Slidedocs

Spread ideas with

effective visual
documents

bynancyduarte

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRO

Pages 38

01

02

03

04

TheCasefor
Slidedocs

Writinga
Slidedoc

Designing
aSlidedoc

Delivering
aSlidedoc

Pages 936

Pages 3798

Pages 99136

Pages 137159

+ The Call for

Conversations
+ Reintroducing
the Slidedoc
+ Connecting With
Your Audience
+ Case Study:
Docs to Slidedocs

+ Content Creation
+ Case Study: Dense
Slides Converted
+ Architecture of
a Slidedoc
+ Data and
Diagrams
Clarify Content
+ Case Study:
SAP Top 10

+ Visual Systems
Unify
+ Case Study:
Power of Story
+ Grids Add
Structure
+ Breathe With
White Space
+ Typesetting
Amplifies Whats
Important

+ Printing and
Projecting
Slidedocs
+ Distributing
Slidedocs
+ Case Study:
From Cinematic
to Slidedoc
+ Spread Big Ideas
With Slidedocs

Duarte,Inc.2014

STUDIJ SLUAJA

SuzanneCharmersvaanjezaposlenik
tvrtkeAdvancedPhotonixInc.(API)Iz
odreenograzlogaodluilajedatiotkazi
napustititvrtku.

In the process, weve all but

killed long-form business
communications.

Kao

Chanjedalaotkaz,otilanapetomjeseni
odmorsasuprugomtesenakontoga
zaposlilaustart-uptvrtkiukojojje
napornijeraditinozaposleniciobavljaju
vievrstarazliitihposlova

razlog je navela da se
zasitila svega te da joj je posao
postao rutina, to joj se nikako
ne svia.

LINK:PICTORIALLEARNING

LINK:MULTIMEDIALEARNING

LINK:SCIENTIFICSTUDY

Reklajedajojjepotrebanduiodmor
kakobinapunilabaterijeinastaviladalje.
Ponuenajojjepoviicauzdodatne
novanenaknade,noonaimadovoljno
novacakojijezaradilanadionicama
raznihStart-uptvrtkizakojejeradilaija
jevrijednostnagloporasla.Ponuenjojje
iveiuredteboljiuvjetirada,nonitoju
nijeuspjelozadrati..

Duarte,Inc.2014

5CModelrjeavanjaCaseStudyja
Case study e se rijeiti primjenom 5C modela koji se sastoji od nekoliko faza prikazanih u
nastavku.

Komunikacija
(Communication)

Kreiranje(Creation)

5C model
Suradnja
(Coopeation)

Kontekst(Context)

Kreativnost
(Creativity)
Duarte,Inc.2014

Kreiranje(Creation)Suradnja(Cooperation)

Faza pripreme sastoji se od

prikupljanja informacija o
case studyju, njegova
iitavanja i razmatranja
naina rjeavanja te
prezentacije rjeenja.
Ulogeutimusuodreenepomou
Belbinovihteamroletestova.Postojiosam
vrstauloga:
Plantkreativnaosobakojajedobrau
rjeavanjuproblemananekonvncionalne
naine,prisutnausvakomtimu.
Monitor evaluatorlogiannain
razmiljanja,radinepristraneprosudbekad
jetopotrebnoivaeopcijetimana
nepristrannain.
Co-ordinatorusredotoenjenaobjekte
tima,rasporeujelanovetimairadna
projektu.

Resource Investigatorusporeuje
znanjetimasastvarnimznanjem,
procjenjujevanostznanjakojelanovi
posjeduju.
Implementers planirajupraktinui
efektivnustrategijukojaebitito
efikasnija.
Completer Finisherskoristesenakraju
projekta,pronalazegreke,provode
kontrolukvalitete.
Teamworkers povezujutim,
indentificirajuzadatkeiodraujuihna
nainkojijenajboljiizadobrobittima.
Shapersosiguravajudasetimkreeu
dobromsmjeru.
Specialist osobasnajboljimi
najdetaljnijimznanjemopodruju,jedan
odkljunihlanovatima.

Duarte,Inc.2014

Kreiranje(Creation)Suradnja(Cooperation)

Viktorija Ivandi

Ira ari-Ormu

Maja Trstenjak

Dodjeljenauloga:Resource
Investigator, Teamworker

Dodjeljenauloga:Plant, Completer
Finisher, Implementer

Dodjeljenauloga:Monitor Evaluator,
Co-ordinator, Shaper

Duarte,Inc.2014

Kontekst (Context)

U treoj fazi potrebno je

definitrati kljuna pitanja i
probleme te definirati
trenutnu situaciju, ciljeve i
kljune faktore uspjeha.

Zato novac nije motivirao Suzanne

Chalmers da ostane u kompaniji?
Suzannejevedosadukarijerizaradila
velikusvotunovca,aiplaajojjetrenutno
relativnovelika.Kaoglavniizvornovca
navedenesudionicekojimajenaglo
poraslavrijednostjerseradiodionicama
start-uptvrtkikojesunaglonarasle.U
ljudskojjenaravidaseuvijekteineem
viem,noovajbiseproblemmogao
sagledatisMaslowljeveteorijemotivacije.
Suzanneimazadovoljenepotrebe
opstankaisigurnosti,oenjenajepaje
zadovoljenarazinaljubavi,azadovoljnaje
islanovimatimakojijuvolejednakokao
ief.Znai,preostalajesamofaza
samoaktualizacijetodovodidoproblema
rutineuposlukojujenavelakaorazlog
odlaska.Theresultisamediumthatcan
bereadanddigestedmorequicklythan
eitheradocumentorapresentation.

SlidedocsisatrademarkofDuartePressLLC.Allrightsreserved.

Ima li smisla davati financijske

nagrade u situacijama kada su
zaposlenici relativno bogati?
Ovisiosituaciji.Potrebnojesagledati
itavkontekstjerseljudirazlikuju.Neki
elejovienovacaielegagomilati,bilo
daseradiozadovoljstvuilijednostavno
visokomtrokovimaivotadoksdruge
stranenekimanovacvienijeproblempa
ihjepotrebnomotiviratinadrugaije
naine.

to je motiviralo Suzanne
Chalmers?
Motiviraojujeizazovradnogmjestaielja
zauspjehom,dinaminimizanimljivim
radnimokruenjem.

Duarte,Inc.2014

Kontekst (Context)
Koliko je vana struktura posla u
ovom primjeru?
Izrazitojevanajerjeizprimjeravidljivo
kakoSuzannenijeprvaosobakojaodlazi
izfirmenakonkratkogvremena,veje
fluktuacijaradnikastalnaivelika.To
nikakoneideukoristpoduzeutejeznak
dajepotrebnonetopromijeniti.Budui
dajeveinanavelakakojeproblem
prvenstvenodosadnarutinaposla,trebalo
biseciljatidaseovajproblemrijei.

to biste uinili da motivirate

Suzanne Chalmers?
Postojinekolikomoguihnaina
motivacije.Jedanjekratkoroan
odreenimbeneficijama,nenuno
novanim.Onjekratkoroansamojerto
nijenjenprimarnimotiv.Dugoroanje
dinamian,zanimljivinepredvidljivposao
ukojembiSuzanneostvarilasvesvoje
mogunosti,vjetineisposobnosti.
Takoer,moglobijojsepunuditii
unapreenje,alisopetrazliitimi
dinaminimposlovnimzadacima.
PowerPointisaregisteredtrademarkofMicrosoftCorporation.Allrightsreserved.

Sljedea se pitanja odnose na

samu kompaniju i njeno
poslovanje.
Gdje je kompanija sada?
Kompanijajetrenutnoujednojvrsti
statinogpoloaja,fluktuacijazaposlenika
jevisokatoznaidastrunjacistalno
odlazeazapoljavajusenoveosobe.One
setrebajuprilagoditiraduukompanijito
traje,ajednomdokseprilagode,brzo
naputajuradnomjestoiodlazeraditi
negdjedrugdje,tojeestonekastart-up
tvrtkaukojojradevieizamanjenovaca,
nonovacnjimanijekljunifaktorjerviemanjesusvitimezadovoljniiimajuga
punozbograstadionicakojesustekli
radeiprijezaodreenestart-uptvrtke.

Gdje bi kompanija trebala biti?

Kompanijabitrebalasmanjitifluktuaciju
zaposlenikatebitipoeljnomjestorada
nadrugirok.Timesesprjeavaodlazak
velikihtalentakojibinapravilimnogoza
kompanijuipodiglijenajoviurazinu.
Duarte,Inc.2014

to treba promijeniti da bi se to ostvarilo?

Kako bi se pronale mogue strategije rjeenja, potrebno je
provesti analizu situacija vezanih za kompaniju, trite vanjsku
okolinu i konkurenciju.

Kompanija

Trite

KompanijaAppliedPhotonicsinc.Bavise
izradomvisokotehnolokihoptikih
predmetatojeudananjemsvijetu
elektronikeprilinovanopodruje.No,
sudeipooskudniminformacijamana
njihovojwebstranici,kompanijaje
trenutnoviefokusirananaproizvodnego
nasvojezaposlenike,takodadijelaza
upravljanjeljudskimpotencijalimagotovoi
nema,asekcijazaprijavuzakarijereje
vrlotura.Ovimesedanaslutitikakojo
uvijekdovoljnopanjenepridajuljudskim
potencijalima,aopenitidojamnaprilino
skromnustranicuodajenekuvrstu
zaostalostizanajnovijimtrendovima.

Tritejeglobalno,premdanajveiudio
tritajebaziranuSAD-u.Njihovisu
proizvodivanakomponentadananjicei
razvrstanisuprematritimauproizvodi
zatestiranjeimjerenje,medicina,
telekomunikacije,obranaisvemirska
tehnika.Tosuvisokorazvijeniizahtjevni
proizvodikojitraespecifinegrane
industrijeusvojimposebnimdijelovima.
Jedansuodvodeihdobavljaausvojoj
brani,stogasunatritudostadobro
pozicionirani.

Vanjska okolina
Najvea prijetnja ove kompanije je njena
konkurencija, odnosno njihov odjel istraivanja i
razvoja. U ovoj je brani potrebno biti
inovativan i pratiti nove trendove te po
mogunosti prvi izbaciti bolji proizvod na trte.
Trendovi im idu u korist, sve se vie ovakvih
ureaja koristi u ciljanim podrujima koja su
stalna, stabilna i iz dana u dan se ire i
dobivaju na znaaju (npr. medicina ili vojna
industrija).

Konkurencija
Potrebno je biti bri od konkurencije i napraviti
bolji proizvod u to kraem roku. Konkurencija
nije velika, ali je jaka, no ovaj tvrtka, sudei
prema informacijama dostupnima na web
stranici, lider je u svom podruju pa tu poziciju
treba samo zadrati.

Duarte,Inc.2014

Generiranje rjeenja
Iz navedene analize, brainstormingom se dolo do etriri mogue strategije rjeenja.

4. Rekonstrukcija radnog
prostora.

1. Promjena odjela ljudskih

potencijala.
Odjelbisetrebaoviebaviti
potrebamazaposlenikauuvidjeti
toihpokree,toihtjerana
samoaktualizaciju,sobziromda
imajuvedovoljnovelikukoliinu
novcapaonnijeglavnimotivator.
Takoerbisebrinulaoimidu
poduzeaujavnostitebisesuoio
sproblemomfluktuacije.

Strategije

2. Benefiti
Davanjeodreenihbenefita,ne
novanih.Suzannijemogue
ponuditiunapreenjeimogunost
razvojakarijereteosobnograzvoja.

Ustudijujesluajanavedenokako
uvjetizaradnisubanajbolji,daje
punozaposlenikanamalomprostoru
tedaseljudineosjeajudobro.
PremdajeSuzanneponuenvei
ured,onanatonijepristala.Loe
ureenjeradneokoline,odnosno
interijeraloeutjeenaljudskupsihu
nadaljenamotivaciju,modane
svjesno,vetopodsvjesnostvara
ostaleproblemekojimogunastatipa
takoiposlomkaooblikomrutinei
dosade.

3. Briga za davanje
razliitih radnih zadataka.

Ovojetakoervezanozaunapreenje
odjelaljudskihpotencijalakojibitrebali
utjecatidaljenavoditeljedrugihodjela
dasvojimzaposlenicimaispuneeljui
natjerajuihdabuduproduktivniji.

Duarte,Inc.2014

10

Evaluacija alternativnih rjeenja

Evaluacija je provedena prema odreenim kriterijima, prikazanim u tablici. Svako je rjeenje
ocijenjeno od 1 do 5 gdje je 1 najnepovoljniji, a 5 najpovoljniji sluaj.

S1

S2

S3

S4

Financijsko ulaganje

Razdoblje isplativosti

Kompleksnost uvoenja

Utjecaj na kompaniju

Slaganje s vrijednostima kompanije

UKUPNO:

13

22

23

15
Duarte,Inc.2014

11

Preporuka najboljeg rjeenja SWOT analiza

Najbolje se pokazalo tree rjeenje, stoga e za njega biti provedena SWOT analiza.

SNAGE

*mnogo zaposlenih u odjelu ljudskih potencijala koji e raditi na

unapreenju
*dovoljno novanih resursa na raspolaganju za unapreenje
*znanja i vjetine zaposlenika u odjelu ljudskih potencijala
*znanja i vjetine zaposlenika ira od njihove specijalizacije i trenutnih
radnih zadataka

PRILIKE

*bolje radno okruenje

*vea motiviranost zaposlenika
*vea produktivnost
*bolja konkurentnost na tritu
*bolji imid kompanije
*edukacija zaposlenika
*poveanje povezanosti tima i unapreenje timskog rada
*izazovi za zaposlenike
*inovativne, svjee ideje

SLABOSTI

*nedovoljna zainteresiranost zaposlenika za unapreenje

*otpor prema promjenama
*nezainteresiranost menadmenta za dodatna ulaganja u odjel
ljudskih potencijala

PRIJETNJE

*strah zaposlenika prema novim zadacima

*strah od neuspjeha
*ostale kompanije koje nude jo raznolikije i zanimljivije radne
zadatke
Duarte,Inc.2014

12

Preporuka najboljeg rjeenja

Rjeenjeeseimplementiratinanainda
seprvoprovedeanonimnaanketameu
zaposlenicima.Onaesesastojatiod
nekolikopitanjapokojimaesesaznati
toanuzrokproblemateesenatemelju
togaomoguitinjegovoboljerjeavanje,
odnosnomoieseformiratiakcije
sukladnopotrebamazaposlenika.Nakon
provedenihakcija(pokuajazanimljivije
raspodjeleposlova)iodreenog
vremenskograzdoblja(godinadana)
ponovnoeseprovestiistaanketakako
biseuvidjelakoristimplementacijetese
natemeljurezultatapokrenuleodreene
korekcijeakcija.

