Review book is a long-form document. Several of the images don’t

appear on the same page as the text that explains them.

44©Duarte,Inc.2014

INTERACTIVE NAVIGATION

Anotherwaytomakenavigatingcontenteasierforthereaderistoletthemjumptothecontenttheyfindmostinteresting.Slidedocsareself-navigableifyouaddhyperlinks

andinter-applicationlinkssouserscanjumparoundthematerial.Thisisanaddeduser

benefitandamajoradvantageofdigitalslidedocs.Herearesomeexamplesofnatural

waystoaddinteractivityandnavigation:

Click directly to sections Cookie trail Hyperlinks Buttons Tabs

45©Duarte,Inc.2014

END MATTER

Summary

Encapsulatethemainpointsinasummarytoremindthe

audienceofthemost

importantideas.

It should be clear when the reader is at the end of a section or at the end of the entire document. Below is a list of elements often found at the end of sections or documents:

Activities

Testifthereaderlearnedwhatyouneededthemtoknowby

addingaquizorworksheets.

Topics of discussion

Frameupprovocativequestionsfordiscussionat

theendofyourslidedocto

helpreadersthink.

Appendix

Addsupportingstatisticalandresearchinformation

asanappendixforreaders

whowantadeepdive.

Glossary

Helpreadersunderstandyourdistinctvocabularyor

acronymsbyclarifyingwhat

theymeaninaglossary.

Additional info

Linktoin-depthmaterials(forums,discussionboards,

whitepapers)forreaders

whowanttoresearchfurther.

Reference pages

Citeresourcesandgivecredittoyoursourced

authorssoreaderscan

gainmoreinsights.

Index

Keywordsarepulledout,displayedalphabetically,

andassociatedwithapage

numberbyusinganindex.

46©Duarte,Inc.2014

SLIDEDOCS ARE INTERACTIVE

Slidedocs are a great opportunity for interaction. Clicking a button or swiping a screen kinesthetically stimulates the brain in short bursts.

Manypeopleunderstandandconsumeinformationbetteriftheyinteractwithit.Chunkingcontentintobite-sizedpiecesand

loadingitontoatabletortouchscreenkeepsreadersengaged.

Theactionofclickingtoadvanceorswipingtoturnpagesoftenkeepsreadersinvolvedwiththeinformation.Youcanaddlinks

thatjumparoundtheslidedocitselforlinkouttotheInternet,

whichgivesthereaderamoreinteractiveexperience.

47©Duarte,Inc.2014 47©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ Data and DiagramsClarify Content

02

48©Duarte,Inc.2014

DATA CREATES MEANING

When it comes to incorporating data and diagrams in your slidedoc, you needto be cognizant of the meaning they create and how to make that clear.

Data

Dataisn’treallyjustaboutthenumbers—it’saboutthemeaning

behindthenumbers.Theconclusions.Theinsights.Theactions

humanswilltakebecauseofthenumbers.It’syourjobto

uncovertheseelements.

Whenincorporatingdata,don’tjuststickachartonapage.

Determinethefindingsandnarrativeofthedataandinclude

prosearoundthat.

Remember,yourcopyneedstobeclearandsuccinct—thesame

appliestoyourdata.Unfortunately,presentationsoftwarehasa

wealthofbuttons,bullets,lines,ticks,gradients,borders,fills,

andotherchartdecorationsthatcanquicklyoverwhelmthedata

onyourslide.Avoidusinganyunnecessaryinformationsothat

yourmessagewillcomethroughmoreclearly.

Diagrams

Diagramsarecontent,too.Puttingwordsintoshapesandplacingthemnextto,orconnectingthemto,eachothercreates

meaningandestablishesrelationshipsbetweentheinformation.

Makesureyou’vechosentherighttypeofrelationship,becausehowyouplacetextinshapesonasurfacecreatesmeaning:Are

theysimilar?Aretheydifferent?Aretheyconnected?Isthere

hierarchy?Doesitindicateprocess?

Everytimetextinashapeisplacedonapage,makesuretheproximityandconnectionsareconveyingtherightmessage.

49©Duarte,Inc.2014

Display data in a way that the audience will understand.

GET TO THE POINT

Audienceswhoareanalytical,financial,scientific,orengineer-mindedtendtolook

atdatawithaskepticaleye—it’swhat

they’retrainedtodo.Iftheyfeelyourdata

hasbeenmanipulatedorbecome

“marketing-drivendata,”itwillfeelless

substantialandaccuratetothem.

