 Encoding processes: when viewing a sequence of slides, audience members

first must encode what they see.

o Discriminability: the initial step of encoding required noticing the material
to be encoded, which require patterns to be clearly different from the
background and from other patterns. Things should be different in order to
be seen.
o Perceptual organization: principle of perceptual organization is when
people automatically organize elements into groups, which they then
attend to and remember. People tend to view information in groups rather
than single elements.
o Salience: Principle of salience states that attention is drawn to large
perceptible difference. The eye easily recognizes patterns or differences
and tends to focus on it, thus viewing them in more detail than others.
 Working memory: in a presentation, material must be integrated in working
memory over the course of multiple slides.
o Limited capacity: people have a limited working memory space. The
Principle of limited capacity states that people have a limited capacity to
retain and to process information and will not understand a messege if too
much information must be retained or processed.
o Information change: extraneous information can easily overwhelm
working memory at the expense of relevant information. Visual or auditory
cues can be used to help organize the information. According to the
Principle of information change people expect changes in perceptual
properties to carry information, and expect every necessary piece of
information to be conveyed by such a perceptible change. People
assume that words, graphics, or other changes in appearance convey new
information.
 Accessing long-term memory: in order to ascribe meaning to stimuli, one must
compare them with material previously stored in long-term memory; it is only by
retrieving associated information that we comprehend the import of what we see.
o Appropriate knowledge: meaning cab be ascribed to a pattern only if the
person has the requisite information already stored in long-term memory.
The Principle of appropriate knowledge states that communication
requires prior knowledge of relevant concepts, jargon, and symbols.
o Compatibility: the meaning of a stimulus will be difficult to extract if the
interpretation of its surface properties is inconsistent with its symbolic
meaning. The Principle of compatibility states that a message is easiest
to understand if its form is compatible with its meaning. Comprehension is
best when audio and visual contents coordinate with the text and the
overall message being conveyed.
 o Relevance: message must be calibrated so that neither too much nor too
little information is presented for a specific audience.
 Signal-to-noise ratio: ratio between useful and irrelevant info. This ratio should
be high. High ratio means communicating clearly with as little degradation to the
message as possible. Example lines, grids or tables can be removed.
o Logo shouldn’t be on every slide.
o Use 2D graphs.
o Use 1-7-7 rule for bullet points
 1 main idea per slide
 7 lines of max text
 7 words per line max
o Don’t use bullet points often
 Picture superiority effect: pictures are remembered better than words.
o use quotes as they add credibility
o add pictures with quotes
 Empty space: it implies elegance and clarity.
o Faces are very good at getting our attention.
o Use the rule of thirds for images. Putting object at the side instead of the
center.
 Contrast: use it to create designs in which one item is clearly dominant. It helps
viewer to get the point of our design quickly.
 Repetition: repetition of certain design brings a sense of unity, consistency, and
cohesiveness.
 Alignment: nothing should look like being placed randomly. Even elements that
are quite far apart on a slide should have a visual connection, something that is
easier to achieve with the use of grids.
 Proximity: moving things closer or farther apart to achieve a more organized
look. Related items should be grouped together se they will be viewed as a
group.
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