Na skali 1 do 5, gdje 1 oznaava

najniu, a 5 najviu ocjenu
ocjenite sljedee situacije u
kompaniji:
Zadovoljstvo sadanjim stanjem ___
Ugoaj radne okoline ___
Suradnja lanova tima ___
Zanimljivost radnog mjesta ____
Varijabilnost radnih zadataka ____
Zadovoljstvo nakon dobro obavljenog
radnog zadatka ___
Nain obavljanja radnog zadatka ____
Uestalost zanimljivih izazova ___
Poeljnost dinamke posla _____
Mogunost napretka _____
Mogunost edukacije i osobnog razvoja:__
elja za promjenom ___
Raznolikost radnog mjesta ____
Motivacija za obavljanje radnih zadatka__
Ugodan interijer radnog mjesta ____
Mogunost komunikacije s nadreenima
___
Komunikacija s lanovima tima ____
Znaajnost odjela ljudskih potencijala ___

Odgovorite opisno:
U poduzeu mi najvie
smeta _______ i mislim da bi
se to moglo promijeniti na
nain da _______
Duarte,Inc.2014

13

Preporuka najboljeg rjeenja

Definicija radnog zadatka primjenom Business Canvas Modela

Duarte,Inc.2014

14

Preporuka najboljeg rjeenja podrka preporuci

Plan aktivnosti prikazan je pomou gantograma.

Sastojiseseodaktivnostiprovedbeonlineanketeod
stranezaposlenikaodjelaljudskihpotencijala
postavljenenaIntranetpoduzea,analizerezultata,
edukacijeorganizatoraradaupodrujuupravljanja
ljudima,dodjeljivanjarazliitihradnihzadatkaodstrane
zaposlenkavoditeljasvakogpojedinogodjela,ponovne
provedbeankete,analizerezultataikorekcija,stime
daseaktivnostkorekcija,kojajeujednoizadnja
aktivnostnastavljausljedeemvremenskomrazdoblju
namodadrugaijinaintejezatopotrebno
naknadnoizraditigantogramsukladnorezultatima
ankete.

Duarte,Inc.2014

15

Preporuka najboljeg rjeenja podrka preporuci

Analiza rizika

Rizik

Scenarij
rizika

Krivo popunjene
ankete

Moguejeda
zaposlenicineeovaj
projektshvatitiozbiljno
paepopunjavati
anketenaloineistinit
nain

Anketa loe
implementirana u
sustav

Programerimogukrivo
isprogramiratianketu
pasustavevaluira
kriverezultate

Organizatori rada ne
obavljaju svoj
posao

Voditeljiodjelapruaju
otporpromjenama
zbognedostatka
vremena

Utjecaj na
projekt

Kako reagirati

velika

veliki

uanketupostavitiposebna
kontrolnapitanjakakobise
provjerilavjerodostojnost
odgovora,upozoriti
zaposlenikenavanost
anketeicjelokupnesituacije

mala

velika

provjeritiradsustava,staviti
anketunadvijeonline
platforme-internetiintranet

velika

organiziratiradionicei
sastankenakojimase
objanjavavanostprojekta
ipojasnitiimalatezabrzoi
jednostavnoorganiziranje
posla

Vjerojatnost

srednja

Duarte,Inc.2014

16

IN FACT, THIS BOOK IS A SLIDEDOC

Rightnow,youarereadingalong-form
slidedoc.Itsprobablydifferentthanthe
lastfileyousawdevelopedinpresentation
software.Idecidedtomodelwhata
slidedocisbyusingthemediumasthe
messageandreleasingthisbookin
PowerPointsothatyoucan
deconstructit.
Some things you may notice:
Pageshavemorecopyand
visualexplanationsthana
cinematicpresentation
Templatesystemusesgrids,
columns,andfullsentences
Denseanalyticalexplanations
appearthroughoutthebook
So,enjoypokingaroundandlearning
fromthisslidedoc.

Duarte,Inc.2014

17

YOU NEED A SLIDEDOC IF

This slidedoc will teach you how to use presentation software to create visual documents that will travel
throughout your organization without much effort on your part after the initial authoring process.

You should create a slidedoc if:

Youhavedetailedinformationtoconvey,
butyouwontbearoundtoexplainit
Youhavedetailedsubjectmatterthat
isconducivetobeingconveyedwith
visualsandprose
Peopleconsumeyourinformationbetter
whenitisbrokenintosmaller,morevisual
chunks
Yoursalesteamneedsmodularcollateral
andtoolsthatareflexibleenoughtoget
therightmaterialtothe
rightcustomers

Yourinformationcouldbeconsumed
aheadoftimeandthemeetingtime
couldbeusedforconsensusbuilding

Understand the
visual display of
information so the
Hopefully,youvealreadyreadmy
audience can see
what
youre saying.
previousbooksasafoundationtohelp

createstrongcontentandcompelling
cinematicvisualsforyour
presentations.

Create persuasive
story content to
connect to an
audience who
responds with
action.

Thisnewbookcoverskeyinsightsfor
creatingaslidedoc.Yourslidedocswill
bemoreimpactfulifyouveread
Resonate andSlide:ology.
Create persuasive visual
documents for the way people
consume information today.
Duarte,Inc.2014

18

TheCasefor
Slidedocs
+ The Call for Conversations
+ Reintroducing the Slidedoc
+ Connecting With Your Audience
+ Case Study: Slides to Slidedocs

01
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19

+ The Call for

Conversations

01
Duarte,Inc.2014

20

PRESENTATIONS ARE FAMILIAR

Theres no doubt about it; we

are a presentation culture.
By some estimates,
Microsofts PowerPoint has
been installed on roughly
one billion computers. Plus, an
average of 350 presentations
are given every second of
every day.

W eveadoptedthisbehaviorforagood
reason:presentationsareoneofthebest
waystocommunicateideas,persuadean
audiencetoadoptanidea,andpursuea
courseofaction.
Yet,manypopulararticleshavegrabbed
headlinesandwonpraisebycallingforan
endtopresentations.
W hileIwouldntgosofarastosay
presentationsareevil,Idobelievethat
wecoulddoabetterjobofcreatingand
usingthem.

However,eventhebestpresentationwont
workifitsnotdeliveredintheright
context.Justlikeyouwouldntgivea
presentationtotellsomeonetheresatige
rbehindhim
,therearecertainbusinesssettingswhere
apresentationisnttherightapproach.
Butmostpeopledoitanyway,becauseits
whatweknow.Andthatswherethe
troublebegins.

Infact,Ivebuiltathrivingbusinessand
writtenthreebest-sellingbooksonhowto
makepresentationsmoreeffectiveand
enjoyable.

Duarte,Inc.2014

21

CONVERSATIONS BUILD CONSENSUS

Apresentationcanbeanamazingtool,
butonlywhenitsusedcorrectly.
Presentationsaremosteffectivewhen
youneedtopersuadeagroupofpeople
tochangetheirbehavior.Presentations
areoftenaone-waystreet:information
flowsfromthepresentertotheaudience.
Butwhathappenswhenyouneedtobring
agrouptoconsensusormakeadecision
basedonsomesharedinformation?
Formalpresentationsdontallowfor
enoughback-and-forthtoaccomplish
thesegoals.
Instead,consensus-buildinganddecisionmakingeventsareperfectopportunities
forinformedconversations,meaning
conversationsinwhichalltheparticipants
haveaccesstoacommon
setofinformation.
Conversationsgiveparticipantstheability
tobuildonyourideasinsteadofsimply
receivingthem.

Theverbalback-and-forthofchallenging
anddefending,resistingandaccepting,
andcreatinganddestructing,refinesthe
ideawhilehelpingyoubuildcredibilityby
showingyourcommandofthecontent.

SLIDE14:SIRRICHARDBRANSONINTERVIEW

SLIDE22:SHERYLSANDBERGINTERVIEW

SLIDE27:JEFFWEINERINTERVIEW

Asaresult,informedconversationscan
helpyoubuildconsensusanderode
resistancetoanidea.Thesebenefitsare
thereasonswhyseveralnotable
executives,includingSirRichardBranson,
SherylSandberg,andJeffWeiner,have
calledforanincreasedemphasison
conversations.
Insteadofpresenting,wevefoundthat
everyonecangetuptospeedquicklyif
yougivetheminformationbeforehand,or
allow10minutesatthebeginningofthe
meetingforpeopletoreadaslidedoc.
Then,eachpersonisfullyinformedforthe
discussion.Plus,theycanrefertothe
materialsastheydiscusstheissues.

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22

Too many people are hiding in

dark rooms flipping through too
many words on big screens. Theres
a reason why I avoid boardrooms.
Id rather spend time with people
in the field, where eye contact,
genuine conviction, and
trustworthiness are in full
evidence. Dyslexia shaped myand
Virginscommunication style.
From the beginning, Virgin used
clear, ordinary language. If I could
quickly understand a campaign
concept, it was good to go. If
something cant be explained off
the back of an envelope, its
rubbish. I believe in conversations
and eye contact.

Sir Richard Branson

FounderandChairman,VirginGroup

Photo:virgin.com

Duarte,Inc.2014

23

PRESENTATIONS VS. CONVERSATIONS

How do you decide when to give a presentation and when to facilitate a conversation?
In order to make that decision, you need to decide on your goal. What do you want to get
out of the time you have with the group? The table below will help you determine which
mode of communication best suits your needs.

Presentation
Needtocommunicate
analready-formedidea
Alreadyhaveinformationabout
theaudienceswantsandneeds
Needtoinform,persuade,
orentertainanaudience
Doesnotrequirereal-time
feedbackfromtheaudience
Needasingleeventtomovean
audiencetowardyourobjective

Conversation
Needtobuildupon,getconsensuson,
ormorefullydevelopanidea
Needmoreinformationaboutthe
groupswantsandneeds
Needtobuildapersonalrelationship
withtheaudience
Needthegroupsinput
inordertomoveforward
Needcontinuousengagement
toaccomplishyourobjective

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+ Reintroducing
the Slidedoc

01
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25

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,youcan
addmoredetailwhilestillallowingpeople
toconsumeinformationattheirownpace.
However,thedensenatureofdocuments
canraisesomeissues.Veryfewpeople
lookatapagefullofbusinessproseand
think,Thislookslikegreatreading.Icant
waittodivein!
Also,documentscanbedifficultto
referenceduringadiscussion.Has
anyoneeveraskedyoutofindthethird
sentenceinthesecondtolastparagraph

insectionfour?Ifso,howlongdidittake
tofindit?
W henyourefertoadocument,youlose
valuabletimejusttryingtogeteveryone
tothesameplacenevermindyour
actualpoint.
Finally,manypeopleprocessinformation
fasterandunderstanditbetterifits
presentedvisually.Byhandingoutpages
fullofparagraphs,youreputtingup
barriersontheroadtounderstanding
notthebestwaytostartameeting.
Duarte,Inc.2014

26

SPECTRUM OF USE

Document
Everydepartmenthaslonganddense,butnecessary,
documentationintheformofmemos,reports,manuals,and
briefs.Theseartifactsareusefulforholdingalotofinformation
inasinglecontainer.

Presentation
Everydepartmentalsohaspresentationsituseswhenpeople
needtocombinethepowerofthespokenwordandcompelling
imagestopersuadeanaudience.

Characteristics of a Document

Characteristics of a Presentation

Exhaustive

Cinematicstory

Topicalstructure

Dramaticstructure

Informative

Transformative

Analyticalprocess

Creativeprocess

Visuallydense

Visuallysparse

Intendedtoberead

Intendedtobeheard

Self-guided

Presenter-guided
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SLIDEDOCS FILL THE GAP

Slidedoc
Neitherdensedocumentsnorsparse
slidescontaintherightbalanceofdetail
andscanabilitytobeusedasapre-read
orhandout.Slidedocscombinethe
strengthsofdocumentsandpresentations
whileminimizingtheirweaknesses.
Characteristics of a Slidedoc
Explanatory
Modularstructure
Educational
Visualthinkingprocess
Tightvisual-to-proseratio
Understoodquickly

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WHAT IS A SLIDEDOC?

Slidedocs are visual

documents, developed in
presentation software, that
are intended to be read and
referenced instead of
projected.
Id be willing to make three bets:
1. Youalreadyknowwhatslidedocsare
2. Youalreadyhaveslidedocsfloating
aroundyourorganization
3. Youyourselfhavealreadycreated
aslidedoc

HowcanIbesosure?Becauseitsbeen
infrontofusthewholetimethis
awesomewayofcommunicating
informationthatsbotheasilyconsumed
andeasilyreferenced.Manypeople
haventrealizedthebrilliancebehind
theseartifacts,becausetheyvebeen
usingtheminthewrongway.
Insteadofallowingaudiencestoread
theseslidedocs,peoplehavebeen
presentingtheminlong,boringreadalongsandputtingaudiencestosleep.
Bydoingthis,peoplehavelearnedto
overlookpresentationsoftwareasatool
forcombiningwordsandvisualsinaway
thatallowspeopletoquicklyconsumeand
spreadinformationinatomicbites.

W hileusingpresentationsoftwareisthe
easiestwaytocreateaslidedoctoday,the
conceptactuallypredatessoftware.
Infact,HughesAircraftpublishedareport
onthe
SequentialThematicOrganizationofPubl
ications(STOP)
in1965.
ProponentsoftheSTOPmethodbelieved
thatcommunicatinginformationbyputting
asingleideaonapageandsupportingit
withtextandpictureswasamoreconcise
andcollaborativewaytobuilddense
proposalsandreports.
Similarly,slidedocsallowcommunicators
tobreakcomplexideasintosmallchunks
ofinformationandgivereadersthetimeto
absorbtheinformationattheirownpace.
Duarte,Inc.2014

29

When I joined Facebook, one of

the things I had to do was build
the business side of the company,
put some systems into place, but I
wanted to do it without destroying
the culture that made Facebook
great. So, one of the things I tried
to do was encourage people
not to do formal PowerPoint
presentations for meetings with
me. Why dont you come in with a
list of what you want to discuss.

Sheryl Sandberg
COO,Facebook

Photo:Copyright2010DrewAltizer,FinancialTimesSource:http://drte.co/pz

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PRESENTATION SOFTWARE IS
THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

Presentationsoftwarecanbeagreat
publishingtool.Theabilitytointegrate
words,visuals,andotherinteractive
elementslikehyperlinksandvideoarea
fewofthekeyattributesofaslidedoc.

Youdbesurprisedbythenumberand
qualityofideasthatbegininpresentation
software.Manypeopleuseittocreate
conceptsandstrategies,andplentyof
greatideastrickleoutoftheseapps.

First,itsapracticalalternativeto
professionaldesignsoftware,whichis
expensiveandtakesyearstolearnwell.
Whymakethatinvestmentwhenatool
youuseeverydaywillworkformostof
yourcommunicationneeds?Granted,
professionaldesignersserveagreat
purpose.Designersspendyearslearning
theeffectivedisplayofinformation.For
high-stakescollateralofanykind,nothing
canreplaceadesignersabilitytovisually
guideandengagethereader.