Avoiddecoratingyourdata;ornamentationcandetractfromcredibility

andskewtheperceptionsofthenumbers.

Anydatathat’sportrayedinaseeminglymanipulatedwaywillcausepeopleto

challengetheaccuracyoftherestofyour

contentanddiminishyourcredibility.

Addingdepthtoachartwhenthere’snorealdataforthez-axisdetractsfromthe

accuracyoftheinformation.Forexample,

trytodeterminewhatthenumberisthat

wasplottedinthechartabovetodisplay

attendanceintheNorth.Hint:thedepth

andperspectivechangesthenumber

significantly.

Youcanseethattheactualfigureis21.Youprobablywouldn’thaveguessedthat.

Notonlydoesthischartprovideaclear

viewofthedata,italsohighlightswhat’s

mostimportant.ByusingblueforNorth,

youinstinctivelyfocusonitinsteadof

allotherregionsthatareshownin

neutralshades.

The trouble with 3D charts is that the data gets visually skewed.

This chart is the same data, but plotted without depth with a flat, front-on view.

50©Duarte,Inc.2014

HIGHLIGHT WHAT’S IMPORTANT

When your organization needs to make decisions from data, make sureto show the conclusions of the data. A data chart has three layers:

Background Data Emphasis Result1 2 3

The background layer contains elements like tick marks, scales, legends, and grid lines. It provides context and scale. Backgrounds should use neutral colors.

The data plotted is usually pulled from a data table. Colors and attributes can be assigned when it’s visually plotted. Plot all the data in a neutral color and then continue to the next step.

Select the parts of your data that you need the reader to notice. Use a bright highlight color that contrasts with the neutral color so the important conclusions are quickly identified.

These final results contain all the data, but use contrast to draw the eye to the most critical information.

+

+

+

+

=

=

51©Duarte,Inc.2014

DIAGRAMS SHOW RELATIONSHIPS

Flow

Shapesareconnectedbyanarrowtoconvey

directionormovement.

Process

Cycle

Timeline

Gears

Sequence

Five common diagram types are displayed below with visual exampleson the pages that follow.

Network

Shapesareconnectedbyalinetoshow

hierarchy.

Tree

Mind-Map

Cluster

Ecosystem

Radial

Web

Segment

Shapeisdividedintomultiplesegments.

Pie

Donut

Circle

Core

Stack

Shapesstackinanascendingor

descendingorder.

Bar chart

Concentric circles

Join

Shapesareinterconnectedorshare

asetofvalues.

Puzzle

Venn

Link

Professionalshavebeenusingtext-filleddiagramstoexplainabstractconceptsforhundredsofyears.Thebestwaytoshowhowthingsrelatetoeachotheristouseproximity,scale,andlinkssothehierarchyandrelationshipsareclear.

52©Duarte,Inc.2014

DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | FLOW

Shapes are connected by an arrow to convey direction or movement(process, cycle, timeline, gears, sequence).

Merge andDivide

Shape separates from or combines with other shapes.

Linear Shapes flow linearly, but not necessarily straight.

Parallel Shapes flow in a parallel direction where no shape intersects.

Loop Shapes flow creating a closed loop.

53©Duarte,Inc.2014

DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | NETWORK

Shapes are connected by a line to show hierarchy(tree, mind-map, cluster, ecosystem, radial, web).

Ring

Network expands from a central hub concentrically.

Spokes

Network bursts in a vertical or horizontal direction.Flare

Network expands from the center without a hub.

Hub and Spokes

Network connects exterior shapes with each other through a closed loop.

54©Duarte,Inc.2014

DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | SEGMENT

Shape is divided into multiple segments (pie, donut, circle, core).

Donut Shape is cut into pieces, but has a hole or hub in the middle.

Pie Shape is cut into pieces, with the center pieces coming to a point.

55©Duarte,Inc.2014

DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | STACK

Shapes stack in an ascending or descending order(bar chart, concentric circles).

Horizontal

Shapes stack horizontally.

Vertical Shapes stack vertically.

56©Duarte,Inc.2014

DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | JOIN

Shapes are interconnected or share a set of values(puzzle, Venn, link).

Hook Shapes have a hook and eye that causes them to interlock.

Overlap Shapes touch or share space with each other.

