Making

Slides that
Rock!!!
How to Tell Great Stories
BY BRIAN SULLIVAN
Some Slides are Monstrous
 No More

BORING
Presentations
Slides Should Resonate
STAND OUT
or
SHUT UP
Get Your Popcorn Ready
1 2 3
 1
My
STORY
 Hi, my name is
Brian Sullivan.

@bigdesign
@BrianKSullivan
#rockslides
20 Years as a User Researcher
Writer of The Design Studio Method
Speaker at Industry Events
• Top SxSW Slides 2013
• Top SxSW Slides 2014
• SlideShare of the Day
• SlideShare of the Week
• SlideShare of the Month
• Hot on Facebook
• Hot on Twitter
• Hot on LinkedIn
• Top Slides in Design
• Top 1% of Slides
Keynote Author on SlideShare
• Top SxSW Slides 2015
• SlideShare Best in Show
• Workshop with 90 People
• Huffington Post Covered
Featured Yesterday
Founder of The Big Design Conference
 2
Your
STORY
Preparation Determines Success
 Planning Formula

Phase or Stage Multiplier (by time) 50 Minute Talk (ex)

Researching Multiply by 10 500 minutes
Building Slides Multiply by 10 500 minutes
Practicing Multiply by 5 250 minutes
Updating Slides Multiply by 2 100 minutes
Promoting Multiply by 2 100 minutes
Back Channel Multiply by 2 100 minutes
About 1 Day to Plan
Your 1 Hour Talk
 10 Days to Plan
Produce Like Picasso

* Between 250-300 Hours

* Duration: 8 Months
Preparing
Your
Story
Nancy Duarte’s Advice
Ex: Produce Like Picasso
Start the Journey
(The Beginning)
1. Tell a story.
2. Make a point.
3. Your expertise.
4. Your research.
5. Create a gap.
6. Show imbalance.
7. Create a vision.
8. Call to journey.
 Take the
Journey
(The Middle)
Manage the Gap (Middle)
Increase Common Ground
 End the
Journey
(Call to Action)
1. Explain the takeaways.
2. End talks on a high note.
3. Close any final gaps.
4. Audience has new mindset.
5. End with a call to action!!!
 Full Circle
(First & Last Slides)
 3
Build a
STORY
Tip #1:
Use a Visually
Appealing
First Slide
Tip #2:
Build Your
Credibility in
the Slides
Show Your Sources
Quote Experts
Show Relationships
Show Timeframes
Show Numbers
Tip #3:
Use the
Audience Lag
Followed During Presentations
Followed After Presentations
Followed on SlideShare
 Audiences

FOLLOW
You
(It’s the lag time.)
Tip #4:
Create “Share”
Moments
Sharing After Your Talk
Build for Photos
Build for Tweets
Go With the Flow, Too
Perfectionism Kills Productivity

Retweeted over 5,000 times.

Tip #5:
Use Numbers
for Perspective
Show a Big Number
Give It Perspective
Do the Math
Give a Number Context
Tip #6:
No Death By
Bullet Points
Five Bullets on One Page
Same Bullets on Four Pages
Tip #7:
Stick to the
Script
Stick the Script
Use Presentation Mode
Adlibs Confuse the Audience
Adlibs Throw You Off, Too
No Adlibs on SlideShare
Tip #8:
Use Adlibs for
Q&A Time
Q&A Can Be Boring
Use Stories, Not in Your Slides
Adlibs Show Your Personality
Tip #9:
Change Topics
Every 8 to 10
Minutes
Attention Wains After 10 Minutes
Nancy Duarte’s Plan
9 Sections in 45 Minute Talk
Tip #10:
Call to Action
at the End
 Design Like Da Vinci

• Recap of the entire talk

• You can design like Da Vinci
BRIAN SULLIVAN
www.practicaluxmethods.com

@brianksullivan
Some Slides are Monstrous
 1 2 3
Personal Plan a Deliver a
Story Story Story
 Making
SlideShare
Presentations
That Rock and Resonate
BY BRIAN SULLIVAN