Lastly,veryfewtoolsallowyoutopickup
entirepages,rearrangethem,easily
mergethemintoexistingdocuments,or
savethemintotheirownfile.Theease
withwhichyoucanaccomplishthese
taskswithpresentationsoftwaremakesit
theperfectplatformforspreading
information.Iveseenslideswehelped
createforaclientinonepartofthe
companycomebacktousrepackagedin
adeckfromacompletelydifferent
department.Itsatestamentto
presentationsoftwaresuniqueabilityto
facilitateandspreadideas.

Second,presentationsoftwareis
pervasive.PowerPointisinstalledon
morethanabillioncomputersworldwide.

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

Benefits of slide software:

Visual: Visualizinginformationhelpsyour
readersseewhatyoureexplaining.
Versatile: Itincorporatesphotos,
illustrations,sketches,andevenvideoif
itspostedonline.
Interactive: Youcanembedlinksand
jumparoundthedocumentitselfor
outtotheInternet.
Tablet-ready: Itsaspectratiomakesit
easytoloadontodevices.
Spreadable:Itsmodularnatureallows
slidestobeincorporatedintootherdecks
andspreaditthroughouttheorganization.
Shareable: PlatformslikeSlideShare
makeitembeddableandshareable.

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+ Connecting With
Your Audience

01
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32

USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

Nowthatwehavethistool,howdowe
knowwhentouseit?Whenisitbetterto
sendpeopleaslidedoc,andwhenshould
yougiveapresentation?Theanswer
dependsagreatdealonthesituation,but
muchofyourdecisionshouldboildownto
twoquestions:

External

Proposal
ResearchFindings
EarningsReport
ClientStrategy
SalesSheet
RFI
CaseStudy
WhitePaper
Datasheet

1. Do people need to hear your

message directly from you? Ifso,
youshoulddeliverapresentation.
2. Does the subject matter require a lot
of detail to understand? Ifso,aslidedoc
couldbeyourbestbet.Thetabletothe
rightservesasaguidetohelpyoudecide
wheresomeinternalandexternal
communicationsmayfallonthespectrum.

PressBriefing
InvestorPresentation
ExecBriefing
VCPitch
KeynotePresentation
ProductLaunch
AnalystPresentation
SalesPresentation
CorporateOverview

Slidedoc

Presentation
ResearchFindings
Reports
Brief/Memo
CorporateStrategy
ExecutionPlan
Appendix
StaffMeeting
StatusUpdate

Lecture/Training
InternalLaunch
BoardMeeting
VisionMeeting
All-HandsMeeting
QuarterlyUpdate
ProjectOverview

Internal
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SLIDEDOCS ARE BETTER FOR THE AUDIENCE

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

Space limitations
forceaslidedocsauthor
toboildownthematerial
toitsessence.Done
correctly,thismakesthe
materialmoreclearto
thereader.

Visualized ideas
helptheaudiencesee
whatyouresaying.
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
thatsbeenparsed,
structured,and
visualized.

Duarte,Inc.2014

34

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.

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

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

CEO,LinkedIn

Duarte,Inc.2014

35

THREE WAYS TO PRODUCE

EFFECTIVE SLIDEDOCS

Convert Documents
to Slidedocs

Convert Teleprompter
Text to Slidedocs

Convert Slides
to Slidedocs

Greatinformationisoftentrappedin
densedocuments.Rechunkingand
turningwordsintopictureshelpsmake
themunderstood.(Seecasestudyon
nextpage)

W hensomethingisneitheraslidenora
slidedoc,itcanbeanawkward,readalonglength.Eithershortenthecopyinto
aslideforprojection,oraddmorecontext
toitsoitsastand-aloneslidedoc.
(Seecasestudyonaddingcontenton
pages58to63)

Ifyoureagreatpresenter,simplevisuals
workforprojection.Sothenwhatdoyou
doafteryourtalkwhensomebodyasksfor
acopyofyourslides?Embedyourslides
asgraphicsinaslidedocwithlonger
prose.(pages149to154)
Duarte,Inc.2014

36

CASE STUDY

Converting
Documents
IntoSlidedocs
Thiscasestudytransformslengthy,text-basedprosefromNOAAsSolarPhysicshigh
schoolcurriculumintoavisuallyrichandeasilyconsumableslidedocthatengagesthe
readerandpassesalongknowledgequickly.

Duarte,Inc.2014

37

NOAA SOLAR PHYSICS CURRICULUM | BEFORE

Studying the sun could be a visually

arresting experience, but this document
is dull and dense, which can be
intimidating.
As a result, its dull nature may affect the
comprehension of the subject matter.
Chunking the text by topic and displaying
it in a visually interesting way can entice
students to dive in.

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

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NOAA SOLAR PHYSICS CURRICULUM | AFTER

Believe it or not, this is the same material

as the before example on the previous
page. Its colorful and broken into
smaller, more digestible chunks of
information.

Duarte,Inc.2014

39

This beautiful information was trapped in

the original document. By using images
from NASA, the information is visualized
and easier to understand. You can use
callouts associated with the text to
emphasize your main point.

Duarte,Inc.2014

40

Before

After

Plotting the data in color, instead of black

and white, helps students visualize the
temperature like a heat map. It draws
readers in and helps them comprehend
the material better.

Duarte,Inc.2014

41

And, of course, slidedocs are easy to

convert into device-ready formats by
using any one of a number of tools. This
flexibility allows your information to be
consumed on the go.

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42

PUBLISHING IS CHANGING
There has been an incredible sea of change in publishing over the past
few years. Large publishers are scrambling to figure out the digital era
and digital book sales are surpassing traditional print books.

In2008,whenmyfirstbookwas
published,therewereonlyahandfulof
otherbusinessbooksthatusedvisualsas
heavilyaswedid.Now,severalbusiness
booksperyeararereleasedwithavisual
focus.Theuptickinvisualbooksisclosely
relatedtoorganizationspresentation
cultureandhowweconsumeinformation
onaday-to-daybasis.

Theintroductionoftabletsanddigital
bookshasconditionedpeopletoreadon
screens.Yet,Istillhaventfounda
publishingplatformthatmakesiteasyto
publishadigital,visualbookthatworkson
allscreens,acrossallplatforms.

Anotherbenefitisthefactthatslidedocs
arenttrappedinaproprietaryplatform
thatisdifficulttopromoteorsharewith
others.Youcanconvertslidedocstoother
fileformatssuchasPDF,HTML,video,
andimagesrelativelyeasily.

Slidedocs,ontheotherhand,are
multiplatform.Youcandistributethemvia
e-mail,tablets,servers,orsocialmedia
likeSlideShare.

Allthiscanbedoneinanapplicationthat
youuseeveryday.

Duarte,Inc.2014

43

Writinga
Slidedoc
+ Content Creation
+ Case Study: Dense Slides Converted
+ Architecture of a Slidedoc
+ Data and Diagrams Clarify Content
+ Case Study: SAP Top 10

02
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44

+ Content Creation

02
Duarte,Inc.2014

45

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Take a mental walk in their shoes.
Inallthreeofmybooks,Ivespenta
significantamountoftimetalkingabout
theneedtocraftyourmessagearound
theaudiencesconcerns.Youcouldsay
somethingsneverchange.

Takeamentalwalkintheirshoes.
Anticipatetheirconcerns,theirquestions,
andtheircircumstances,andkeepthose
thoughtsinmindasyouconstructyour
copy.Youllbegladyoudid.

Thetruthisthatnomatteryourmodeof
communication,youraudienceshould
alwaysbeyournumberonepriority.They
mustunderstandyourmessage.Without
theirbuy-in,yourmessagedoesntgo
anywhere.
Peoplearentmotivatedbywhats
important.Theyremotivatedby
Whatsinitforme?Asyoucreate
yourslidedoc,remembertomakeit
evidenttoyourreaderswhatsinit
forthem.

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46

STATE YOUR BIG IDEA

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

Youknowwhenyourunintooneofthese
pieces,becauseyoulookupattheend
(ifyoumakeittotheend)andthinkto
yourself,Whatjusthappened?
Youdonteverwantsomeonetofinish
yourslidedocwithaconfusedlookontheir
face.ThatswhyyoustateyourBigIdea.
Traditionally,theBigIdeamustcontainthe
followingthreerequirements:

Big Idea Requirements

Example

Your unique point of view

lidedocsspreadyourmessagethrough
S
modularcontent.

hats at stake for those

W
who do or do not adopt
your point of view

lidedocsempowerpeopletoquickly
S
understandandeasilyshareyourideas.

hese elements must be

T
written in a complete
sentence

lidedocsspreadyourmessagethrough
S
modularcontentthatempowerspeopleto
quicklyunderstandandeasilyshareyourideas.

Stating your Big Idea in this format

distinguishes it from simply being a topic.

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RECOMMENDED LENGTH OF SLIDEDOCS

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

Emissary:

Reference material:

Follow-up material:

Before the meeting:

Ifyoudistributetheslidedoc
beforeameeting,itshouldbe
abletobereadin20minutes
orless.Itmaybehardfor
reviewerstofindlargeblocks
oftimeintheirworkdayfor
focusedreading.

Sent to executive:
Ifanexecutiveasksyouto
sendalongyourslides,they
justwantthefactsanda
reasontobelievethatyour
ideaisagoodone.Fiveslides
seemstobethetolerancelevel
forpeopleinpower.Sendthem
whattheyrequested;theyre
sharpenoughtofillinthe
gapsthemselves.

Sent before or after a talk:

Ifyouneedtodeliverdetailed
informationduringatalk,send
contextaheadoftimeorshare
adetailedreportwith
referencesafterthetalkso
youraudiencecanstudyyour
findings.Theseslidedocs
couldbeupto50pages.

Sent after a talk or meeting:

Usingslidedocsforfollow-up
helpsyousealadealoradd
moreinsightstohelppersuade
keystakeholders.These
documentscanbeintheform
ofslidedoccollateral
(10pages)orevenaslidedoc
booklikethisone(upto200
pages);italldependsonthe
contentandtheaudience.

Beginning of the meeting:

Ifyoudistributetheslidedoc
forpeopletoreadatthe
beginningofameeting,it
shouldtakelessthan10
minutestoread.Thatmeansit
shouldbe
10pagesorless.Thisis
particularlyhelpfulwhen
thetopicishighlycomplex
ortechnical.

Sent to potential client:

Slidedocsmakeamazing
modularcollateral.Apotential
clientmakingabuying
decisionshouldhavealltheir
questionsansweredina
slidedoc10pagesorless.

Distributed during a talk:

Ifyouwanttodistribute
referencematerialduringa
talk,itneedstobelimitedto
informationtheaudiencewill
hearinthetalkortheyllread
insteadoflisteningtoyou.10
pagesisthemostyoushould
haveforthesetypesof
slidedocs.

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48

SELL YOUR IDEA WITH GREAT COPY

Now that you know when to use a slidedoc,

lets look at how to compose one.
W ritingaslidedocdoesntmeanyouhavelicensetotranscribe
everythoughtthatcomesintoyourhead.Nomatterthemedium,
effectivecommunicationrequiresplanning,thought,andskillful
execution.Thatmeansdustingoffthewritingskillsthatyou
mighthavesetasidewhileyouwerecrankingoutfragmented
bulletpoints.
Soundlikemorework?Afterall,thosebulletpointswere
relativelyeasytosqueezeout.Butifyouaretakingthetimeto
communicateyourideainthebestpossibleformat,itmakes
sensetomaximizetheuseofthatformat.

Filter

Dontassumethatyourreaderswillfollowyourleadbecause
yourideaisimportanttoyou.Usewordsandvisualstoexplainto
youraudiencewhyyourideaisimportanttothem.

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49

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.

oneIdeate

two Create

three Refine

First,followinganeditorialprocesswillhelpbothyouandyourteamfocusonthemain
messageyouwanttocommunicate.Second,itwillfocusyourattentiononasingletask
andkeepyoufromfeelingoverwhelmed.
Tosetupyoureditorialprocess,stepbackandlookattheprojectasawhole.Define
theintentoftheslidedoc,andstayfocusedonthebestwaytoconveythatinformation
toyouraudience.Then,followthesethreestepstocompletingthecontent:ideate,
create,andrefine.

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50

STEP 1: IDEATE

My process happens to start in PowerPoint.

I outline the sections that I think will be my
slidedocs main components. Then, under those
sections, I add pages (slides) with the titles of
topics I want to cover. In high school, many of
us learned how to structure reports by writing
the points we wanted to cover on 3"x5" index
cards and arranging the order. I still use that
method, only I do it in PowerPoint.

Onceyouidentifyrelevanttopicsthatsupportyouridea,invite
therestofyourteamintomakesureyouvecoveredallthemain
pointsandconfirmthattheoverallflowofyourslidedocworks.
Again,itsimportanttothinkaboutyourslidedocasawhole.Ask
yourself,Howwillmyaudiencenavigatethroughthis?
ManytimesatDuarte,wepastetheentireslidedoconthewall
andrearrangetheindividualpagesuntilwehavealogicalorder.
Solidstructurecreatesanimpactfulexperiencetoguidethe
audiencethroughtheslidedoc.
ThisisalsowhereIstartthinkingabouthowIwantthereaderto
feelastheypagethroughthematerial.

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51

STEP 2: CREATE

Afteryouvecapturedyourteamsideas
aroundtopicsandestablishedarough
storyflow,spillallyourthoughtsonthe
page.Dontholdback;itdoesnthaveto
befullyformedyet.Simplypourout
everythingthatcomestomind.Useeach
pageasabuckettocollectconceptsand
ideasforeachtopic.
Byfollowingthispath,yourecreatinga
wealthofideasandinformationthatyou
canchoosefrominthenextstep.Youre
alsospeedingpastthementalblocksthat
cankeepyoufromcapturingyourbest
ideas.

For now, aim for quantity

instead of quality.

Quantity

Exhaustyoursubjectqualitywillcome
withthenextstep.

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52

STEP 3: REFINE
Once you have your ideas collected, refine them. This is the time to craft
your copy and make sure every word and every sentence contributes to
the main idea on the page and the slidedocs Big Idea.

Onceyourehere,itsagoodtimetoinvite
yourteambackin.Makesuretheyhave
context,butalsoencouragethemtobring
acriticaleyeandrepresenttheneedsof
youraudience.
AtDuarte,wereposteverythingonthe
boardandtakeasecondlookattheflow.
Withamorefullyfleshedoutversion,we
refinetheslidedocuntilwefeelwehave
therightflowandrightinformationon
eachslide.

Refine

Duringthisstep,wealsoensurethatthe
informationischunkedproperly.This
attentiontothebigpicturepaysoffin
readercomprehension.

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53

WRITE SCANNABLE COPY

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

a
Duringapresentation,youhaveacaptive
audience.Withaslidedoc,theycan
simplystopreading.
So,organizeyourinformationinaway
thatseasilydigestibleandhelpsguide
yourreadersthroughtheslidedoc.
Thebestpresentationslidesusejusta
titleandminimaltext,whereasaslidedoc
canusemanymoreorganizational
techniquesthatmakeiteasiertoscanand
drawtheeyethroughthematerial.