57©Duarte,Inc.2014

OVER 4,000 FREE DIAGRAMS

Duarte’s Diagrammer.com

Duarte,Inc.hasbuiltthousandsofdiagramsthatfitintothetaxonomyonthepreviousfivepages.Gotodiagrammer.com

forover4,000free,custom-madediagramsthatfitinthis

framework.

58©Duarte,Inc.2014 58©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ Visual SystemsUnify

03

59©Duarte,Inc.2014

SLIDEDOCS ENABLE VISUAL CONVERSATIONS

Visualsclarifyideas.Whenvisualsare

usedtoexplainconcepts,readers

understandthembetter.Avisualbriefis

betterthanatextbrief,becauseifpeople

canseewhatyou’resaying,theywill

understandyoumoreclearly.

ToolslikePowerPoint®,Keynote®,andGoogleSlides®easilyincorporategraphics

andtextaroundasingleidea.

Createaslidedocthatactsasaresourceforyourorganization,withestablished

layoutordesignguidelinesthataperson

canworkwithinormanipulate.This

slidedoctemplateshouldallowspacefor

densetextandleaveroomforavisual

thatcanamplifythemeaningoftheprose.

Visualizinginformationshowsyouhavecommandoverthesubjectmatterandthat

youcareenoughaboutittomakeit

easilyunderstood.

Keynote®isaregisteredtrademarkofAppleInc.GoogleSlides®isaregisteredtrademarkofGoogle.Allrightsreserved.

Ultimately, you’re communicating so you get people on board with your idea. When there’s agreement, there’s action.

60©Duarte,Inc.2014

ESTABLISH A VISUAL LANGUAGE

Consistent visual language helps readers associate a visual style withyou or your brand. Baking it into a template will help employeesexpress your brand through slidedocs.

Use a consistent color palette. Select 3–5 colors, plus a neutral and highlight color.

Buy or create a robust illustration library that’s relevant to your industry and stylistically consistent. Avoid cheesy clip art.

Create or curate a library of photography that looks like it was shot by the same photographer.

61©Duarte,Inc.2014

THIS SLIDEDOC USES THIS VISUAL LANGUAGE

Captions to graphics and photos use Georgia italics 12 pt. font size

TITLES USE ARIAL NARROW ALL CAPS 22 PT. FONT SIZE

MainbodycopyuseArial12pt.fontsize

Subtitles use Georgia italics 16 pt. font size

Typesetting and color are a strong design element in this slidedoc.

Constrain your color palette and always include at least two neutral colors. In this case, there are two shades of gray.

All the custom illustrations use the same style and overlap to create a sense of depth and richer colors.

62©Duarte,Inc.2014

FREE PRESENTATION SOFTWARE TEMPLATES

Duarte, Inc. created two templates for you to download. You can use them as-is or as inspiration for your own slidedoc template. Visit www.slidedocs.com to receive free slidedoc templates.

Each template has a unique

look to it. Notice how they look

more like printed collateral than a

projected slide presentation.

63©Duarte,Inc.2014

MAKE SLIDEDOCS EASY TO IDENTIFY

As an organization, you may want to develop two distinctly different templates for presentations and slidedocs. It will be easy for your employees to identify whether their content is to be read or presented.

Eachorganizationshouldmakeitself-evidentwhichtemplates

shouldbeusedforpresentations(slidestobeprojected),and

whichonesshouldbeusedforslidedocs(pagestoberead).

Thispracticewillmakeiteasierforemployeestoquicklyidentify

whichtooltouseforthejob.

Thefollowingpagesofferdifferentwaysyoucoulddistinguishapresentationfromaslidedoc.Youcoulduseoneora

combinationofthedistinguishingidentifierstohelpyour

organizationcommunicateeffectively.

64©Duarte,Inc.2014

MAKE SLIDEDOCS DISTINCT

The4:3aspectratioworkswellforslidedocstoreadondevicesand

printswellonlettersizepaper.You

mightchoosethisoptionforaslidedoc

andkeepa16:9versionofatemplate

forpresentations.Moreprojectorsare

usingthewideraspectratiowhich

makeitgreatforcorporate

presentations.

Below are choices that help differentiate between slidedocs and presentations.You can choose one or multiple.

Anotherpossiblewaytodifferentiatebetweentheslidedocsandslidesisto

useportraitmodeforslidedocs,which

allowsittomimicatraditional

document,anduselandscapemode

forprojectedpresentations.Thisisnot

ahardrule,justanoptionalwayto

helpdistinguishthedifferences.

