Why a Post-it?

When faced with creating a presentation the first thing we instinctively do is fire up PowerPoint, Keynote or the slideshow creator tool of our choice. Considering the results, this is obviously not the way to go. How many times have you attended a presentation with a slideshow that just has rivers of text and bullet points everywhere? (plus the occasional clipart). How many times have you been guilty of creating one? A slideshow should help you convey your ideas when you present, not get in the way. All of our ideas should be written on paper first, forget the computer for now, it is just a tool we will use to help us give more strength to our presentation.

A sheet of paper and a pencil don’t limit our creativity like a screen, keyboard and mouse do. After all, a pencil and paper is what we learned how to use when we were kids. Use the method you express yourself better with: pictures, words, diagrams… Once you have all your ideas clear, and take into account this could take up to many hours; then organize those ideas onto post-it notes. As Nancy Duarte says in her book slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, the most important thing is that you fit one idea on each post-it; try writing these ideas with a sharpie, the rule is: if it doesn’t fit on a post-it, it doesn’t fit on a slide. Usually we tend to clutter slides with too much information, and this distracts the audience from the real message. If we can strip each slide of the unnecessary clutter, our message will become much clearer. The great thing about post-its is the way in which you can see how your ideas connect together (in another post I will talk about how to design the slideshow to show this connection). By sticking the post-its on a wall or large desk it gives you the chance to see the whole picture and reorganize and restructure the slides easily.

I use this method before I start putting together the slide show and it gives you a much clearer view and idea of the core message, allowing me to discard the clutter and give a more effective presentation. After I started using this method it is something I do with every presentation before I even turn on the computer and this is why the logo for Project Presentation became a post-it note.