They usually contain this type of copy:

A. Headlines use6-to10-wordtitles
aroundtheslidesmaintopic.
B. Subheads includethethesisora
summaryoftheslidesmainpoint.
C. Paragraphs clustersentencesinto
completethoughts.
D. Bullets usefullsentencesanda
parallelstructure.
E. Pull-quotes areusedforemphasisand
helpimportantcontentstandouteitherin
lineorrepeatedinabox.

Inthefollowingpages,welldiscusshow
toturntextintosomethingthatgrabs
youraudienceandeffectivelyconveys
youridea.
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54

CONCISION PAYS OFF

Itmakesiteasierto
stayfocusedona
singlesubject.
Itkeepsyoufrom
exhaustingyour
audience.

Putting a word count in

place offers three benefits:

Constraint requires more

thought and effort, but its
worth it because it will keep
your audience reading.

1
Informationseekersthriveonconcision.
Ifourtendencytoreadtweetsandtext
messagesoverlong-formarticlesisnt
enoughtoconvinceyouofthisfact,
considerthis:Asmuchas50percentof
dailycognitionisspentdaydreaming.
Thismeansyoudonthavealotoftime
tosaywhatyouwanttosay,sogetto
thepoint.Clarityandconcisionshould

Itprovidesroom
forvisuals.

alwaysbeyourguidewhen
communicatingamessage,especially
whenwritingyourslidedoccopy.
W evefoundthat100wordsperpagesis
concise.Thisbookyourereadingis
considereddensewithupto250words
perpage.Anymorethanthat,andyou
shouldcreateadocument.

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55

DEVELOP TITLES WITH MEANING

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

Forexample,youcouldhaveatitleread
NetworkRouterOptions.Butwhatabout
theoptions?Andwhatdoesitmeanto
youraudience?Instead,youcouldsay,
FastNetworkRoutersSpeedTimeto
Market.
Insteadofinformingyourreadersthat
youreabouttotellthemaboutrouters,by
changingthetitleyouveintroducedtwo
moreideas:1)Itsafastrouter.2)Itwill
helpyouraudienceaccomplishagoal.
Thatsnotabadtradeforfivemorewords.

Reviewthetitleafteryouwritethebody
copyandaskyourselfthreequestions.
First,doesthecopysupportthetitle?If
not,youmightneedtochangethetitleor
changethecontenttosupportthetitle.
Second,doesthetitlefitwithinand
supportthegreaterslidedocmessage?If
not,thenyoumightnotneedtheslideat
all.Third,isthetitleconcise?Ifyourtitleis
longerthantwolines,tightenitbycutting
outthefluff.

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56

OPPORTUNITY FOR STRONG

TOPICAL STRUCTURE

Viewingyourslidedocinoutlineviewgives
youanopportunitytoaudityourstoryflow.
Presentationsoftwaresdefaultdisplayis
theleftpanelhighlightslideview.Toview
slidetitlesonly,simplyclickthetabfor
outlineviewandreadthroughyourslide
titlesinorder.Eachtitleshouldgiveyoua
goodunderstandingofwhatthatpageis
about.Whenyoureadthemsequentially,
iftheyarewrittenwell,thepagetitles
shouldmakealogicalcaseor
persuasivearc.
Manypeoplewritefragmentedslidetitles
thatstatethecategory,insteadofthe
point,oftheinformation.Writingclear
headlinesoneverypagewillhelpthe
readerguessthecontentthatwillfollow.

Havingthetitlesflowintoeachothernot
onlyhelpsyourreaders,butitcanalso
assistyouduringthecreationand
refinementprocesses.Asyoureadyour
titlesinoutlineview,checktomakesure
theyformacompletearc.Askyourselfif
thethematicintentisclear.Doeseach
topicbuildnaturallyontothenext?
Aretheresubordinateideasthatdont
needtheirownslide?Viewingyour
slidesinthiscontextwillmakeyour
contentstronger.

This is the actual screen

shot of outline view for this
book. Note how the titles
create a sense of what youll
learn and hang together to
create structure.

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TOPICAL STRUCTURE IS STRONGER

THAN OUTLINING CATEGORIES
Traditional outline reads like a list:

Topical outline creates meaning:

Solar Evolution

Solar Evolution

I.Introduction
Summary
OurGalaxy
OurSun

OurSunsPlaceintheUniverse

II.The Protostar
TheSolarSystem
BinaryStarSystems
OtherPlanetarySystems
SupportingFacts
DefinitionofaProtostar

Protostar:TheFirstStageofaStar

III.The Hydrogen Burning Stage

Birthto4.5BillionYears
LuminosityOverTime
Hurtzprung-RussellDiagram

TheBirthofOurSolarSystem
ThePossibilityofOtherPlanetarySystems

HydrogenBurning:TheSecondStageofaStar
GrowthinSizeandBrightness
ContinuedGrowthandIncinerationofMercury

The difference between a traditional outline and topical

headings is apparent. Topical themes dramatically increase the
readers ability to predict content and read more like a story.

IV.The Red Giant

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

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FOLLOW GOOD WRITING PRACTICES

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.
Slidedocsrequirefullsentences,because
theydonthaveapresentertofillinthe
gaps.Buttheyalsorequireprecisionand
clarity,bothofwhichcanbeachievedby
writinginfullsentencesversusbullets.
Makingyourcopymoredirectcanhelp
sharpenyourthinking.Thebestwaytodo
thatistouseanactivevoice.Theactive
voicehelpsmakeyourwritingsoundmore
interestingbypropellingyourreaders
throughyourprose.
Grammarnerdscantellwhetheryoure
usingtheactivevoiceoritseviltwin,the
passivevoice.Theysimplysearchfor
formsoftheverbtobe,akeyindicator
ofthepassivevoicespresence.Youcan
thinkofthepassivevoiceasanywording
thatdelaysoravoidsyourmainpoint.

Changingyourcopyfrompassivetoactive
voicemostoftenmeansputtingyour
subjectatthebeginningofyoursentence
andhavingitperformanaction.
W ritinginactivevoiceisntalways
possiblesomesentencesarestubborn.
Themosteffectiveauthorsuseitasoften
astheycan.
Formorewritingpointers,checkout
WilliamZinssersclassic,
OnWritingWell.

Passive Voice

Active Voice

Thenew
versionofour
productwas
developedin
9months.

Wedeveloped
thenewversion
ofourproduct
in9months.

Thespeech-totextfeatureis
availableon
bothproducts.

Bothproducts
offerthe
speech-to-text
feature.

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WRITE COMPELLING COPY

The slidedoc format gives you

a higher word count than a
traditional slide, but less than
a document.
Bywritingfullparagraphs,youhaveroom
tocraftmorecompelling,persuasivecopy.
Thisisimperativesince,withouta
presenter,yourcopyandvisualsarethe
onlythingguidingtheaudiencethrough
theslidedoc.Thatsaid,aslidedocdoesnt
havetobeboringorineffectualhereare
afewwaystoavoidthat:
Use emotional appeal: Businesscopy
tendstobecoldandfactual.Butdecisions

aremadefromthegutbeforetheyare
rationalized.Incorporateemotivevisuals,
shockingstatistics,andstoriesthatcreate
anemotionalresponseinthereader.
Make benefits explicit: Beforea
readerwillgetonboardwithwhat
youreproposing,theyneedtoseewhats
initforthem.Makeitclearwhatreward
theywillreceiveiftheytaketheriskof
aligningwithyou.

Use analogies: Peoplerespondwhen

theycanidentifythingsaseithersimilaror
differentfromtheirperspective.Using
analogiestocomparethesimilaritiesand
differencesaidsunderstanding.

This type of language helps

people rationalize, remember
your ideas, and make
decisions easier.

Cite examples: Showreadersexamples

oftimeswhenothersinasimilarsituation
madeadecisiontoalignwithyour
perspectiveandhadasuccessful
outcome.Casestudiesandproofhelp
peoplethroughtheirdecisionprocess.

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EDIT THE EXTRANEOUS AND

AMPLIFY THE ESSENTIAL
Think about what you want your slidedoc to accomplish.

Cuttingdownyourslidedoc'stextcanbe
oneofthemostliberatingstepsofthe
entireprocessandthemostdifficult.Itis
painfultodeletesomethingyouspentalot
oftimecreating.Anditstemptingtojustify
keepingeverythingtoavoidwhatwriters
callmurderingyourdarlings.Thinking
aboutwhatyouwantyourslidedocto
accomplishhelpsmotivateyoutorefine
yourcontent.

Themorecontentyouhave,themore
choicereadershaveoverthebitsand
piecestowhichtheychoosetopay
attention.Bynarrowingthenumberof
choices,youhavemorecontrolover
theirfocus.
So,whentighteningthecopyinyour
slidedoc,thinktoyourself,Isthisoneof
themainpointsthatIwantmyreadersto
takeaway?Ifnot,getoutyourax.

First,youwantpeopletoreadyour
Youcanseeanexampleofapassage
slidedocnotskim,read.Inordertodo
trimmeddowntoitsessenceonthe
thatyoumustkeepitshort.Second,you
wanttomaintaincontroloverwhatreaders followingpage.
takeawayfromyourslidedoc.

Review your document,

highlight the main points to
keep, then cut the rest.
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EXAMPLE OF PURGING
Full passage (140 words)

Edited passage (51 words)

EmergencyEvacuationFindings

EmergencyEvacuationFindings

Basedonobservations,reviewoflocalfire
departmentresponsetofirealarms,reviewof
residentcouncilminutereports,staff
interviews,andresidentinterviewsregarding
theirperceptionofthestaffduringemergency
evacuation,itwasdeterminedthefacilitystaff
ononeofthreefloorsofthefacility(thesecond
floor)wasnotfamiliarwithprocedurestoexit
thebuildingincaseofanemergencyand/or
fireasevidencedbythreestaffmemberswho
didnotknowthecodeforthekeypadtoopen
thelockedexitdoortotheoutsidestairwellon
thesecondfloor.Thefailureofthestaffto
knowthecodetoopenthelockedexitdoor
placedtheresidentsonthesecondfloorina
seriousandimmediatethreattotheirhealth
andsafetyifanevacuationwasneeded
throughthelockeddoortothestairwell.

Basedonathoroughreview,wedeterminedthe
facilitystaffonthesecondfloorwasnotfamiliar
withemergencyexitprocedures.
Threestaffmembersdidnotknowthecode
neededtoopentheexitdoortotheoutside
stairwell.
Thissituationposedaseriousandimmediate
threattothatfloorsresidents.

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.

When a sentence becomes stronger,

it usually becomes shorter. Thus,
brevity is a by-product of vigor.
Strunk&White,ElementsofStyle

Source:nursinghometraining.ppt

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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.

Thereareseveralwaystomakeyour
contentmoreconsumable.
Youcanmakeyourinformationso
entertainingthatnobodywantstostop
reading.Youcantrimyourmessage.Or,
youcanchunkitintobite-sizedpieces.
Theresalimittohowentertainingcopy
canbe.Andnomatterhowmuchyoucut,
theresalimittothat,too.Chunkingis
anothertooltohelpgetthroughtopeople.
Chunkingstructuresyourmaterialin
small,uniformbitsofdiscoursethatbuild
towardalargerpoint.Thismakes
informationlooklessdenseand
intimidatingtothereader.

Chunkingyourcopyalsomakesiteasier
toconsumeintodayshecticenvironment.
Whenreadingadensedocumentonline,
itseasytoloseyourplaceifyoure
interrupted.Butwhenreadingaslidedoc,
youcanpickuprightwhereyouleftoff.
Slidedocsareanaturaltoolforchunking.
Bykeepingyourcopybriefandchanging
thesubjectoneverypage,youprovide
easilydigestiblecontent.Itsless
intimidatingandmakesyourmessage
seemmorecleartothereader.

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CASE STUDY

Converting
DenseSlides
IntoSlidedocs
ThefollowingslidesfortheHawaiiTsunamiWarningSystemweretoodensetobeslides,
butnotdenseenoughtobeeffectivedocuments.So,wecombinedthecontentfromthe
slidesandspeakernotestomakeabeautifulslidedoc.

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Before

After

The original slides are too dense to be projected,

but unable to stand alone as slidedocs. One topic
was spread across three slides.

Combining all three slides into one keeps all eleven insights of
the end-to-end system on one page. It was important to keep the
highlighted text skimmable.

Source:http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/education/ITTI/

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Before

After

When reviewing the slides in notes view,

we noticed there was critical information
that needed to be moved to the slidedoc page.

Pulling the notes onto the page keeps all the content readable
and in one place.

Source:http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/education/ITTI/

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Before

After

These two slides have critical information, and the content

is stronger if they are combined, but the graphic styles dont
work together.

By combining the two slides and using a consistent illustration

style, you see the system in relation to its designated location.

Source:http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/education/ITTI/

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Before

After

When the information youre conveying is potentially

life-saving, you need to be as clear as possible. The
multidirectional arrows in this graphic are confusing.

Using concentric circles instead of swooping arrows clearly

demonstrates how long it will take for a tsunami to reach
each island.

Source:http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/education/ITTI/

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Front cover has a

bold title, clear
subtitle, and
strong visual
element.

When reading
on a tablet, you
can split images
across two slides
for a seamless
effect.

Readers
understand the
core message of
the slidedoc just
by reading the
table of contents.

This diagram
works as a
navigational
device that
repeats on four
pages to signify
what section the
reader is in.

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CRITIQUE FOR EXCELLENCE

Onceyouhaveadraftthatyouresatisfied
with,itstimeforanothercritique.Dont
waituntilyourdraftispolishedand
perfect.Acceptthattheroughdraftof
nearlyanythingisjustthatrough.

Again,slidedocsareperfectforgroup
editingbecauseyoucanlaythemoutin
anopenareaandthegroupcangather
aroundanddiscussvariousideasand
improvements.

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.

W itheachslideasanindividualtopic,you
caneasilyalterthestructurebymoving
slidesaround.Ifyouweretoposta
documentofproseonthewall,there
wouldbemultiplepointsperpage.

Theirinputcanalsohelpyoujumpdifficult
hurdles,likeanawkwardtransition,a
particularlydifficultconcepttoexplain,or
adullheadline.

Subjectingyourselftopeerreviewcanbe
painful,butitoffersgreatrewards.
Embracingotherperspectivesofyour
workhelpsitreachabroaderaudience,
andhelpsyougrowintoastronger
communicator.

Strengthen
thequality
oftitles

Suggest
areastocut
information
Validatethe
structure
andflow
Lookfor
flawsin
reasoningor
execution
Improve
examples,
phrases,
ordata
Here are some
ways the
group might
help improve
your slidedoc.
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WRITE AN INTRODUCTION OR SUMMARY

Slidedocs can have an introduction and/or a summarythis is one
thing that makes them different from presentations. The introduction
should give a succinct overview of whats in the slidedoc.