Sinceanimationscanonlybeviewedinslideshowmode,usingthemin

presentationsmakesperfectsense.

Eliminatinganimationsandbuildsina

slidedocisagoodruleofthumbsince

theyareusuallyprintedandneedto

beclearofallartifactsfromanimations

thatobscuresanycontent.

4:3

16:9

Aspect ratio Orientation Animation

portrait

landscapestatic

animates

65©Duarte,Inc.2014

TableofContents

BIGIDEA

MAKE SLIDEDOCS DISTINCT

Below are choices that help differentiate between slidedocs and presentations.You can choose one or multiple.

Sinceslidedocsaretoberead,the

layoutsshouldhaveamuchlonger

wordcountanddensergraphical

contentasadefault.

Whereaspresentationsare

conceptualandusedtoamplifythe

spokenwordthroughsimple,

emotiveconcepts,aslidemay

haveonlyoneword.

Word density

Oftenslidedocsareprintedorread

onscreen.It’sbestifthebackground

isawhiteoralightcolortomakeit

easyontheeyetoreadandalso

print-friendly.

Ifyouwanttomakeadistinction

usingcolor,youcouldprojectyour

slidesonadarkbackgroundwith

lighttext.Thiscreatesamore

formalpresentationsetting.

Background color

Severalfeaturesofaslidedocare

inspiredbybooksanddense

documents.Layoutscanhaveupto

175wordsandotherdocument

featureslikeatableofcontents,

pagenumbers,andsectionheads.

Presentationsaremorevisualthan

wordsandusuallyhaveonly

cinematicemotivevisuals.

Document-like features

OneConcept

Light

Dark

66©Duarte,Inc.2014 66©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ Grids Add Structure

03

67©Duarte,Inc.2014

EVERYTHING WAS MADE WITH STRUCTURE

Grids are everywhere in nature. Our skeletal system is what makes humans have a similar shape and structure. The leaf to the right has a strong vein structure. The grid system helps us identify things that are alike.

Becauseslidedocshavedensecontent,gridsserveamoreimportantfunctionfor

themthantheydowithslides.Grids

providestructurefromwhichtoorganize

yourimagesandtextandkeepsyour

layoutstidy.

Gridshelpyoudeterminetheplacement

ofimagesbygivingthemaspinetowhich

theycanalign.Aligningimagestoagrid

makesitfeelliketheyhaveasenseof

place,asiftheyhaveaspacethey

“belong”in.

Layingoutthetypewithinagriddeterminesthewidthofyourtext.In

slidedocs,longtextblocksshouldbe

arrangedincolumns.Thegriddetermines

howwideyoumakethecolumns.

The next page has an example of a magazine layout. After that, you’ll see the underlying grid used to create it.

68©Duarte,Inc.2014

GRIDS IN USE

Publications have structure.

Ontheleft,weoverlaidagridoverthestructureofamagazinespread.

Thisgridisconstructedsoyoucaninserttextandplaceimagesanywherewithin

thegrid,anditlookstidy.

Eachpageinthearticlehasimagesandtextthatfallneatlyintothisstructural

systemandnaturallylookorganized.

Likepublications,slidedocsalsoneedtohaveagrid.Granted,thegridforthis

magazinearticlewasdevelopedbya

professionaldesignerandismore

complexthanyou’llneedforaslidedoc.

Layoutcourtesyof:http://content-magazine.com/welcome/

DOWNLOAD10%OFSLIDE:OLOGYFREE

69©Duarte,Inc.2014

TYPICAL SLIDEDOC 4X3 GRID

4 squares horizontally

3 squares vertically

70©Duarte,Inc.2014

GRIDS CREATE CONSISTENT ORGANIZATION

Original content

Identify grid

Clean and organized resultContent flowed into grid

71©Duarte,Inc.2014

4X3 IS A CLASSIC SLIDEDOC GRID

Togetaposter-sizedPDFofeveryoptionforlayingoutaslidedocina4:3grid,goheretogetaPDFofthesegrids,courtesyofDubberlyDesign.

There are 892 unique ways to partition the 4x3 grid.

