Read the text and match the paragraph headings to the

73 
D. Choosing a proper background.
E. The rule of thirds.
F. Presentation Zen slides.
2.3. Which paragraph tells us about: 
A. how much multimedia we should use?
B. the use of white space?
C. slides overloaded with text?
D. the picture superiority effect?
E. ensuring consistency among slides?
F. power points?
2.4. Put the sentences, summarizing the main idea of each par-
agraph, in the correct order: 
A. How to find a place on a slide for maximum visual effect.
B. Avoiding boring slides.
C. Adding dimensionality by putting the text on top of the slide.
D. The supporting role of slides in a presentation.
E. Minimizing the number of words in a slide.
F. The balance of signal and noise.
2.5. Answer the questions on the text: 
A. What is wrong with text-heavy slides? 
B. What can spice up your presentation? 
C. What 3 principles does Garr Reynolds support? 
D. How can we make picture a part of presentation’s communica-
tion signal? 
E. What creates the maximum visual impact? 
F. What is the easiest way to create dimensionality on a slide? 
2.6. Summarize the main ideas of the text using Activity IV as 
a plan. 
 

74 
Designing Presentations (2). Slide Design 
1. PowerPoint comes with many different themes to apply to 
your slides. In general, try to choose either a very light or a very 
dark colored background. Anything in between will wash out in a 
bright room. Themes cannot save a text-heavy slide. It is still a bor-
ing slide and the speaker may feel obligated to read it to the audi-
ence. Many students turn to a dark background theme with the hope 
that it will convey more professionalism. However, as you can see, it 
doesn’t solve the problem of a boring slide. 
2. A better option is to move most of the words to your schematic 
report and instead make your point in a dramatic visual fashion. Visual 
slides take much longer to create but could differentiate your presenta-
tion from every other boring PowerPoint presentation making yours 
more persuasive. You want your presentation to be professional and 
engaging. To get there you will need the C.R.A.P. principles (Contrast, 
repetition, Alignment, Proximity). You will also need stylistic en-
hancements that come under the heading of Presentation Zen. Finally a 
little (and we do mean little) multimedia—embedded video or subtle 
use of animation serves to spice up a presentation. The C.R.A.P. graph-
ic design principles apply to slide design as well. Contrast, repetition, 
alignment, and proximity help organize information on your slide, fo-
cus attention, and create an overall professional look and feel. 
3. Highly visual presentations with very few words are popularized 
by Garr Reynolds in his book, Presentation Zen. Reynolds advocates 
restraint, simplicity, and naturalness. The idea is that the slides natural-
ly support your presentation rather than serving as a narrative. You are 
supposed to know your material. Presentation Zen slides are character-
ized by very large illustrations—often full page bleeds—and usually 
just one sentence of text. This is called the picture superiority effect—
basically that pictures are more memorable than words. Three other 
Presentation Zen principles are to aim for a high signal to noise ratio, 
make good use of empty space, and align images using the rule of 

75 
thirds. Every item on your slide should be there for a reason. You are 
trying to inform the reader and transfer information. You should not 
aim to decorate your slide with meaningless fluff. 
4. In technical terms you want a strong communication signal and 
very weak distracting noise in your slide. This is called a high signal to 
noise ratio. Normally, words, numbers, and graphs are your communi-
cations signal—the information you are trying to convey. Pictures can 
also be part of that signal if they are used reasonably—otherwise they 
become part of the noise. Resist the temptation to fill every available 
space on your slide with words or images. White space is good! White 
space is pleasing to the eye and can represent balance and harmony. 
However, too much white space might convey that you don’t have very 
much to say about a particular topic, or that it is not important. Again, 
it’s all about balance.
5. One of the advantages of using a full page bleed is that the pic-
ture is often larger than the slide. This gives you the option of position-
ing and cropping the picture for maximum visual impact. For many 
years professional photographers have used the rule of thirds to com-
pose a picture, and you can too. Simply divide the slide horizontally 
and vertically in thirds using the guides. The place where the lines meet 
are called “power points.” Try to place your subject whether words or 
images at the power points for maximum visual impact. 
6. The problem with a full page bleed is that the text may be un-
readable on top of the image depending on the image. One easy solu-
tion is to place the text on top of a fill. The fill may be solid (opaque) or 
semi-transparent if you would like the picture to show through. In ei-
ther case, the fill allows you to add dimensionality to your document in 
much the same way that magazines layer text and graphics on their co-
vers. The easiest way to create this effect is to create a layout on the 
master slide. Reposition the title so that it completely covers a strip at 
the top or bottom of the slide. Then right-click and format the text box 
adding a fill and adjusting the text color as necessary. To ensure con-
sistency among slides, turn OFF the auto fit text. Instead simply set the 

76 
font size to 24 point. On individual slides you may have to arrange lay-
ers so that the text box sits on top rather than below the graphic.

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