Design and use of visual aids: slides that add, not subtract.

The Role of the Visual Support: A Support, Not a Script

Support materials, especially slides, are a very important weapon for the speaker, but it is essential to understand their true purpose: they should support your speech, not replace it. The presenter is you, not your PowerPoint.

A good visual support helps to keep the audience's attention, facilitates the memorization of key ideas and allows you to simplify complex concepts through images or graphics.

However, if used incorrectly, they can have the opposite effect: confusing, boring and distracting. The golden rule is that the material is for the audience, not for you.

Therefore, you should never just read what is on the screen; your eyes should be on the audience, using the slides only as an occasional point of reference.

The "Less is More" Philosophy: Minimalism and Clarity

When designing slides, the fundamental principle is minimalism. The goal is to highlight concepts, not drown the audience with words.

An effective slide should be simple, clean and well-structured, using as little text as possible to focus only on the key points.

A blunder is to create text-heavy slides, with long paragraphs of ten or more lines, as this causes the audience to start reading instead of listening to you, completely losing the connection with you.

The ideal design consists of a clear headline, two or three key points expressed in bullet points (not full sentences) and a powerful visual element that reinforces the idea.

The Power of Visuals: Images Over Words

The reason why textual minimalism is so effective is simple: the human brain processes images much faster than text.

Therefore, the content of your slides should always prioritize the visual impact over the textual, seeking a balance where the visual occupies at least 50% or 60% of the space. Use high quality images, graphs, diagrams or icons to illustrate your points.

These elements are incredibly useful tools for explaining concepts quickly and memorably, something that would require many more words to achieve the same effect.

Of course, any graphs or diagrams you use should be simple and easy to interpret at a glance, so as not to force the audience to stop and analyze them, losing the thread of your speech.

Practical Rules for a Professional and Effective Design

To ensure that your slides add, not subtract, keep these practical design rules in mind.

Always choose fonts and colors that are legible, avoiding fonts that are too small or too decorative to make them difficult to read.

Use animations and transitions very sparingly, since an excess of visual effects can be very annoying and distract attention from the main message.

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