72©Duarte,Inc.2014 72©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ Typesetting Amplifies What’s Important

03

73©Duarte,Inc.2014

WHY TYPESETTING IS IMPORTANT

Upuntilnow,we’velearnedhowtowriteslidedoc-worthycopy.We’velearnedhowtointroducepeopletothatcopybytaking

somepointersfromprint.Andwe’velearnedabitaboutlayout

anddesign.Sofar,sogood.Inthissection,you’lllearnhowto

makethetextitselflooklikeitwasdesignedbyaprofessional.

Professionaldesignersusesophisticateddesignsoftwaretomakecopyeasilyconsumable.WhilePowerPoint®and

Keynote®don’thaveallthecapabilitiesthatcomewith

professionalprintdesign,thereareafewsimplestepsyoucan

takewithinpresentationsoftwaretoachieveaprofessionallook.

Putting in this extra effort will not only make your text look nicer, it will make it easier to consume; which is an important factor when trying to get your message across to readers.

Createhierarchy

Selectyour type

Set up your typeto increase legibility

74©Duarte,Inc.2014

FORMATTING LIKE A PRO

Thefirstruleofformattinglikeaproisstayingconsistent.Layingoutyourtextisn’tjustaboutmakingitfitormakingitpretty;it’s

aboutmakingitconsumable.

Theideallinelengthfortextisbasedonthephysiologyofthehumaneye.Atnormalreadingdistancethearcofthevisualfield

isonlyafewinches.Researchshowsthatreadingslowsand

retentionratesfallaslinelengthbeginstoexceedtheideal

width.*Thismaybecausedbyoneoftwoproblems:

Columns are too wide: Iflinesoftextaretoolong,yourreaders

getlostwhentheireyesreturntotheleftside.Thelonglength

makesitdifficulttodeterminewhenthetextstartsandends.

Donotusethefulllengthofyourslide;breakyourpagesinto

columns.

Columns aren’t wide enough: Iflinesoftextaretooshort,the

eyehastotravelbackandforthtoooften.Thisistiringonthe

eyeandfrustratingtoreaderswhoareunabletoreadacomplete

thought.

Setyourcolumnsandfontsizesothattherearebetween50and70charactersperlineoftext(or12to15words).Thisisthe

optimallengthforlegibilityandwillsignificantlyincreasethe

readabilityoftheonlineorprintedtext.

*Source:Lynch,PatrickJ.andSarahHorton.WebStyleGuide:BasicDesignPrinciplesforCreatingWebSites.

NewHaven:YaleUP,2009.

Thefirstruleofformattinglikeaproisstaying

consistent.Layingoutyourtextisn’tjustabout

makingitfitormakingitpretty;it’sabout

makingitconsumable.Theideallinelength

fortextisbasedonthephysiologyofthe

humaneye.Atnormalreadingdistancethearc

ofthevisualfieldisonlyafewinches.

Researchshowsthatreadingslowsand

retentionratesfallaslinelengthbeginsto

exceedtheidealwidth.Thismaybecausedby

oneoftwoproblems:

Columnsaretoowide:Iflinesoftextaretoo

long,yourreadersgetlostwhentheireyes

returntotheleftside.Thelonglengthmakesit

difficulttodeterminewhenthetextstartsand

ends.Donotusethefulllengthofyourslide;

breakyourpagesintocolumns.

Columnsaren’twideenough:Iflinesoftextare

tooshort,theeyehastotravelbackandforth

toooftenwhichistiringontheeyeand

frustratingtoreadersunabletoreadacomplete

thought.

The default for PowerPoint®

is for a one-column layout that spans the entire slide. Instead, select the two- or three-column layouts for your slidedocs.

75©Duarte,Inc.2014

TEXT HIERARCHY

Yourlayoutshelpreadersmakeawholehostofchoices—whattheyshouldread

first,wherethemainmessageis,what

textgoeswiththediagram,what’sextra

readingthattheycanskipfornow,andthe

listgoeson...Thatmeansyouhaveto

curatethecopy,andthat’swhyit’s

importanttomakeyourtextconsistent.

Consistentdoesn’tmeanrepetitive.

Ofcourse,you’regoingtowantsome

variationinthewayyourslideslook.But

givingpeopleanideaofwhattoexpect

makesthecontentmoreaccessible.

Giving your readers a clear typographic system to follow will helpthem digest your slidedoc clearly.

The most effective way tostay consistent is to establisha text hierarchy. A text hierarchy is a set of rules that govern how individual text elements will look.

