Last added part (07/29/2009): "Wow, I like it!" is not equal to "I buy it!"

Although I don't have special art education and don't familiar with special requirements of b-schools, I have 10 year experience in creating different types of presentations for different purposes. I love gmatclub community as well as Chicago Booth and would like to share my hands-on ideas with all who need them. I was thinking of this guide for 2 months and have decided to write it step by step. I hope it will help somebody without essential experience to express his or her ideas more clearly and effectively as well as to avoid typical pitfalls and mistakes in creating slide presentation. All materials presented here are just my point of view. So, take them with a grain of salt.

Schools that require slide presentation: Chicago Booth, NYU (one of the options).

TABLE OF CONTENTS (preliminary)

Introduction

Ideas
- general structure
- "Wow, I like it!" is not equal to "I buy it!"
- first slide
- last slide
- people and cats: 7-things rule
- 3-sec rule

Visual representation
- introduction: like/dislike
- Colors
- Style
- Highlighting
- Background
- Headers
- Text
- Supporting elements
- Instruments

Sample presentation



INTRODUCTION

Slide presentation (presentation) is one of the elements of an application. It is like a piece of a cake: different but harmonic and consistent part of whole thing. Therefore, the information in presentation represents new ideas and adds new dimensions to existent ones.
I've divided my guide by 2 main parts: "ideas" and "visual representation". It does not mean you should finish with ideas at first and then go to visualization. Although generating ideas are a start point of working on presentation, it is rather "back and forth" process. Sometimes, An unexpected stunning visual image can force you to rearrange structure of ideas. So, let's start.

IDEAS

general structure
4 slides = 4 ideas. I would not recommend to use a few slides for one idea. One idea per slide approach will help you to keep your presentation clear.

Some examples: introduction/personal/professional/community;
character trait 1/ character trait 2 / character trait 3 / character trait 4
introduction / past / present / future
leadership / personal / professional / future - it is structure of my presentation.

"Wow, I like it!" is not equal to "I buy it!"
Although these two stages seem to be obvious, even professionals often forget that "Wow, I Iike it!" is no equal "I buy it!". Look around, you see a lot of beautiful ads but do you really want to buy what they are offering? Why? It is very important to understand and test your presentation asking these two different questions. It is like fishing where ""Wow, I Iike it!" stands for "bait" and "I buy it!" stands for "hook". Each part is important but do not forget about hook!

Let me repeat Rhyme's example:
"...and what they really lack is meaningful content. For instance, I saw one last year where the guy used his name to spell out something like "D.A.N" = "Dedicated, Adventure...". That might be 'clever' and a bit creative, but its pretty low on the scale of actually communicating anything of consequence....".

Interesting idea that attracts attention but "empty", it doesn't add anything to "buy" question. It is possible to use such idea for your first slide only if later in your presentation you offer a lot of arguments why adcom has to "buy" you.

first slide
... It was 3rd hour of boring presentation at scientific conference. A speaker showed black and white slides with a lot of intricate formulas printed with small size of font commenting them with his lulling voice. it was stifling. I lost reasoning of speaker speech after his first words and was fighting with nap. Majority of people did the same and even a few old professors quietly slept with serious faces expressed illusion of attention and intense work of mind. Sometimes they began to snore but their colleagues pushed them avoiding big awkward situation. "Don't sleep, don't sleep!" - I repeated to myself. The speaker finished and next speaker, professor from Japan, appeared on the stage.
Suddenly, laud and cheerful voice of the professor filled out the conference hall. Beautiful photo of green rows of wheat and blue sky flooded screen. The professor talked about connection between order in our worlds and world of atoms but I didn't listen to him, I was among juicy stems of wheat and felt as fresh spring wind blows in my face. I saw clean sky and waving fresh ears of wheat. "What's going on?!". In a moment I suddenly realized that I was live, fresh and happy. I absorbed all information about atomic order from the professor's report. I looked around: All seemed to return from beautiful realm of Japanese fields....

This odd story is a real story that illustrates how one unexpected colorful slide and a few connecting sentences can make unbelievable effect. It would be great if you can make such "Wow" effect at first slide and pull reader/viewer out of his or her routine.

Example: My first slide - not "wheat and sky" but interesting:

It the slide I illustrate my understanding of leadership through riding motobike and present my motto: "You can reach all goals but there is only one person, who prevents you from achieving them - your reflection in a mirror".

last slide
Last slide is less important than first one but more important than middle slides. Physiologists say that people remember first and last words. So, that is why first and last slides weigh more. In most cases your last slide is your last idea in your package. Therefore, I would recommend to use something like conclusion: your future, you in school, last achievement, main trait that is crucial for business and so on.

people and cats: 7-things rule
There is threshold between "separate" and "many". Cats can perceive up to 3 things as separate things. People can perceive up to 7 things as separate ones. This is what my teachers said me. So, I would recommend use not more than 7 (or better not more than 5) subordinate ideas in one slide. For example, your slide describes "Future". You can divide it by 4 parts: school, 2 years after graduation, 5 years, 15 years. But it is worse to use: school, 2 years after graduation, 4 years, 7 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years. Last example looks like mess.

3-sec rule
Your idea should be expressed clearly and be understood in 2-3 seconds. Our mind forms first assessment of visual information very fast (our predecessors must react fast in jungle to survive). So, if somebody cannot understand what you are going to say with the slide, his or her first assessment will be rather negative.
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I'm adding this info almost 2 years after I posted my guide. The reason for that is to recommend a good book (maybe books) that can help you it your way.
Here is first one:

1. "Made to stick" by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. [Amazon]. It's a great book about how to make your ideas stick. There is a keyword there: "SUCCESS" - Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories. I guess it's exactly what we need for a great presentation.
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NEW! GMAT ToolKit 2 (iOS) / GMAT ToolKit (Android) - The must have GMAT prep app | PrepGame

Thanks a ton, walker! Kudos

Not sure if this correctly explains my emotions, but I'll go with this one.
Great Job Walker!!!

I would not be terribly surprised to see these guidelines used at the next annual earnings release by some Fortune 100 company (whose Fiannce analyst was a GMATClub member.)


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great post!

Walker,

Thanks again for putting this guide together. Just added a new caption option for posting - see if you would like to use it. Works similar to aligntable tag, but much more intuitive:

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_________________

Founder of GMAT Club

Just starting out with GMAT? Start here... | Want to know your GMAT Score? Try GMAT Score Estimator
Need GMAT Book Recommendations? Best GMAT Books

Co-author of the GMAT Club tests

Find out what's new at GMAT Club - latest features and updates

Never imagined, colour or just the background would require such detailing.

I wish I could give more kudos, thanks a ton, walker!

Great Job! kudoooos.

WALKER YOU ROCK MAN !!!

Thanks for all your help!!!

Great Guide Walker! I a lot of good points that I remembered and a few new ones that I learned!

Keep up the good work.
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- Vlad A.