Well-crafted slideshow videos can make viewers cry, while those that are not professionally created can harm your brand’s reputation and bore people to tears.
Slideshow videos are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with your audience, but they can be boring and frustrating if you don’t do enough.
8 TIPS FOR AMAZING PHOTO SLIDESHOWS
TIP 1 – AVOID TEXT WALLS
Keep your videos short and attractive. This is the main reason why most slideshow videos are bad. They’re too long.
It’s a good idea to try to fit the slideshow to the length of the song you’re using. That might mean you have to make some very difficult decisions about great photos that you don’t include in your slideshow.
Your slideshow doesn’t have to have everything. Unnecessary things are distracting. Your presentation will look ugly, uninteresting, and unattractive as a presenter. This applies to both text and images. Avoid displaying too much text on the screen.
TIP 2 – CONSIDER THE IMPORTANT FEATURES
- Use Better Fonts – It’s worth considering the font you’re using and what it says about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself. Consider prioritizing readability over aesthetics and avoid flashy fonts that can be distracting above all else. A good presentation requires two fonts, serif, and sans serif. One is used for headlines, and the other is used for texts and lists. Veranda, Arial, Helvetica, and even Times New Roman are safe choices.
- Add text, animations, video clips, and transitions – When creating a slideshow, take your time with your photos and pay attention to these “extras”. You can use a design template that looks great but has limited customization.
- Add music to match the event’s atmosphere – Adding music to your slideshow is neither new nor innovative. But don’t just count on old songs. Consider the atmosphere of the slideshow and find the right song. Choose numbers that complement the slideshow video rather than dominate it. Consider the copyright as Facebook and YouTube will remove all videos that the AI considers to be infringing. Some slideshow makers have built-in legitimate royalty-free music that you can use to organize your music by genre or mood.
TIP 3 – COUNT THE BULLETS
Reduce the number of bullets. The bullet points need to support the speaker, not overwhelm the audience. The best slides have limited and meaningful text.
As a presenter, it’s your job to discuss complex issues, but that doesn’t mean you have to emphasize all the issues. Instead, think of a way to split a large list into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullets or if you can combine multiple topics into one bullet instead.
TIP 4 – CHOOSE AN ONLINE SLIDESHOW MAKER THAT SAVES TIME
Sure, you have photos, but you may not have the skills, interests, or time to create a great slideshow. Consider choosing a slideshow maker known to be user-friendly. Slideshow videos are very easy to create using professional software and always look great.
TIP 5 – LIMIT THE USE OF TRANSITIONS
Split the slow part of the presentation and add actions to the elements that need it. However, transitions should be used with caution. Viewers tend to get bored, and animations designed to emphasize certain elements can quickly become annoying.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t use animations or transitions, but that you have to aim for just a handful of these transitions for each presentation. Use them wherever they add to the demonstration, not for distraction.
TIP 6 – ADD CITATIONS TO SPICE IT UP
Quotes help get the viewers’ attention and increase their emotional connection to the slideshow. Adding an author to a citation is always a good idea.
Also, as a presenter, your goal is to elaborate on the points without the audience having to read a lot. In such cases, a well-designed image, such as a graph, may be able to better convey the information you are trying to share. A good image adds visual appeal and helps split long sections of the presentation with a lot of text. A single high-quality image can mean the difference between hits and unexploded ordnance when driving home at a particular point.
TIP 7 – THINK BY COLOR
Find a good color palette as colors are interesting. They evoke specific emotions and add visual appeal to the entire presentation. Studies show that color also enhances interest, understanding, and retention. You don’t have to be a graphic designer to use colors well in your presentations. Find the palette you like and find out how to use it in your presentation. There are several tools for this. Once you’ve found a palette you like, consider how it will work in your upcoming presentations.
For example, pastel colors evoke a sense of freedom and brightness, so they are probably not the best choice when presenting quarterly results that are missing the mark. Also, note that you don’t have to use all the colors in the palette. Two or three will work in most cases, but you need to think about how they all work together and how readable they are when layered. Here’s a simple rule of thumb: Contrast is your friend. Dark colors are great for light backgrounds, and light colors are great for dark backgrounds.
TIP 8 – START WITH THE END IN MIND
Do you know exactly how to present your slideshow to your audience? Looking ahead helps you determine exactly which slideshow software tools to use and what you need to display your slideshow smoothly.
Don’t compromise on anything less than HD; export your video to at least HD720p or HD 1080p. Take the time to sort your slides before you finish your presentation. You can display your presentation to view multiple slides at once and see how they work together.
CONCLUSION
It all starts with understanding what you want to achieve in your presentation. Is it useful to present the data in an easy-to-understand medium, or do your want your slideshow video to sound like a pitch designed to convince and persuade the audience and lead to specific results?
Always start with one goal in mind. It’s about entertaining, providing, and sharing data in an easy-to-understand way. Identify the takeaways and work in reverse order to find the best way to get there. Of course, the mileage can be different. However, it’s a good idea to plan your time early so that you don’t have to modify most of your presentation later.