Forexample,youmaydecidethattheslide’stitlewillalwaysbeinALL CAPS in

theupperlefthandcorner,footnoteswill

alwaysbeinitalics, andsubtitleswill

alwaysbebright blue. Youwillneedto

establishyourowntexthierarchy.These

arethedecisionsthatwillmakeiteasier

foryoutokeepaconsistentfeeltoyour

slidedoc,andforyourreaderstoeasily

navigateyourinformation.

Youshouldestablishyourtexthierarchybeforeyoustartlayingoutyourcopy.It’s

mucheasiertoedityourproseusinga

predefinedsetofrulesthanitistomakeit

upasyougoandcontinuallybacktrackif

youchangeyourmindaboutfontsor

colors.It’sokaytotestandupdateyour

texthierarchyasyoulayoutyour

slidedoc.Infact,it’samust.Thatsaid,

takesometimetothinkaboutthebasics

before

youstart.

Whenestablishingyourtexthierarchy,it’s

helpfultoknowwhatpeopleexpectfrom

certainkindsoftext.Onthenextslide

we’veincludedsomeguidelinestohelp

youasyouestablishahierarchyforthe

varioustextualelementsonthepage.

76©Duarte,Inc.2014

TEXT HIERARCHY GUIDELINES

Thetitleintroducesyourslideandshouldbethefirstthingthatpeopleread.

Therefore,youwantittostandoutin

someway.Forinstance,itcouldbe

bolder.Ifyou’reusingathinnerfont,you

couldputthetitleinallcapsormakeit

verylarge.Justmakesureit’sthefirstbit

oftextthatpeoplearedrawnto.

Thesubtitle goesrightbelowyourtitle

andexpandsonitinsomeway.This

copyshouldbesignificantlysmallerthan

thetitle,butnotsmallerthanthemain

textontheslide.

Subheadslabelthedifferentsections

withineachslide.Theyarethenextlevel

oftexthierarchy,sotheyshouldbe

smallerthanthetitleandsubtitle.Your

subheadsmightevenbeequalinsizeto

themaincopyonyourslide,butyou

shoulddifferentiatetheminsomeway.

Forinstance,theymightbeabitbolder

oradifferentcolor.

Thebody copy,themainblocksoftext

onyourslide,willtakethemostamount

oftimetoread.So,thinkabout

consumabilitywhenpickingafont.

Peopledon’treadwordsletterbyletter.

Theyseetheentirewordasapicture

andunderstandtextbyconnectingthat

picturewithitsmeaning.Whenyou

makeitdifficulttorecognizethatpicture,

you’reputtingabarrierbetweenyour

readerandyourmessage.Classic,clean

fontsarethewaytogohere.Besureto

makethetextbigenoughanddark

enough,

soreadersdon’thavetostraintoseeit.

Calloutsarethesmallblocksoftextthat

areusedtopointsomethingoutina

graphordiagram.Thistextcanbeequal

insizetothebodycopy,butitalso

needstobedistinguishedinsomeway.A

classicwaytosetyourcallouttextapart

istoitalicizeit.Youcanalsomakeita

separatecolor.

Anoteaboutcolortreatments:It’sveryeasytoincludetoomanycolorsas

you’retryingtodifferentiateonekindof

textfromanother.Trytoavoidcreatinga

textrainbowandremembercolorisonly

oneofthetoolsinyourtoolbelt.Weight,

CASE,size,anditalicsareallgoodways

tosetdifferentkindsoftextapart.

77©Duarte,Inc.2014

ANATOMY OF TEXT HIERARCHY

Subtitle supports the main title.

Title text is larger and the most

dominant text on the page.

Web links can be color-

coded, underlined, or

both.

Body copy is a neutral color and smaller than headline copy, so headlines and subheads stand out.

Colored box is great for emphasized text or pull quotes.

Footers are the least dominant

element on the page.Tabulated navigation helps identify where you are; colored text identifies the current page.

78©Duarte,Inc.2014

TEXT LAYOUT

After setting up your text hierarchy and designing your page, another step on the path to consistency and readability is actual typesetting.

Typesettingisadjustingalltheseeminglysmallthingsthatmakeiteasytonavigate

yourcopy.Herearesomebasic

typesettingitemstothinkabout:

Line spacing istheamountofroom

betweenlinesoftext.Providingenough

spaceherehelpsthereaderkeeptrackof

hisorherplaceandmakesforamore

comfortablereadingexperience.

