Why Do Our PPTs Look the Way They Do? And How Can We Make Them Better?

We’ve all been there – sitting through a Plenary session with slides packed with charts, excessive text, mismatched fonts, and confusing layouts. Instead of engaging us, they push our minds to wander, only to snap back to reality now and then. Ironically, the same people who criticise these presentations often go on to create ones just like them.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time to retire the era of dodgy fonts, overwhelming visuals, and overly complex charts. Research shows that 90% of what’s presented in such slides is forgotten within 30 seconds. That’s a staggering waste of effort and opportunity!

Let’s break this down. Think about how often you check your plane ticket before sitting in your seat or glance at the time on your phone but instantly forget it. This happens because your brain isn’t engaged; it’s just going through routine motions.

Dr. John Medina, a renowned neurologist, once said, “If companies treated their business as poorly as their presentations, most would go bankrupt.”

So how do we avoid the dreaded “Death by PowerPoint”? Here are 5 design principles that will help you create cognitively and psychologically optimized slides:

1. One Message Per Slide
Keep it simple: one single idea per slide. No more, no less. Why?

Imagine you’re at a lively party, engaged in conversation with someone, when you suddenly hear your name mentioned nearby. Your attention is instantly divided – you’re nodding at the person in front of you but focusing on the other conversation. The same happens with slides. If a slide contains multiple messages, your audience will lose focus, skipping between ideas without fully processing any of them.

Stick to one message per slide to keep your audience fully engaged.

2. The Redundancy Effect
Humans aren’t great at multitasking, especially when it involves processing redundant information. If you’re reading full sentences from your slides while also speaking, your audience will remember almost nothing.

The fix? Highlight only key words or phrases. Remove unnecessary text. Here’s an example:

Original Slide:
“Why Hippo? We understand that a venue can reflect your objectives and company profile. Using our buying power and strong supplier relationships, we achieve favorable rates for team-building events, conferences, and more. Persistence is why we’re seen as a top venue-finding agency.”

  • Improved Slide:
  • Buying Power
  • Strong Supplier Relationships
  • Favorable Rates
  • Team Building & Conferences
  • Persistence

It’s easier to read, easier to remember, and far more engaging.

3. Size Matters
Your eyes are naturally drawn to large objects, high contrast, and movement. Think about how hard it is to ignore a muted TV in the background – it’s big, bright, and full of motion.

When designing slides, make the most important content the largest. For example, don’t automatically make the title the largest text if it’s not the focus of the slide. Instead, emphasise what you want your audience to take away.

4. Contrast Drives Focus
Contrast controls attention.

Most slides use white backgrounds, which can overpower the presenter visually. Switching to a dark background can instantly shift the focus back to the speaker while reducing eye strain for your audience.

Here’s another tip: when listing points, grey out the ones you’re not discussing and highlight the current one. This step-by-step reveal keeps the audience focused and prevents them from scanning ahead.

5. Limit the Number of Objects
Here’s a surprising fact: your brain processes fewer than seven objects in one glance. For anything more, it needs to count, which requires 500% more effort.

To keep your audience engaged, limit your slides to six or fewer objects – whether they’re bullet points, images, or charts. If you have more information, break it into additional slides. It’s far better to have multiple concise slides than one cluttered, overwhelming slide.
In Summary: The 5 Principles for Better PPTs

  • One: Focus on one message per slide.
  • Redundancy Effect: Avoid full sentences; highlight key points instead.
  • Size: Emphasize the most important content.
  • Contrast: Use contrast to guide attention.
  • Objects: Limit to six or fewer per slide.

Next time you create a presentation, apply these principles. You’ll notice a difference not only in how your slides look but in how effectively they communicate your message to the audience.

For more information on how we can help you plan and execute your next event, visit www.hippoevents.co.uk.

Hippo offer Event Project Management and Global Venue Finding services. Contact us today on 01372 460 100 or events@hippoevents.co.uk to see how we can assist.