Templates
There is a concept in usability called expectancy. It refers to what the audience expects to see next. If the audience receives what they expect, they hold their train of thought. If they receive something other than what they expect, the thought process is broken and will not be re-established for some time.
The best way to help your audience is to develop templates for all of your slides. Each of your slides should look like part of the whole. Regardless of the flavor, you can tell that its Campbell's Soup from 20 paces. Lets try to hold their attention by polishing this presentation diamond in the rough.
Color.
Colors should be consistent. This is especially important in graphs and charts. If item A is blue in slide one, it should remain blue in all the slides that follow. Likewise for Items B-Z. Use colors that are distinctive, but complementary. Keep in mind that one in ten men, and one in 250 women have some amount of color perception deficiency. Text should also be consistent. All titles should be the same color. All bullet points should be likewise.
Cut.
Current presentation software offers a plethora of choices for slide transitions. Most of these are junk intended to bolster the developer's spec sheet. Simple transitions work well in most cases. Whatever you choose, make it appropriate to your audience and to your material.
Clarity.
Make your slides easy to follow. For text, five to six lines of bulleted points are as much as a slide will hold and be easy to read. If you need more text, divide your material into subgroups and show on multiple slides. San-serif fonts have been shown to be easier to read on computer monitors and when projected. Save the serif fonts for print.
Backgrounds should be simple so that text and graphics stand out. Photographs may be used as backgrounds, but extreme restraint is recommended.
Caret Weight (time).
The one thing we don't have enough of. Its the rare topic and presenter than can hold an audience for more than 2 hours. Even a Hollywood blockbuster is shorter than that. Use half that as a maximun for the length of your presentation including a question and answer period. Take enough time to make your point, but no more. Though every slide will not be projected for the same length of time, there should be some semblance of cadence to the presentation.
Cutter.
These templates can be developed in-house, purchased from a stock house for adaptation, or developed specifically for your company. We suggest that you have them developed for you by the designer who does your web site and print materials. This assures a cohesive look through a single point of view.