Properparagraph spacing,orthespace

betweenparagraphs,helpsthereader

takeabreakbetweenparagraphsand

helpsdenoteachangeinideas.The

spacebetweenparagraphsalsomakes

bodycopylooklessintimidatingwhen

lookingatlargeblocksoftext.

AsImentioned,columnsmakeyourtext

easiertoconsume.Splitupbigchunksof

textintotwoormorecolumnsfor

maximumreadability.

Don’tgetfancywhenaligning your text.

Leftjustifiedusuallyworksbest.Idon’t

likethebiggapsbetweenwordsthat

justifiedtextcreates,andpeopleareused

toseeingtheircopyalignedtotheleft.

Thatsaid,ifyouhaveacalloutthatneeds

togowithaspecificgraphic,aligntothe

sideofthetextthat’sclosesttotheitem

thatyou’retalkingabout.Thispractice

makesthetwoitemsseemmore

connected.

Whenyou’refinishedadjustingthe

formattingofyourtextusingthese

guidelines,takealookatitasawhole.

Aretherightsidesofyourlinesoftext

reallyjagged?Doyouhavesinglewords

orshortphrasesdanglingontheendofa

paragraph?Goaheadandcleanthose

lastfewlinesoftextmanuallywithsoft

returns(shift+return)forthatfinalpolish.

79©Duarte,Inc.2014

SMALL SCREEN READABILITY

Don’tassumethatyourreaderswillalwaysaccessyourslidedoconalaptop

ordesktop.Ifyouraudienceisonthego

(andwhoisn’tthesedays?),youmay

consideroptimizingyourslidedocfor

mobiledevices.Thiswillrequiresome

extraconsideration.

Mostimportantly,forthesesmallerscreens,textneedstobelarger.Useless

text,butlargerinsize,perslideifyou

knowyouraudiencewillbereadingyour

materialfromtheirphones.Herearesome

recommendationstoconsiderforviewing

onvariousscreens:

Usage Tablet* Phone* 13" Laptop Printouts

Slide Title 40pt 50pt 22pt 21pt

Subtitle 28pt 38pt 18pt 16pt

Body Copy 24pt 34pt 11pt 10pt

Graphic Callouts 30pt 40pt 10pt 8pt

*Retinadisplay

80©Duarte,Inc.2014

TESTING YOUR SLIDES

Anybody who’s ever tried to follow a complicated recipe knows that just because you’ve completed the steps doesn’t mean that your creation is going to look exactly like the picture.

Likewise,whileit’simportanttofollowtheguidelineslaidoutinthisslidedoc,youshoulddoanoverallaudittomakesureyour

pageshangtogetherwell.

Lookatyourslidedocasawholeinslidesorter(lightbox)view.Youshouldn’thavealltextslidesandyoushouldhavepages

withwhitespaceandbreathingroom.

Remember,graphicdesignersspendtheirlivesstudyingdesign,sodon’tbetoohardonyourself.Butyoushoulddoaquickaudit

ofeachpageusingthetypeofscreenyouthinkmostpeoplewill

usetoconsumeyourslidedoc.

Whenreviewingyourwork,youshouldaskyourselfthe

questionslistedontheright.

DoIhavetoomanywordsontheslide?

Ismytextbigenoughorwillpeoplehavetostraintoreadit?

Doesmyeyeknowwhichtexttoreadfirst?

Aremainmessageseasytopickout?

Ismytextscannablelikeaslidedocordenselikeadocument?

Doesmyeyehaveaclearpathtofollow?

DoIhavetoomanyfontsorfontcolors?

Slidedoc Checklist

81©Duarte,Inc.2014 81©Duarte,Inc.2014

+ Printing and Projecting Slidedocs

04

82©Duarte,Inc.2014

YOUR JOB IS TO COMMUNICATE

Wow. This must feel like a lot of work. You have a “real job” with real results you’re supposed to deliver that have nothing to do with writing or distributing a slidedoc.

Whenyouhaveanideaorinitiativethatmustbearfruit,then

spendingyourtimeclearlycommunicatingcouldbewhatbrings

youthemosttraction.

Setasidetimetoconceptualizewhatyouaregoingtosay,howtovisualizeitsotheycanseewhatyou’resaying,andthen

determinethebestmeanstocommunicateit.

