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Unique Storyboard Method: Receipt Tape

   |    Nancy Duarte

Presentations are only as good as the idea, visuals and delivery. Some visual thinkers challenged me to write a very short presentation about the power of visual thinking during these tough economic times. So I whipped out our presentation map and got to work. First, I considered my audience. I decided to gear my presentation toward managers in organizations that may be getting discouraged as leaders.

nancy-tracy_11
Once I’d developed the story itself, I felt it needed to all be one scene panned across with a “push left” transition to be perceived as one continuous thread. Instantly I was struggling to use the traditional storyboard templates we have because none of the frames are connected to each other.

recipt-tapes

Then, I remembered how I used to write my hubby love notes with cute glyphs in them on receipt tape. It worked perfectly! It really helped to ensure that the scenes could transition from one to another and look seamless.

nancy-tracy_031

Next, I ran the story by Tracy, and she had constructive and insightful feedback. Always, always run your work by someone whose perspective you respect.

The final storyboard was hand-drawn, then scanned and reviewed, to ensure that each scene connected to the next in a seamless manner.

We recorded audio, synced it up in and here’s the final result.

And here’s the PowerPoint file if you want to deconstruct it!

download_ppt Download VizThink_Story.ppt

Enjoy! I sure did.

  • http://fword.tumblr.com Farina Situmorang

    Very nice!

  • Luis Oliveira, Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil

    Awesome, really amazing. Really.

  • Diogo Carmo

    Thanks for such a great tool and tutorial!

  • http://twitter.com/jjt John Tierney

    Wonderful!
    I was immediately drawn into the story and the thread kept me hooked to watch for the next transition.
    Thanks!

  • Murali

    Absolutely wonderful. I love the idea of the receipt tape. Will try to use it soon.

  • http://www.ProfitableHospitality.com Ken Burgin

    Great work – will this be on YouTube so we can share it?

  • Matt Shacklady

    Great idea!

    The slides in the powerpoint don’t match the final version shown – was this a prior edit that was changed?

    The technical aspect of creating a great presentation is interesting…but the creative aspect of getting that ‘theme’ or ‘story’ for a presentation is _extemely fascinating_ – it’s also the one thing you cannot teach. Where do these ideas come from? How do we make ourselves more open to hearing them? I think there is tons of meat on that bone to make some interesting blog posts – thoughts?

  • http://www.mauconline.net ade

    Thanks for this great tutorial. When you said “Always, always run your work by someone whose perspective you respect” this is very important.

  • http://rmjacobsen.squarespace.com Roy Jacobsen

    If you want to use this method, but need or want to “think big,” a roll of newsprint or butcher paper would do nicely, I think.

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing it with us.

  • Marco

    What a wonderful method to tell a story. I also love the push left transition and what it does to create a continuum. Everyday I become a bigger fan of the slideology concepts. Thanks for sharing all of this with the world.

  • http://www.enterpriseconsulting.biz Steve Burgan

    Great job! Simple, compelling. Inspires me to use simple hand drawn visuals.

  • http://impresionalos.com Felix Pizarro

    That push-left effect to create a continuum is as clever as it is simple. I would never have thought on that! Thanks!

  • Gary Pyke

    Great way of showing how to link slides.

    2 adds from me…

    1. Turn the runners around so they seem to be running forward. I got the impression they were facing the wrong way.

    2. If you want to do this on a larger scale for design work use wallpaper lining paper.

  • Anshul

    Cool. An amazing approaching for maintaining continuity..will try and adapt this to my business presentations and see what happens :)

  • Gustavo Lemus

    Great approach. Do you think that if it’s possible to have a good delivery with no good story? I don’t think so…
    I think we need balance between story and delivery method or approach.

  • http://toddchandler.blogspot.com/ Todd Chandler

    Love the flow. It reminded me of “Harold and the Purple Crayon.”

  • http://community.beliefnet.com/chrisburke/blog/?pref_tab=blog Matthias-Alfons

    This brings me to an idea:…

  • http://www.lesswire.it Alessandra

    excellent

  • Julie Rae Miller

    Absolutely inspiring!! Has rekindled my passion for PowerPoint and presentations – trust me after 2 years of nothing but. . . this is inspirational . . . you’ve given me a new level to aspire to!

  • GrireeRef

    Your welcome everyone.
    My computer worked slowly, many errors. Help me, please to fix errors on my PC.
    My operation system is Windows XP.
    Thanks,
    GrireeRef

  • http://inakristensen.dk/ Ina

    Great work! Is it also on Vimeo? I would love to share this presentation with my connections.

  • pabyFloapof

    Hi nto All
    My PC worked not correctly, too much mistakes and buggs. Please, help me to fix buggs on my PC.
    I used Windows7.
    Thx,
    pabyFloapof

  • http://zingyourbrand.com Mary van de Wiel

    Kudos! and thanks for the inspiration, as always:)

  • Bevhansenk

    What a great idea! I love the way you have continued the thread past the slides to make those transitions. Plus, the story is clean, simple, and compelling.

  • http://www.duarte.com/team/nancy Nancy Duarte

    Thanks!

    Nancy Duarte | Principal | Duarte Design, Inc. | http://www.duarte.com voice 650.964.6745 | fax 650.390.0417 | nancy@duarte.com Did you know we offer training? http://www.duarte.com/training