Presentation Slide Makeovers: Transform boring PowerPoint slides into persuasive visuals

Presenters often struggle with how to make large numbers easy for the audience to understand. This makeover shows how using a four step process can create a visual that makes it easy for the audience to grasp the importance and magnitude of a large number.

A pie chart is better than a data table to show proportions in data. This makeover takes it the next step to show how a proportional diagram can be more effective than a pie chart in some situations.

Too often presenters overwhelm audiences with details using a spreadsheet copied on to a slide. This makeover shows how you can reveal details in levels so the audience can follow your message easier.

A table is a good way to organize information into rows and columns. Unfortunately, the default appearance and behaviour of tables in PowerPoint does not make them as effective as they could be. This makeover shows a default table improved so the message can be communicated more effectively.

In the recent State of the Union address, President Obama used some visuals in the enhanced broadcast on the web. One of those visuals was a proportional diagram. This makeover shows how you can use a proportional diagram effectively on a slide.

It is a good idea to use calculations to back up or prove the points you are making. This makeover shows how a slide overloaded with text explanations of the calculations can become more effective.

Using an image as the background for your slide might seem like a way to increase the visual appeal of your slides, but it can actually distract the audience from your message. This makeover takes a slide used by NY Gov Cuomo and shows how the message could stand out more without an image background.

We are being told to use more visuals on our slides and it is a better approach than walls of text. But if you are tempted to use a full-screen photo just because it looks cool, consider the advice from this makeover that shows how a simple visual can communicate more effectively in some cases.

SmartArt is supposed to make creating visuals easy, but too often presenters use it without considering whether the pre-made diagram is effectively communicating their message. This makeover shows an example of how a SmartArt diagram can be replaced with a more effective simple visual.

If you want your audience to understand a comparison of two or more values, you must make it easy for them to see the difference without having to do calculations in their head. This makeover shows how to use a common denominator to make the comparison easy to understand.

In an effort to fill a slide, too many presenters break one point into multiple bullet points. This makeover shares lessons for breaking this addiction and creating visual slides that help you communicate more effectively.

It is common in corporate settings to present an organization chart to show the different roles in a department. Instead of overwhelming your audience with an unreadable chart, use the lessons in this makeover to create a clear set of slides.

If you use PowerPoint to design slides that will be shown on an electronic sign or on an internal TV information channel, use the ideas from this slide makeover to keep the slides clear and easy for the audience to understand.

When you put multiple messages on one slide, it confuses the audience. This makeover shows how you can deliver an effective message by having one message per slide.

Animation is a good way to build each point as you discuss it. Instead of animation that confuses the audience, this makeover shows how to make sure you use animation properly to make your message clearer.