Whendeliveringinformation,somepeopledelivertoomuchand

itdoesn’tgetconsumed,whileotherscommunicatesovaguely

thatclarifyingconversationswastetime.Providingslidedocshits

agreatsweetspotthatdeliversenoughinformationina

consumableformat.

Businesstodayoperatesinacompressedenvironment,soyouneedtocreateandspreadthoughtfulinsightsquicklyandclearly.

Your Real Job

Writer

Visualizer

Communicator

83©Duarte,Inc.2014

PRINT SLIDEDOCS

Handout

Printhandoutsofslidedocssopeople

canreadthematthe

beginningofthe

meeting.Orusethem

ashandoutsthatthe

audiencemayreference

whileyouspeakand

thatsupportyourtalkas

anappendixwith

additionalinformation.

There are multiple ways to printyour slidedoc.

Book

Slidedocs,designedwell,makegreatbooks.

Whetherspiral-boundor

perfect-bound,theycan

makethecontentfeel

moresubstantialand

formal.Infact,youcan

professionallypublish

andprintslidedocsat

blurb.comand

bookemon.com.

Placemat

Placematsareasingleslidedocpageprinted

on11"x17"paper.They

aregreatfor

collaboratingarounda

sharedpieceofpaper

whereallstakeholders

canwriteandsketchon

theconcepts.

Sometimesone

placematisall

youneedtosparka

greatconversation.

Poster

Slidedocpagescanbeprintedoversizedand

postedaroundthe

room.Readersstand,

walkaround,andread

thematerial.Youcan

alsoputblankpostersin

betweeneachoneto

capturenotesand

feedback.Scientistsat

conferencesoften

presentposters.

Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins printed a slidedoc book called “USA, Inc.” with pages printed2-up. She sent one to everyone in Congress to help them understand the distressing state of the U.S. economy.

USA,INC.

84©Duarte,Inc.2014

PROJECTING SLIDEDOCS

Collaboration:

Projectapagetoreadanddiscussit

indetailtorefinetheideaorbuild

consensus.

Review meeting:

Whileeditingaslidedocwithagroup,

youmayneedtoprojectitsoyoucan

collaborativelyeditit.

Visual reference:

Duringaformalpresentation,youmay

wanttoprojectapagefromaslidedoc

solelyasavisualreferencesothe

audienceknowswhatpageyou’reasking

themtoread.

Overlay sketches:

Ifyouprojectontoawhiteboard,people

cansketchovergraphicstohelpclarify

meaning.

Slidedocs should be printed and not projected, but there are some instances when it is okay to project them:

Usuallyifslidedocsareprojected,itwouldbeinaroomwithtenorfewerinternal

people,becauseit’snotaformal

presentation.Ifyouareinaroomwithsix

ormorepeopleorarepresenting

externally,rethinkwhetheraslidedocis

therightmediumorifyoushouldbuilda

presentationinstead.

To the right is a slide I used in a vision meeting. I projected cinematic

slides and provided a slidedoc as a handout. When I wanted the

audience to refer to a specific page, I projected a picture of that page as

a visual reference.

85©Duarte,Inc.2014

YOUR HARD WORK WILL PAY OFF

Presentationtoolsareeasytouseifyou’retryingtothrowsomethingtogetherquickly.However,whenthestakesarehigh

—adealwillbewonorlost,yourvisionadoptedorrejected,your

projectwillmovealongorbestoppedinitstracks—youneedto

spendextratimecreatingtheslidedoc.

Regardless of the tool you use, good work always pays off.

High-stakessituationsmayalsocallforadifferentkindofcontent.Traditionally,high-stakespresentationsareinspirational

whileslidedocsaremorepragmatic.Butwhenyourslidedocis

thatimportant,andneedstoinfluenceamake-or-breakdecision,

itmustembodythetypeofinspirationalpersuasionusually

reservedforin-personpresentations.

Good content, a good storyline, and a structure that compels people to act or decide are worth the time you put into them.

86©Duarte,Inc.2014 86©Duarte,Inc.2014

About the author:

Nancy Duarte is a communication expert. Her firm, Duarte, Inc., is the global leader behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture.

She is the author of three award-winning books. Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences, identifies the hidden story structures inherent in great communication, and it spent more than 300 days on Amazon’s top 100 business book bestsellers list. Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations teaches readers to think visually and has been translated into eight languages. Plus, the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, a field guide with quick ways to up your presentation game and more effectively present data-rich information.