Youcantakeastabattheintroductionbeforeyou
beginwriting.However,sinceslidedocstendtoevolve
asyouwrite,youmayneedtorevisittheintroduction
whenyourslidedociscomplete.Onceyouvefinished
writing,youllhaveamoreaccurateideaofthepoints
thatarecovered.Keypointsinyourintroductioncan
comefromthetitlesoftheslidesthemselves.

Introduction

GOTOTHISSLIDE6

W ritingasummaryisagreatfinaltestofyourflow.If
youcantwritethesummaryfromaderivativeofyour
titles,theremaybeaflawinyourstructure.
Iusedthisprocesstowritetheintroductiontothis
slidedoc.

Summary

GOTOTHISSLIDE157

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71

The traditional kind of corporate

meeting starts with a presentation.
Somebody gets up in front of the
room and presents with a
PowerPoint presentation, some
type of slide show. In our view, you
get very little information, you get
bullet points. This is easy for the
presenter, but difficult for the
audience. And so instead, all of our
meetings are structured around a
6-page narrative memo. When you
have to write your ideas out in
complete sentences, it forces
deeper clarity.

Jeff Bezos
CEO,Amazon

Photo:Copyright2010SteveJurvetsonSource:http://drte.co/qa

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+ Architecture
of a Slidedoc

02
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DRAWING INSIGHTS FROM BOOKS

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.

Slidedocsborrowsomespecificdesign
aspectsfrombooks.Bookshaveacover,
tableofcontents,clearchapterindicators,
prose,pagenumbers,andothersmall
designdecisionsthathavebiginformation
architectureimplicationstohelpreaders
navigatethecontents.

Thissectiontakesinsightsfrombook
designandpublishingtomakesureyou
getthemostoutofyourslidedoc.

Flippingthroughthepagesofaslidedoc
shouldbesimilartoflippingthroughthe
printedpagesofabook.Inthecaseofa
slidedoc,youmightturnaprintedpage,
clicktoadvanceifreadingonacomputer
screenorswipewithyourfingerifreading
onatablet.

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74

COVER

Your company is more like the

publisher. It should be recognized
with a discrete, simple presence.

How many times have you picked up a book

just because it had a great cover? Publishers
purposefully create book covers to grab
peoples attention.
Coversworkbestwhentheyhaveahighlyconceptualvisualand
asnappytitle,buttheyshouldalsoincludeasubtitleandthe
authorsname.Aslidedocshouldhavealltheseelements.
Yourcoverpageisanopportunitytoconveyamessagerightoff
thebat,somakeyourtitleandsubtitleintuitiveandinteresting.
TitlingitQ4Strategyisntinteresting.Instead,becreativeand
callitLandGrab:Competitiveshake-upinQ4.Peopleshould
readthecover,getwhatitsabout,andwanttodivein.
Yourcompanylogocangointoyourslidedoc,butnotasahuge
covergraphicoronthecornerofeverypage.Thinkofyour
companyasthepublisherofyourslidedoc.Similartohowthe
publisherslogoonabookissmallandonthespine,your
companysvisualpresenceshouldbesimpleanddiscrete.

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ANATOMY OF A BOOK COVER

Large contrasting title that is

conceptual and stands out
Subtitle

Authors name

Publisher

FREEMULTIMEDIAVERSIONOFRESONATE
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76

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content
linking
Section
heads
Section
names

Page
numbers

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.

W henreadersaretryingtoconsume
informationforapurpose,theywantto
knowwhattheyregettinginto.Infictional
prose,itsgreattobuildsuspenseandhave
surprisesandplottwists.Butitsdifferentif
thegoalistoconveyinformationquickly.

AboveistheTOCforaslidedocabout
endangeredspecies.Moreofthisslidedoc
isshownonpage(74).Youcanseehow
readersgetthegistofwhatthedocument
isabout,sotheycanchoosetoreaditall
orjumptoaspecificsection.

EventhoughtheTOCwillbeatthefrontof
theslidedoc,itshouldbethelastthingyou
write.TheTOCwillbeaderivativeofyour
outlineviewinyourpresentationsoftware.
Dontaddpagenumbersuntilyouare
certaintheywontchange.

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ANATOMY OF A TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section
heads

Page
numbers

Section names

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

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HEADERS AND FOOTERS

Allbookshaveheadersand/orfootersthatindicatethesection
orchapternametohelporientthereaderastowhatsectionthey
arein.Inthecaseofaslidedoc,usethefooterareatoaddyour
corporateconfidentialityorcopyrightinformationwhich
discouragespeoplefromspreadingyoursecrets.

The header
setting in PPT
appears on the
notes page

Havingyourcompanysgreatthinkingfloatingaroundwithout
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.
ByinsertingaHeaderandFooterinPowerPoint,youcanadd
afootertotheslideviewandheadertothenotesview.
Theheaderandfootersettingisalsowhereyouaddpage
numbers.Projectedpresentationsdontusuallyshowpage
numbers,buttheyreimperativeforaslidedoc.

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

PagenumbershelpusersnavigatetheTOC.Duringmeetings
whereyourediscussingtheslidedoc,referencepagenumbers
sopeoplecanquicklyturntotheappropriatesection.
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SECTION HEADS
Section heads inform readers
they are entering a new section.
Thesectionheadislikeanewchapter
headinabook.Youknowwhenyouveleft
onechapterandareenteringthenext.
Eachtimethematerialtransitionstoa
newsection,useadistinctlydifferent
layouttodistinguishthechangevisually.
Transitioningtoanewsectioncanbe
signifiedbycolor,boldgraphic,or
memorabletype.Nomatterwhatvisual
cueyouuse,thedesignshouldbedistinct
enoughtomakeitobviousthatyoure
enteringanewsection.
Contrasthelpsmaketransitionsclearand
setsupthereadertoknowwhattoexpect
fromeachsection.

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 youre reading right now, we made the
section heads full color, while the rest of the information is on white.

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

Tabs

Color Coding

Inphysicaldocuments,tabshelpreadersfliptoanewsection
quickly.Youcanusevisualdevicesthatmimictabsonyour
slidestohelpreadersjumptoanysectionfromanypagein
yourslidedoc.

Eachsectioncouldbeassigneditsowncolor.Colorbarsonthe
veryedgeofaslidecouldchangeasyoumovefromsectionto
section,orthepagesthemselvescouldbefloodedwithbold
colorsineachsection.

The top of this

slidedoc clearly
identifies you are
in section 3.

Side bars map back

to the colors of the
major section
heads. Here you
can see were in
section 2 of 5.

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SECTION SIGNIFIERS
Distinct layout

Graphical device

Asreadersturnpages,adistinctpagelayoutwillstandout.
Forexample,contentpagestendtobewhiteandfulloftext
andimages,soadistinctlayoutwoulduseboldtextor
conceptualimages.

W hencontentinaslidedocfitstogetherlikeasystemor
process,youcanuseadiagramasanavigationdevice.Show
thesectionsdemarcatedandclearlylabeled.Then,highlightthe
segmentofthediagramthatidentifiesthesectionyourein.

This slidedoc uses a

flood of color that is
different from the white,
content-filled pages.
The contrast signifies
that its 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.

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TEXT EMPHASIS
If your readership is particularly pressed for time, you may need to
highlight 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 crosses
the grid.

Set text in a graphic

that amplifies your
message with a
visual metaphor.

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STRONG FIGURE-TO-TEXT RELATIONSHIP

When using slidedocs, words are more closely

associated with the graphics, because both
exist on the same page.
Imsureyouvereadabookwhereapagereferencesfigure4,
buttheresnographiconthepagecalledfigure4.Booksand
densedocumentstypicallyinterspersegraphicswithlong
sectionsofprose,whichmeansyouhavetoturnpagesbackand
forthtofindthevisualassociatedwiththetext.
Traditionalbooksdonthaveoneideaperpage,sothegraphic
getsseparatedfromthetextitisrelatedto.Thisistrueinmy
ownbook,theHBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations.The
graphicsandtextareondifferentpagessoyoucannotseeboth
atonce.

My Harvard Business Review book is a long-form

document. Several of the images dont appear on the
same page as the text that explains them.
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INTERACTIVE NAVIGATION

Anotherwaytomakenavigatingcontenteasierforthereaderistoletthemjumptothe
contenttheyfindmostinteresting.Slidedocsareself-navigableifyouaddhyperlinks
andinter-applicationlinkssouserscanjumparoundthematerial.Thisisanaddeduser
benefitandamajoradvantageofdigitalslidedocs.Herearesomeexamplesofnatural
waystoaddinteractivityandnavigation:
Click directly to sections

Cookie trail

Hyperlinks

Buttons

Tabs

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85

END MATTER
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:

Summary

Activities

Topics of discussion

Glossary

Encapsulatethemainpoints
inasummarytoremindthe
audienceofthemost
importantideas.

Testifthereaderlearnedwhat
youneededthemtoknowby
addingaquizorworksheets.

Frameupprovocative
questionsfordiscussionat
theendofyourslidedocto
helpreadersthink.

Helpreadersunderstand
yourdistinctvocabularyor
acronymsbyclarifyingwhat
theymeaninaglossary.

Appendix

Additional info

Reference pages

Index

Addsupportingstatistical
andresearchinformation
asanappendixforreaders
whowantadeepdive.

Linktoin-depthmaterials
(forums,discussionboards,
whitepapers)forreaders
whowanttoresearchfurther.

Citeresourcesandgive
credittoyoursourced
authorssoreaderscan
gainmoreinsights.

Keywordsarepulledout,
displayedalphabetically,
andassociatedwithapage
numberbyusinganindex.
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SLIDEDOCS ARE INTERACTIVE

Slidedocs are a great opportunity for

interaction. Clicking a button or swiping a
screen kinesthetically stimulates the brain
in short bursts.
Manypeopleunderstandandconsumeinformationbetterifthey
interactwithit.Chunkingcontentintobite-sizedpiecesand
loadingitontoatabletortouchscreenkeepsreadersengaged.
Theactionofclickingtoadvanceorswipingtoturnpagesoften
keepsreadersinvolvedwiththeinformation.Youcanaddlinks
thatjumparoundtheslidedocitselforlinkouttotheInternet,
whichgivesthereaderamoreinteractiveexperience.

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+ Data and Diagrams

Clarify Content

02
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DATA CREATES MEANING

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

Data

Diagrams

Dataisntreallyjustaboutthenumbersitsaboutthemeaning
behindthenumbers.Theconclusions.Theinsights.Theactions
humanswilltakebecauseofthenumbers.Itsyourjobto
uncovertheseelements.

Diagramsarecontent,too.Puttingwordsintoshapesand
placingthemnextto,orconnectingthemto,eachothercreates
meaningandestablishesrelationshipsbetweentheinformation.

W henincorporatingdata,dontjuststickachartonapage.
Determinethefindingsandnarrativeofthedataandinclude
prosearoundthat.

Makesureyouvechosentherighttypeofrelationship,because
howyouplacetextinshapesonasurfacecreatesmeaning:Are
theysimilar?Aretheydifferent?Aretheyconnected?Isthere
hierarchy?Doesitindicateprocess?

Remember,yourcopyneedstobeclearandsuccinctthesame Everytimetextinashapeisplacedonapage,makesurethe
appliestoyourdata.Unfortunately,presentationsoftwarehasa
proximityandconnectionsareconveyingtherightmessage.
wealthofbuttons,bullets,lines,ticks,gradients,borders,fills,
andotherchartdecorationsthatcanquicklyoverwhelmthedata
onyourslide.Avoidusinganyunnecessaryinformationsothat
yourmessagewillcomethroughmoreclearly.
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GET TO THE POINT

Display data in a way that the
audience will understand.
Audienceswhoareanalytical,financial,
scientific,orengineer-mindedtendtolook
atdatawithaskepticaleyeitswhat
theyretrainedtodo.Iftheyfeelyourdata
hasbeenmanipulatedorbecome
marketing-drivendata,itwillfeelless
substantialandaccuratetothem.
Avoiddecoratingyourdata;ornamentation
candetractfromcredibilityandskewthe
perceptionsofthenumbers.
The trouble with 3D charts is that the
data gets visually skewed.
Anydatathatsportrayedinaseemingly
manipulatedwaywillcausepeopleto

challengetheaccuracyoftherestofyour Addingdepthtoachartwhentheresno
realdataforthez-axisdetractsfromthe
contentanddiminishyourcredibility.
accuracyoftheinformation.Forexample,
trytodeterminewhatthenumberisthat
wasplottedinthechartabovetodisplay
attendanceintheNorth.Hint:thedepth
andperspectivechangesthenumber
significantly.

This chart is the same data, but plotted

without depth with a flat, front-on view.
Youcanseethattheactualfigureis21.
Youprobablywouldnthaveguessedthat.
Notonlydoesthischartprovideaclear
viewofthedata,italsohighlightswhats
mostimportant.ByusingblueforNorth,
youinstinctivelyfocusonitinsteadof
allotherregionsthatareshownin
neutralshades.

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HIGHLIGHT WHATS IMPORTANT

When your organization needs to make decisions from data, make sure
to show the conclusions of the data. A data chart has three layers:
1

Background

The background layer

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

Data

Emphasis

Result

The data plotted is usually

pulled from a data table.
Colors and attributes can be
assigned when its 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.

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DIAGRAMS SHOW RELATIONSHIPS

Five common diagram types are displayed below with visual examples
on the pages that follow.
Professionalshavebeenusingtext-filleddiagramstoexplainabstractconceptsforhundredsofyears.Thebestwayto
showhowthingsrelatetoeachotheristouseproximity,scale,andlinkssothehierarchyandrelationshipsareclear.

Flow

Network

Segment

Stack

Join

Shapesareconnected
byanarrowtoconvey
directionormovement.

Shapesareconnected
byalinetoshow
hierarchy.

Shapeisdividedinto
multiplesegments.

Shapesstackinan
ascendingor
descendingorder.

Shapesare
interconnectedorshare
asetofvalues.

Process

Tree

Bar chart

Puzzle

Cycle

Mind-Map

Concentric circles

Venn

Timeline

Cluster

Gears

Ecosystem

Sequence

Radial

Pie
Donut
Circle
Core

Link

Web
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DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | FLOW

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

Shapes flow creating a closed loop.

Parallel

Shapes flow in a parallel direction where no shape intersects.

Linear

Shapes flow linearly, but not necessarily straight.

Merge and
Divide

Shape separates from or combines with other shapes.

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DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | NETWORK

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

Network expands from a central hub concentrically.

Flare

Network bursts in a vertical or horizontal direction.

Spokes

Network expands from the center without a hub.

Ring

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

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DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | SEGMENT

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

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

Donut

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

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DIAGRAM TAXONOMY | STACK

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

Shapes stack horizontally.

Vertical

Shapes stack vertically.

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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.

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OVER 4,000 FREE DIAGRAMS

Duartes Diagrammer.com
Duarte,Inc.hasbuiltthousandsofdiagramsthatfitintothe
taxonomyonthepreviousfivepages.Gotodiagrammer.com
forover4,000free,custom-madediagramsthatfitinthis
framework.

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CASE STUDY

Dataand
DiagramsConvey
Information
SAPcreatesaseriesofskimmableSAPTop10whitepapers.Theseinformativedocuments
showsthetop10reasoncustomerschooseSAP.Theseuniquedocumentsaddressmanyof
theirclientsindustries,suchasbusinesstransformation,lifesciences,andothers.

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Front page has a bold title, clear subtitle, and logo element.

Source:http://global.sap.com/netherlands/about/pdfs/2011-02_TenReasonsCustomersChooseSAP.pdf
2014.SAPAGoranSAPaffiliatecompany.Allrightsreserved.

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Understand the benefits immediately, just from reading the table of contents.

2014.SAPAGoranSAPaffiliatecompany.Allrightsreserved.

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The tabulation system at the top helps with context and way-finding.
They highlight what is important in the data.

2014.SAPAGoranSAPaffiliatecompany.Allrightsreserved.

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Bold color palette and typographical hierarchy make processing data easy.
The important data is in a bold color and secondary information is neutral.

2014.SAPAGoranSAPaffiliatecompany.Allrightsreserved.

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The portability of this collateral form is a simple way to arm

sales reps with chunks of impactful content.

2014.SAPAGoranSAPaffiliatecompany.Allrightsreserved.

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Designinga
Slidedoc
+ Visual Systems Unify
+ Case Study: Power of Story
+ Grids Add Structure
+ Breathe With White Space
+ Typesetting Amplifies Whats Important

03
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+ Visual Systems
Unify

03
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SLIDEDOCS ENABLE VISUAL CONVERSATIONS

Visualsclarifyideas.Whenvisualsare
usedtoexplainconcepts,readers
understandthembetter.Avisualbriefis
betterthanatextbrief,becauseifpeople
canseewhatyouresaying,theywill
understandyoumoreclearly.
ToolslikePowerPoint,Keynote,and
GoogleSlideseasilyincorporategraphics
andtextaroundasingleidea.
Createaslidedocthatactsasaresource
foryourorganization,withestablished
layoutordesignguidelinesthataperson
canworkwithinormanipulate.This
slidedoctemplateshouldallowspacefor
densetextandleaveroomforavisual
thatcanamplifythemeaningoftheprose.
Visualizinginformationshowsyouhave
commandoverthesubjectmatterandthat Ultimately, youre communicating so you get people
on board with your idea. When theres agreement,
youcareenoughaboutittomakeit
theres action.
easilyunderstood.
KeynoteisaregisteredtrademarkofAppleInc.GoogleSlides isaregisteredtrademarkofGoogle.
Allrightsreserved.

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ESTABLISH A VISUAL LANGUAGE

Consistent visual language helps readers associate a visual style with
you or your brand. Baking it into a template will help employees
express your brand through slidedocs.

Use a consistent color palette. Select 35

colors, plus a neutral and highlight color.

Buy or create a robust illustration

library thats 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.

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THIS SLIDEDOC USES THIS VISUAL LANGUAGE

TITLES USE ARIAL

NARROW ALL CAPS 22
PT. FONT SIZE
Subtitles use Georgia italics
16 pt. font size
MainbodycopyuseArial12pt.
fontsize
Captions to graphics and photos use
Georgia italics 12 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.

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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.

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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.
Thefollowingpagesofferdifferentwaysyoucoulddistinguish
apresentationfromaslidedoc.Youcoulduseoneora
combinationofthedistinguishingidentifierstohelpyour
organizationcommunicateeffectively.

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MAKE SLIDEDOCS DISTINCT

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

Aspect ratio

Orientation

Animation

portrait

4:3

static
landscape

animates

16:9
The4:3aspectratioworkswellfor
slidedocstoreadondevicesand
printswellonlettersizepaper.You
mightchoosethisoptionforaslidedoc
andkeepa16:9versionofatemplate
forpresentations.Moreprojectorsare
usingthewideraspectratiowhich
makeitgreatforcorporate
presentations.

Anotherpossiblewaytodifferentiate
betweentheslidedocsandslidesisto
useportraitmodeforslidedocs,which
allowsittomimicatraditional
document,anduselandscapemode
forprojectedpresentations.Thisisnot
ahardrule,justanoptionalwayto
helpdistinguishthedifferences.

Sinceanimationscanonlybeviewed
inslideshowmode,usingthemin
presentationsmakesperfectsense.
Eliminatinganimationsandbuildsina
slidedocisagoodruleofthumbsince
theyareusuallyprintedandneedto
beclearofallartifactsfromanimations
thatobscuresanycontent.

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MAKE SLIDEDOCS DISTINCT

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

Word density

Background color

OneConcept

Tableof
Contents

Light
BIGIDEA

Sinceslidedocsaretoberead,the
layoutsshouldhaveamuchlonger
wordcountanddensergraphical
contentasadefault.
Whereaspresentationsare
conceptualandusedtoamplifythe
spokenwordthroughsimple,
emotiveconcepts,aslidemay
haveonlyoneword.

Document-like features

Dark

Oftenslidedocsareprintedorread
onscreen.Itsbestifthebackground
isawhiteoralightcolortomakeit
easyontheeyetoreadandalso
print-friendly.
Ifyouwanttomakeadistinction
usingcolor,youcouldprojectyour
slidesonadarkbackgroundwith
lighttext.Thiscreatesamore
formalpresentationsetting.

Severalfeaturesofaslidedocare
inspiredbybooksanddense
documents.Layoutscanhaveupto
175wordsandotherdocument
featureslikeatableofcontents,
pagenumbers,andsectionheads.
Presentationsaremorevisualthan
wordsandusuallyhaveonly
cinematicemotivevisuals.

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CASE STUDY

CreateaUnified
VisualSystem
JenniferAakeristheGeneralAtlanticProfessorofMarketingatStanfordGSBand
teachesthePowerofStory.Theworkbooksforherclassareslidedocs.Thefollowing
examplesaredesignedbyBrandonLyandwrittenbyBarbaraMcCarthy.Noticehow
allthevisualsarethematicallysimilar.YoudbeabletoidentifythisasAakersmaterial,
becauseofthehandmadelooktomanyofthevisuals.

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The first page looks like a book title and has the authors name on it.

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Every chapter segue is consistently simple with a flood of bold gray color.

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The copy is dense with clear segmentation and links. She uses other tactile elements like a
story journal and pencil to continue the handmade theme of the design language.

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Repeating the wood grain background, wood texture, and pencil element
visually signifies that these pages go together.

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WHEN FORMATTING SHOULD BE DONE BY A PRO

Creating beautiful and easyto-read slidedocs isnt always

easy. There are times when
you may need to bring in the
professionals. Theres no
shame in handing over your
slidedoc to a professional for
some extra love. Thats what
theyre there for.

When in a high-stakes situation:

Doyouneedtolandthataccount?Andis
thispieceofslidedoccollateralkeyto
gettingyourmessageacross?Havea
professionallookatit.

When you need to save time:

Yourteamgetspaidtobeinnovative,
nottolayoutslidedocsallday.Throwyour
greatideasontheslidesandhave
professionalstidythemup.

When your templates need an upgrade:

Isyourtemplatejustnotequippedto
createslidedocsthewayyouneedto?
Dontforce-fitnewmasters,getanew
templatedesignedright.Designersbuild
themwithinbrandandarehighly
functional.

Slidedocs have too much content and

you cant cut it:
Aprofessionalcanhelpreframecontent,
spreaditacrosspages,andrework
materialsoitissuccinct.

Buthowdoyouknowwhenits
appropriatetoconsultanexpert?Tothe
rightaresomerecommendationstosave
timeandpossiblyalotoffrustration:

When you have highly complex slides:

Areyoumixingalotoftypewithdetailed
diagrams?Isyourslidestartingtolook
likeyoujustthrewawholebunchofstuff
onthere?Youknowwhattodo.

A good question to ask yourself is

whether the importance of your message
outweighs the cost of hiring a design firm.
If so, then hire an expert. They will know
how to make your message clear and
beautiful.

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THIS SLIDEDOC USED TO BE UGLY

Designers help amplify the content.
Astheauthor,Ipouredallmytimeintothethinking,conceptualizing,andwriting.Then,adesignertookover.Designersaretrained
toreadcopy,amplifythemostimportantpartsbyvisualizingthem,andaddclearhierarchy.Everyonegetstoplaytotheirstrengths.I
spentmytimeinnovating,andmyteamhelpedmakeitclear(andbeautiful).

Before:
Mydesignskillsarelimited.
Ifocusoncopyfirst,thenfind
visualssodesignerscansee
whatImtryingto
communicate,andthenthey
dotheirmagic.

After:
Theteamturnsmywordsinto
pictures,clarifiesthinking
throughdiagrams,andlaysout
typeandpicturesinvisually
compellingways.

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+ Grids Add
Structure

03
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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
belongin.
Layingoutthetypewithinagrid
determinesthewidthofyourtext.In
slidedocs,longtextblocksshouldbe
arrangedincolumns.Thegriddetermines
howwideyoumakethecolumns.
The next page has an example of a
magazine layout. After that, youll see
the underlying grid used to create it.

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GRIDS IN USE

Publications have structure.

Ontheleft,weoverlaidagridoverthe
structureofamagazinespread.
Thisgridisconstructedsoyoucaninsert
textandplaceimagesanywherewithinthe
grid,anditlookstidy.
Eachpageinthearticlehasimagesand
textthatfallneatlyintothisstructural
systemandnaturallylookorganized.
Likepublications,slidedocsalsoneedto
haveagrid.Granted,thegridforthis
magazinearticlewasdevelopedbya
professionaldesignerandismore
complexthanyoullneedforaslidedoc.

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

DOWNLOAD10%OFSLIDE:OLOGYFREE

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TYPICAL SLIDEDOC 4X3 GRID

3 squares
vertically

4 squares
horizontally

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GRIDS CREATE CONSISTENT ORGANIZATION

Original content

Content flowed into grid

Clean and organized result

Identify grid

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4X3 IS A CLASSIC SLIDEDOC GRID

There are 892 unique ways to partition the 4x3 grid.
Togetaposter-sizedPDFofeveryoptionforlayingoutaslidedocina4:3grid,
goheretogetaPDFofthesegrids,courtesyofDubberlyDesign.

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+ Breathe With
White Space

03
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ADDING WHITE SPACE

Establishedin1867,Harpers Bazaar was

Americasfirstfashionmagazine.Thelate
1800swasano-nonsenseerawhen
resourceslikepaperwerescarceand
highlyvalued,andprintingwasexpensive.
Youcanseehowmuchinformationwas
packedintothepagesofasingleissue.
Whenreadersfinishedanissue,they
didntthrowitaway;itwasreusedfor
insulatingwallsandkindlingfortheir
fireplace.
Thedensedesignwasadirectreflection
ofsocietalvaluesofthetime.

Source:HarpersBazaar.com

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YOUR CONTENT NEEDS ROOM TO BREATHE

In1934,themagazinediscoveredyoung
RussiandesignerAlexeyBrodovitchand
broughthimonasArtDirector.
Brodovitchsworkhasbeendescribedas
boldandarresting,featuringcropped
photographs,typography,anddesign
onpagesthatbledbeautifully.

Hisworkrevolutionizedbothfashionand
magazinedesign.Addingwhitespaceand
dramaticcroppedimageshelpedHarpers
BazaarsurpassVogueasthetop
fashionmagazine.
Thefollowingtwopagesprovideexamples
ofhowBrodovitchcreateddesignsthat
breathewithwhitespace.

Brodovitch'ssignatureuseofwhitespace
andthecinematicqualitycreatedthrough
A good picture must be a completely individual expression
imagecroppingbroughtgracefulnessto
thelayouts.HisdesigncompelledTruman which intrigues the viewer and forces him to think.
Capotetowrite,WhatDomPrignonwas
AlexeyBrodovitch,
tochampagne...so[Brodovitch]hasbeen
ArtDirector
to...photographicdesignandeditorial
layout.*

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper's_Bazaarandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexey_Brodovitch
*

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LUXURY BRANDS USE WHITE SPACE

The more breathing room you give to a design or product,
the more luxurious its perceived to be.
Manybrandshaveembracedtheconceptofwhitespace.Whencreatingaslidedoc,surroundkey
pointswithwhitespace(alsocalledopenspaceorclearspace)todrawtheeyetowardthemost
importantelementsonthepage.

Examples of advertisements using white space

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+ Typesetting Amplifies
Whats Important

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WHY TYPESETTING IS IMPORTANT

Select
your type

Set up your type

Create
hierarchy

Upuntilnow,wevelearnedhowtowriteslidedoc-worthycopy.
Wevelearnedhowtointroducepeopletothatcopybytaking
somepointersfromprint.Andwevelearnedabitaboutlayout
anddesign.Sofar,sogood.Inthissection,youlllearnhowto
makethetextitselflooklikeitwasdesignedbyaprofessional.

to increase legibility

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.

Professionaldesignersusesophisticateddesignsoftware
tomakecopyeasilyconsumable.WhilePowerPointand
Keynotedonthaveallthecapabilitiesthatcomewith
professionalprintdesign,thereareafewsimplestepsyoucan
takewithinpresentationsoftwaretoachieveaprofessionallook.

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FORMATTING LIKE A PRO

Thefirstruleofformattinglikeaproisstayingconsistent.Laying
outyourtextisntjustaboutmakingitfitormakingitpretty;its
aboutmakingitconsumable.
Theideallinelengthfortextisbasedonthephysiologyofthe
humaneye.Atnormalreadingdistancethearcofthevisualfield
isonlyafewinches.Researchshowsthatreadingslowsand
retentionratesfallaslinelengthbeginstoexceedtheideal
width.*Thismaybecausedbyoneoftwoproblems:
Columns are too wide: Iflinesoftextaretoolong,yourreaders
getlostwhentheireyesreturntotheleftside.Thelonglength
makesitdifficulttodeterminewhenthetextstartsandends.
Donotusethefulllengthofyourslide;breakyourpagesinto
columns.
Columns arent wide enough: Iflinesoftextaretooshort,the
eyehastotravelbackandforthtoooften.Thisistiringonthe
eyeandfrustratingtoreaderswhoareunabletoreadacomplete
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.

Setyourcolumnsandfontsizesothattherearebetween50and
70charactersperlineoftext(or12to15words).Thisisthe
optimallengthforlegibilityandwillsignificantlyincreasethe
readabilityoftheonlineorprintedtext.

*Source:Lynch,PatrickJ.andSarahHorton.WebStyleGuide:BasicDesignPrinciplesforCreatingWebSites.
NewHaven:YaleUP,2009.

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TEXT HIERARCHY
Giving your readers a clear typographic system to follow will help
them digest your slidedoc clearly.
Yourlayoutshelpreadersmakeawhole
hostofchoiceswhattheyshouldread
first,wherethemainmessageis,what
textgoeswiththediagram,whatsextra
readingthattheycanskipfornow,andthe
listgoeson...Thatmeansyouhaveto
curatethecopy,andthatswhyits
importanttomakeyourtextconsistent.
Consistentdoesntmeanrepetitive.
Ofcourse,youregoingtowantsome
variationinthewayyourslideslook.But
givingpeopleanideaofwhattoexpect
makesthecontentmoreaccessible.

The most effective way to

stay consistent is to establish
a text hierarchy. A text
hierarchy is a set of rules that
govern how individual text
elements will look.
Forexample,youmaydecidethatthe
slidestitlewillalwaysbeinALL CAPS in
theupperlefthandcorner,footnoteswill
alwaysbeinitalics, andsubtitleswill
alwaysbebright blue. Youwillneedto
establishyourowntexthierarchy.These
arethedecisionsthatwillmakeiteasier
foryoutokeepaconsistentfeeltoyour
slidedoc,andforyourreaderstoeasily
navigateyourinformation.

Youshouldestablishyourtexthierarchy
beforeyoustartlayingoutyourcopy.Its
mucheasiertoedityourproseusinga
predefinedsetofrulesthanitistomakeit
upasyougoandcontinuallybacktrackif
youchangeyourmindaboutfontsor
colors.Itsokaytotestandupdateyour
texthierarchyasyoulayoutyour
slidedoc.Infact,itsamust.Thatsaid,
takesometimetothinkaboutthebasics
before
youstart.
W henestablishingyourtexthierarchy,its
helpfultoknowwhatpeopleexpectfrom
certainkindsoftext.Onthenextslide
weveincludedsomeguidelinestohelp
youasyouestablishahierarchyforthe
varioustextualelementsonthepage.

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TEXT HIERARCHY GUIDELINES

Thetitleintroducesyourslideand
shouldbethefirstthingthatpeopleread.
Therefore,youwantittostandoutin
someway.Forinstance,itcouldbe
bolder.Ifyoureusingathinnerfont,you
couldputthetitleinallcapsormakeit
verylarge.Justmakesureitsthefirstbit
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.
Peopledontreadwordsletterbyletter.
Theyseetheentirewordasapicture
andunderstandtextbyconnectingthat
picturewithitsmeaning.Whenyou
makeitdifficulttorecognizethatpicture,
youreputtingabarrierbetweenyour
readerandyourmessage.Classic,clean
fontsarethewaytogohere.Besureto
makethetextbigenoughanddark
enough,
soreadersdonthavetostraintoseeit.

Anoteaboutcolortreatments:Itsvery
easytoincludetoomanycolorsas
youretryingtodifferentiateonekindof
textfromanother.Trytoavoidcreatinga
textrainbowandremembercolorisonly
oneofthetoolsinyourtoolbelt.Weight,
CASE,size,anditalicsareallgoodways
tosetdifferentkindsoftextapart.

Calloutsarethesmallblocksoftextthat
areusedtopointsomethingoutina
graphordiagram.Thistextcanbeequal
insizetothebodycopy,butitalsoneeds
tobedistinguishedinsomeway.A
classicwaytosetyourcallouttextapart
istoitalicizeit.Youcanalsomakeita
separatecolor.

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ANATOMY OF TEXT HIERARCHY

Subtitle supports
the main title.
Title text is larger
and the most
dominant text
on the page.

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

Web links
can be color-coded,
underlined, or both.

Footers are the least dominant

element on the page.

Colored box is great

for emphasized text
or pull quotes.

Tabulated navigation helps identify where you are;

colored text identifies the current page.

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TEXT LAYOUT

After setting up your text

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

Properparagraph spacing,orthespace
betweenparagraphs,helpsthereader
takeabreakbetweenparagraphsand
helpsdenoteachangeinideas.The
spacebetweenparagraphsalsomakes
bodycopylooklessintimidatingwhen
lookingatlargeblocksoftext.

Typesettingisadjustingalltheseemingly
smallthingsthatmakeiteasytonavigate
yourcopy.Herearesomebasic
typesettingitemstothinkabout:

AsImentioned,columnsmakeyourtext
easiertoconsume.Splitupbigchunksof
textintotwoormorecolumnsfor
maximumreadability.

Line spacing istheamountofroom

betweenlinesoftext.Providingenough
spaceherehelpsthereaderkeeptrackof
hisorherplaceandmakesforamore
comfortablereadingexperience.

Whenyourefinishedadjustingthe
formattingofyourtextusingthese
guidelines,takealookatitasawhole.
Aretherightsidesofyourlinesoftext
reallyjagged?Doyouhavesinglewords
orshortphrasesdanglingontheendofa
paragraph?Goaheadandcleanthose
lastfewlinesoftextmanuallywithsoft
returns(shift+return)forthatfinalpolish.

Dontgetfancywhenaligning your text.

Leftjustifiedusuallyworksbest.Idontlike
thebiggapsbetweenwordsthatjustified
textcreates,andpeopleareusedto
seeingtheircopyalignedtotheleft.That
said,ifyouhaveacalloutthatneedstogo
withaspecificgraphic,aligntothesideof
thetextthatsclosesttotheitemthat
youretalkingabout.Thispracticemakes
thetwoitemsseemmoreconnected.
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SMALL SCREEN READABILITY

Dontassumethatyourreaderswill
alwaysaccessyourslidedoconalaptop
ordesktop.Ifyouraudienceisonthego
(andwhoisntthesedays?),youmay
consideroptimizingyourslidedocfor
mobiledevices.Thiswillrequiresome
extraconsideration.

Usage

Mostimportantly,forthesesmaller
screens,textneedstobelarger.Useless
text,butlargerinsize,perslideifyou
knowyouraudiencewillbereadingyour
materialfromtheirphones.Herearesome
recommendationstoconsiderforviewing
onvariousscreens:

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

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TESTING YOUR SLIDES

Anybody whos ever tried to follow a

complicated recipe knows that just because
youve completed the steps doesnt mean that
your creation is going to look exactly like the
picture.
Likewise,whileitsimportanttofollowtheguidelineslaidoutin
thisslidedoc,youshoulddoanoverallaudittomakesureyour
pageshangtogetherwell.
Lookatyourslidedocasawholeinslidesorter(lightbox)view.
Youshouldnthavealltextslidesandyoushouldhavepages
withwhitespaceandbreathingroom.
Remember,graphicdesignersspendtheirlivesstudyingdesign,
sodontbetoohardonyourself.Butyoushoulddoaquickaudit
ofeachpageusingthetypeofscreenyouthinkmostpeoplewill
usetoconsumeyourslidedoc.

Slidedoc Checklist
DoIhavetoomanywordsontheslide?
Ismytextbigenoughorwillpeople
havetostraintoreadit?
Doesmyeyeknowwhichtextto
readfirst?
Aremainmessageseasytopickout?
Ismytextscannablelikeaslidedocor
denselikeadocument?
Doesmyeyehaveaclearpathtofollow?
DoIhavetoomanyfontsorfontcolors?

W henreviewingyourwork,youshouldaskyourselfthe
questionslistedontheright.
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BEST PRACTICES FOR THE

VISUAL DISPLAY OF INFORMATION

BUYONAMAZON.COM

For a more exhaustive look

into the visual display of
information in presentation
software, we recommend
these two presentation books.
Both convey the business case
for design, explain powerful
design principles, and have
pages full of inspiring
examples.
Factoid: Garr talked me into writing
my first book. As a tribute to him, I used
his silhouette on the cover of Slide:ology.

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Delivering
aSlidedoc
+ Printing and Projecting Slidedocs
+ Distributing Slidedocs
+ Case Study: Notes View How-To
+ Spread Big Ideas With Slidedocs

04
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+ Printing and
Projecting Slidedocs

04
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YOUR JOB IS TO COMMUNICATE

Wow. This must feel like a lot of work. You

have a real job with real results youre
supposed to deliver that have nothing to do
with writing or distributing a slidedoc.

Visualizer

W henyouhaveanideaorinitiativethatmustbearfruit,then
spendingyourtimeclearlycommunicatingcouldbewhatbrings
youthemosttraction.
Setasidetimetoconceptualizewhatyouaregoingtosay,how
tovisualizeitsotheycanseewhatyouresaying,andthen
determinethebestmeanstocommunicateit.
W hendeliveringinformation,somepeopledelivertoomuchand
itdoesntgetconsumed,whileotherscommunicatesovaguely
thatclarifyingconversationswastetime.Providingslidedocshits
agreatsweetspotthatdeliversenoughinformationina
consumableformat.

Your Real Job

Writer

Communicator

Businesstodayoperatesinacompressedenvironment,soyou
needtocreateandspreadthoughtfulinsightsquicklyandclearly.

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PRINT SLIDEDOCS
There are multiple ways to print
your slidedoc.

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

Handout

Book

Placemat

Poster

Printhandoutsof
slidedocssopeople
canreadthematthe
beginningofthe
meeting.Orusethem
ashandoutsthatthe
audiencemayreference
whileyouspeakand
thatsupportyourtalkas

Slidedocs,designed
well,makegreatbooks.
Whetherspiral-boundor
perfect-bound,theycan
makethecontentfeel
moresubstantialand
formal.Infact,youcan
professionallypublish
andprintslidedocsat
blurb.comand
bookemon.com.

Placematsareasingle
slidedocpageprinted
on11"x17"paper.They
aregreatfor
collaboratingarounda
sharedpieceofpaper
whereallstakeholders
canwriteandsketchon
theconcepts.
Sometimesone
placematisall
youneedtosparka
greatconversation.

Slidedocpagescanbe
printedoversizedand
postedaroundthe
room.Readersstand,
walkaround,andread
thematerial.Youcan
alsoputblankpostersin
betweeneachoneto
capturenotesand
feedback.Scientistsat
conferencesoften
presentposters.

anappendixwith
additionalinformation.

USA,INC.

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PROJECTING SLIDEDOCS
Slidedocs should be printed and not projected,
but there are some instances when it is okay to project them:
Collaboration:
Projectapagetoreadanddiscussit
indetailtorefinetheideaorbuild
consensus.
Review meeting:
Whileeditingaslidedocwithagroup,
youmayneedtoprojectitsoyoucan
collaborativelyeditit.
Visual reference:
Duringaformalpresentation,youmay
wanttoprojectapagefromaslidedoc
solelyasavisualreferencesothe
audienceknowswhatpageyoureasking
themtoread.
Overlay sketches:
Ifyouprojectontoawhiteboard,people
cansketchovergraphicstohelpclarify
meaning.

Usuallyifslidedocsareprojected,itwould
beinaroomwithtenorfewerinternal
people,becauseitsnotaformal
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.

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BAD HABITS ARE HARD TO BREAK,

BUT BREAK THEM
Do not verbally present slidedocs.
Bad Habit #1:

Bad Habit #2:

Bad Habit #3:

Bad Habit #4:

Use slides as a
teleprompter

Leave no time to prepare

a real presentation

Think dense slides

look smart

Desire
accreditation

Thebiggestreasonpeople
presentslides-as-documents
isthattheywanttomake
suretheycovereverything
comprehensively.Presenters
puteverywordonaslideso
theydontforgetwhattheyre
supposedtosay.Theybuild
whatisessentiallyavisual
teleprompter.Audiences
becomefrustratedwhenthey
havetositthroughapresenter
read-along,justlikeitwould
frustrateyoutoreadthe
Presidentsteleprompter
insteadoflisteningtothe
StateoftheUnion.

Authorspourideas,words,and
picturesontoslidesaspartof
thecreativeprocess.The
problemisthatpeoplestop
therewithalltheirthoughtsin
writingontheslide.Ifyouplan
topresentthematerial,theres
anadditionalstepyouneedto
taketodistillthedocumentinto
atruevisualaid.Ifyoudont
havetimetoperformthisstep,
itsbesttodistributeitasa
document.

Peopleinanalyticalroles
sometimesthinkthemeritof
anideaisdirectlyproportional
totheamountofinformation
ontheslide.Theyfeelthatif
youdonthavedensecharts
andgraphs,youhaventdone
yourresearchorbeen
thoroughenough.However,
projectingseverallayersof
chartsonaslideisavery
differentexperiencethan
distributingseveralcharts
throughoutaslidedocfor
peopletoreadandinterpretfor
themselves.

W henyouveworkedhardon
yourideas,itstemptingto
presentthematerialinsteadof
handingitout.Presenting
materialmakesitclearthat
youretheauthorandsubject
matterexpert.Butisthat
necessary?Thisbehavioris
basedonprideofauthorship,
notcommunicationefficiency.

Regardless of why people

present their dense slides,
the practice should stop.

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+ Distributing
Slidedocs

04
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DISTRIBUTE SLIDEDOCS ONLINE

Link to your slidedoc on SlideShare to get the word out.

Embed

E-mail

SlideSharepresentationscan
beembeddedintoHTML
pages.AnywhereaYouTube
videocango,aSlideShare
slidedocfilecango.

SlideSharecantrackwhohas
seenthefile,connectthemto
yourwebsite,andcollect
contactinformationwhich
generatesleads.

Share
Insteadofe-mailingalargefile
thatclogsinboxes,sendalink
totheSlideSharefileonline.

Analytics
SlideShareisagreattoolfor
distributingslidedocs.Upload
yourpresentation,andit
translatesintoaformatthat
canbebroadlyandpublicly
distributedonline.

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USE SLIDEDOCS FOR WEBINARS

Afewyearsago,Iconductedasurveytoseehowmanypeople
attendedpresentationsremotelyversusinperson.Theresults
showedthat85%ofpresentationswereremote.Itsharderto
makeasincereconnectionwithanaudiencewhenyourenotin
thesameroom.
Managersspendmostoftheirworkdayinmeetings.Many
managersconsideralmosthalfofthosemeetingsawasteof
time.Sowhenmeetingsarealreadyfeelinglikeawaste,make
yoursmoreproductivebyusingaslidedoc.

In a remote meeting situation, youre

competing with many attendee distractions,
the primary one being their e-mail. If your
material isnt more interesting than their
inbox, they wont be 100% present.

Havemeetingattendeesreadonepageanddiscussthattopic.
Whenattendeesreadtheslidedocandthendiscussit,it
engagesthemmoreoften.Eachtimeyouadvancetoanew
slide,ifattendeesaremultitasking,theyllhavetominimizeemail(orwhatevertheyredoing)toreadtheslidesotheycan
continuetobeaparticipant.Butagain,dontreadorpresentthe
slidetothem;itsfasteriftheyreaditandthendiscussit.
Youcanalsouseslidedocsasaguideandcontextforallthe
topicsyouwanttotalkover.Puttingthetopicsyoullbe
discussinginaslidedocmovesthemeetingalong.Italsohelps
attendeesgaugehowmuchyouvecoveredasthemeeting
progresses.
Ifyoureusingtelepresenceorotheremergingvideosystems,
sendingslidedocsaheadoftimewillensurethatyour
communicationisfailsafe(youneverknowwhatmightgowrong
withtechnology).

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VIEW SLIDEDOCS ON DEVICES

Slidedocs are the perfect content-density for reading and distributing on a tablet.
Theresbeenahugeuptickintheadoptionoftabletsinbusiness
andeducation.Providingyourmaterialonadeviceletsreaders
interactwiththecontentandkeepsthemengaged.
Itseasytoconvertpresentationstodevicesthe4:3aspect
ratioisaperfectfit.
Duartes preferred tools are:
SlideShark: ConvertsPowerPointfilesintonavigable,
interactivepresentationsandincludesapowerfulanalytics
enginethatshowswholookedatyourslidedocandhowmany
pagestheyread.
Keynote foriPad:ConvertsPowerPointfilestoKeynote,
createsnewKeynotefilesfromscratch,andallowsyou
toviewandeditexistingKeynotefiles.
Tabletscanbehookeduptoaprojector,orlinkstofilescanbe
sentaheadoftimeforyourreaders.Iveevenhadclientsload
theslidedocsoniPadsandsendthemasagiftforpeopleto
readordistributeatconferences.

SlideSharkisaregisteredtrademarkofBrainshark,Inc.
iPadisaregisteredtrademarkofApple.Allrightsreserved.

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THE DANGER OF CIRCULATING

SPARSE PRESENTATIONS

Beautiful,minimalistic,cinematicslidesdonthaveenough
informationinthemtostandontheirownasadocumentwhen
distributed. Infact,whenslidestravelaroundwithonlyanimage
andahandfulofwords,thereadershavetofillinfartoomany
blankstounderstandtheirmeaning.Asyouembracesimplifying
slides,thisisanunexpectednegativesideeffect.
Slidesareabackdropforthespokenword,notrichincontent
themselves.Theirvaguenessleavesroomforarecipientto
makeupwhatwassaid,developinaccurateconclusions,and
misconstruethemeaning.
Aspresentationsarepassedalongwithoutthepresenter,
importantinformationislost.Dataisdroppedthathelpsmake
yourcase.
Thesameistruewhendistributingslidesonplatformslike
SlideShare.Theslidesneedtobeself-explanatoryandclear,
becausemetaphoricalconceptsareopentointerpretation.The
followingcasestudyshowshowtocreateaslidedocinnotes
viewofyourcinematicslidessoreadersknowwhatyousaidto
yourslides.

If the graphic above was used

alone on a slide, how would
you know what was said
about it? For example, are
these people contributing to or
pulling from this system?
Vague metaphors can be
misunderstood if they are
shared without explanation.

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CASE STUDY

Convert
CinematicSlides
IntoSlidedocs
DavidAllen,ofTheDavidAllenCompany,isagreatpresenterwhousescinematic
slideseffectively.Whenheneedstoleaveinformationbehindafterhistalks,he
deliversbeautifullayoutsofhisslidesinnotesview.

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SIMPLE SLIDES NEED NOTES

Circulating cinematic slides as slidedocs
W hendeliveringapresentationinperson,
usearrestingandcinematicvisuals,
similartotheslidestotheright.When
yourpresentationisoverandsomeone
says,Hey,sendmeyourslides,these
slidesmightbesosparse,theywillmake
nosensetothereaderwithoutyour
verbaldialogue.

Cinematic slides
need more context
if they are going to
be sent around an
organization.

Sparseslidescantbefullyunderstoodas
theytravelthroughanorganizationwithout
apresenter.So,howdoyouretainthe
integrityofthecontent,createastoryline
thattravelswiththeslides,andstillkeepit
visuallysimpleandclean?

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DEFAULT NOTES VIEW

Adding notes to your slides makes it a slidedoc
Theresalittle-knownNotesPageview
thatcancombineanimageofyourslides
withyourscript,andanyothercontent
youdlike.
Totherightisthedefaultlayoutofthe
NotesPageviewinPowerPoint.You
canseethattheslidevisualtakesupthe
tophalfofthepageandthetextbelow
defaultstoabulletedlist.
Manypeopledontknowthatthislayoutis
extremelymodifiable.Notonlycanthe
Notesmasterbemodified,buteachNotes
Pageitselfcanhavetext,charts,quotes,
andimagesaddedtoitasseparateand
additionalcontentthatsontheslideitself.
YoucanaddtextinNotesvieworthe
Notespane.
Whatever you type in the Notes pane
will appear underneath the slide.

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MODIFY THE NOTES MASTER

Notes layouts are flexible
Theimagetotherightisthedefault
master.Theimagetothefarrightisa
modifiedmaster.
Youcanscaleyourslidetoanysizeand
placeitanywhereonthemaster.Headers,
footers,andbodycopycanbemovedinto
anypositionyoudesire.Thechoices
areendless.
Ifyouplantoonlyputyourscriptinthe
notes,alayoutsimilartothedefaultmay
work.Ifyouplantoaddsupporting
informationormoregraphics,consider
scalingtheslideandtextsizedownto
accommodaterichercontent.
Default master has a large slide and
cascading text.

Scale and move the master elements

any way youd like.

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SLIDEDOCS CAN TRAVEL WITH AN APPENDIX

You can add a lot of content to your slides
Inthelayoutstotheright,youllnotice
theresasmallimageoftheslideonthe
topleftofthepage,andaquadrant
graphicandquoteonthetopright.
ThisexampleshowsthattheNotes
Pageviewhasenormousflexibility.Itsan
additionalsurfacethatyoucandesignand
developwithcontentthatyoumayhave
chosentocutfromyourpresentation.
Itsasiftheappendixtoyourslidegetsto
travelwiththeslideitself.
ThisNotesPageviewcanbeconverted
intoaPDFandsentaroundwithyour
slides.Theseslidescanbedistributed
whenpeopleaskforacopy.Printthe
NotesPageviewanddistributeitasa
document.

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HORIZONTAL LAYOUTS ARE AN OPTION, TOO!

TheNotesViewpageisntlimitedtojust
verticallayouts.Youcancreatelayoutsin
landscapeview,too.
Thedesignstotherighthavethesame
contentasthelayoutsontheprevious
pagebutthenotesmasterisformattedin
thelandscapeorientation.

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+ Spread Big Ideas

With Slidedocs

04
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PRESENTATIONS HELP
SPREAD SLIDEDOCS

Creating a slidedoc is a
highly analytical process.
Its more report-making
than creative, and is heavily
comprehensive in nature.

Lets say youve created a

brilliant slidedoc packed with
research, data, process, and
insights. When you need to
present it, how do you present
it? First, dont present your
research; present the results
and findings in the research
and turn that into a
presentation with slides.

Analytical
process

Creative
process

Useadifferentcreativeprocessto
developapresentationthatisan
inspirational,persuasivederivativeof
yourdocument.
Rememberbackwhenannualreports
usedtobeprinted?Theyhadathin
glossysectioninthefrontthatwasvery
beautiful,story-like,highlyvisual,and
human-centric.Therestwasadense
documentthatstatedhowthecompany
performedfinancially.

Creating a presentation that

is inspirational requires a
different mindset and
process. Incorporate stories
and pictures that will move
an audience to action.

Tomakeapresentationaboutyour
slidedoc,isolatethekeyinsightsand
findingsinyourslidedoc.Thinkthrough
whytheymatterandhowyouwantthe
audiencetobetransformedwhenyou
presenttheinformation.Brainstorm
metaphors,stories,andvisualsthathelp
yourinformationcomealiveandonly
presentthatinformationverbally.

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BENEFITS OF SPREADING SLIDEDOCS

One of the most powerful attributes of a slidedoc is its modular nature.
Theabilitytohavesmall,organized
chunksofcontenttoarrangemakes
creatingslidedocsveryefficient.
Organizingcontentbyfocusingonone
ideaperpage,youcanmixandmatch
ideastomeetdifferentreaderneeds.The
atomicnatureoftheunitsmakesiteasyto
structureyourthoughtsintoaclearcase.

Ifslidesarentrichwithcontentanddont
visuallylookliketheyhangtogetherina
unifiedvisuallanguage,recipientswillfeel
likeyouvesimplypiecemealedittogether,
orFrankensteinedslidesfromdifferent
decks.Theyllassumeyoucreatedthe
slidedocwithoutcaringabouthowthey
needtoprocesstheinformation.

Organizationsneedtocreatedifferent
slidedocstoappealtodifferentaudiences.
Theflexibilityofthisrichcontentsource
allowsemployeestobeagile
communicators.Plus,torearrangethe
content,youdontneedtolearnnew,
complicatedsoftware.

Greatslidedocsspreadquickly.Ifyoure
theauthorofgreatslidedocs,your
strategy,thinking,andsolutionswillbe
latchedontobytheorganizationand
becomecoretothecompanyssuccess.
Slidedoccontenthelpsspreadyourideas,
makingiteasyforpeopletorepurpose
yourthinking.

Marketingdepartmentsusewell-written
andwell-designedslidedocstocreatekey
messagesthatemployeesshouldinclude
ineverykeypieceofcommunication.

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SLIDEDOCS IMPROVE COMMUNICATION

Below is a summary of this book. The summary page should
reinforce key points from your slidedoc.
W eusedcolored text inthissummary
pagetoillustratehowsomeoftheexact
pagetitlesthroughouttheslidedoccanbe
usedinthesummary.

Butcreatingagreatslidedocalsomeans
takingthetimetodoitrightandthat
meansinvestinginboththewritingand
thedesign.Effectiveslidedocsare
developedbyknowing your audience,
Thewaywecommunicate is changing.
understandinghowtheyconsume
Inourtime-strappedworld,welike
information,andbyhavingoneclearbig
informationthatisconsumedquickly.This idea.Fromthere,following good writing
hasledorganizationstolookforawayto
practices andwriting compelling copy
fill the gap betweenlong-formdocuments wellhelpyoucreateaslidedocthat
andpresentations.Whathasemergedare spreads.
slidedocs.
Developingeffectiveslidedocsalsomeans
Aslidedocisavisualdocumentintended
visualizingideasandmakingthe
tobereadandreferencedinsteadof
informationeasytonavigate.Todothat,
projected.Slidedocsworkforavarietyof
youneedtohighlight whats important
communicationscenarios,fromsales
whileusingdiagrams and data to show
collateraltoin-meetingreferencematerial. the relationshipsbetweenthedifferent
Andbecauseoftheirmodularnature,
elementsofanidea.
slidedocscanspread your smart
thinking throughoutyourorganization.

Usingbasicdesignprincipleslike
creatingstructure with a grid and
adding white spacetogive your
content room to breathehelpsamplify
whatsimportantandhelpsreadersdigest
yourinformation.
Slidedocsareoneofthemosteffective
toolsforcommunicatingideasquicklyand
establishingconsensus.Yourideas
deservethebestpossiblecommunication
vehicle.Slidedocsaredesignedforthe
waywecommunicatetoday,andthese
bestpracticeswillgiveyoutheskillsyou
needtochangeyourorganizationforthe
better.

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YOUR HARD WORK WILL PAY OFF

Presentationtoolsareeasytouseifyouretryingtothrow
somethingtogetherquickly.However,whenthestakesarehigh
adealwillbewonorlost,yourvisionadoptedorrejected,your
projectwillmovealongorbestoppedinitstracksyouneedto
spendextratimecreatingtheslidedoc.

Just because slidedocs are easy to create

doesnt mean you have a license for laziness.
Regardless of the tool you use, good work
always pays off.
High-stakessituationsmayalsocallforadifferentkindof
content.Traditionally,high-stakespresentationsareinspirational
whileslidedocsaremorepragmatic.Butwhenyourslidedocis
thatimportant,andneedstoinfluenceamake-or-breakdecision,
itmustembodythetypeofinspirationalpersuasionusually
reservedforin-personpresentations.
Goodcontent,agoodstoryline,andastructurethatcompels
peopletoactordecideareworththetimeyouputintothem.

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ThankYou

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165

CONTACT US

If you want to
contact Nancy:

If you want to contact Duarte:

www.duarte.com
650-625-8200
info@duarte.com

Twitter:
@duarte

Facebook:
Duarte,Inc.

LinkedIn:
Duarte,Inc.

Twitter:
@nancyduarte

LinkedIn:
NancyDuarte
Blog RSS:
DuarteBlogFeed

SlideShare:
Duarte,Inc.

YouTube:
Duarte,Inc.

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Duarte,Inc.2014
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167

Duarte,Inc.2014
Duarte, Inc. 2014

168

ENGAGING WITH DUARTE

Wed love to help!

Consulting

Design

Publishing

Events

Multimedia

Duarteswritersare
skilledinpersuasive
storytellingpractices.
Whetheryourcontent
needsacomplete
reworkoryourestarting
withablankpage,our
writerscancreateyour
entirestoryfromstart
tofinish.

W edesigncinematic
presentationsthatawe
andinspire,robust
templatesystemsthat
helpfosterbetter
companywide
communication,and
pre-existingcontentthat
justneedsthatextra
something.

Duartecantransform
yourcontent
(presentation,book,
salestools,slidedoc,
technicalpub,and
collateral)intoa
platform-agnostic,
visuallyrich,easily
navigable,dynamic
documenttouseon
tabletsormobile
devices.

W ecraftcompelling,
memorablekeynoteand
breakoutsession
presentationsthat
motivateaudiences.We
canalsoprovideoverall
eventthemeand
designsupport.

Duartecreates
interactive
presentations,visual
essays,videos,and
animateddemosthat
furtherengage
audiences.Wecan
alsoextendthelifeofa
presentationbymaking
itweb-and/or
YouTube-ready.

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169

Amanda
Workingwithyou
wasablast!Thank
forwranglingand
writingchunksof
thispuppy.
Thisbookisrealbecause
ofaherdofDuartians

Diandra

Ashley, Chris,
Dave, Doug,
Emily, Janice,
Kelly, Michelle,
Patti, & Paula

Thisbookis
beautiful
becauseyou
makeeverything
beautiful.

Special
Thanks

Ric
Yoursupportover
theyearsandon
thisslidedochas
astoundedme.

Aisling, Denise,
Tyler & Ivan
Thebookwouldnt
havehappened
withoutyourrocking
designskillsand
tenacity.

http://www.ricbret.com

Dan

Thankyouforgenerously
donatingtheslidedoc.com
domaintothiscause.

Yourtemplate
wizardryhasmade
thisslidedocand
thefreetemplates
magicaltouse.

Denise,
Janet, Kyle &
Stephanie
Yourcasestudies
andtemplatedesigns
arebeautifuland
central
tothisbook.

Anditwouldntbeavaluablebook
withoutacutepicofmygranddogs
BearandNecessity.

Duarte,Inc.2014

170

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 awardwinning 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 Amazons 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.

Duarte,Inc.2014

171