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What Do Your Slides Say About You?

July 7, 2011 | Eric Albertson

Recently, InFocus held a “What Not to Present” contest, looking for the worst PowerPoint slide ever created. After reviewing tons of horrific submissions, they came up with their top choices, and yep, are they bad.

Your slides are a visual representation of your idea and are a reflection of you. So, we wondered what kind of people make slides like the ‘winners’ of the InFocus contest. Mouse over the slides below to see who may be responsible for these gems.

So ask yourself, “What does this slide say about me/my idea?” If the answer conjures up unpleasant images of pocket protectors or big hair, take another pass at your slides, and remember Duarte’s Golden Rule: Never deliver a presentation you wouldn’t want to sit through.

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http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/ Jorge Camoes

I as going to join the Anti-Powerpoint Party (google it) but apparently they like 3D bar charts. This is a tragedy. Most Powerpoint haters cannot make a decent chart; haters of 3D charts can’t make a decent presentation. Most people love bad presentations and bad charts. That’s consistency.
http://www.nosweatpublicspeaking.com Fred E. Miller

You are what you put on a slide!

Thanks for the Post!
http://www.storytellingwithdata.com cole

Hilarious! The Design for Social Change with the hot dog and bunny has always been one of my favorite bad examples. Thanks for sharing these (and inspiring some laughter).

Jorge – I agree an affinity for 3D is a tragedy. I recently learned that in addition to creating a lot of visual noise (side panels, strange shadows, etc.), 3D (bars at least) are also plotted really strangely in programs like Excel and PPT – it isn’t the front of the bar OR the back of the bar that’s plotted, but rather the midpoint, making it impossible to actually read the values correctly. Another strike against 3D!
http://twitter.com/miguelggarcia Miguel Gomez

Hahahaha!! Love it! Now I’m wondering… how do people see me when they only see my slides? Hmm…
http://twitter.com/pamslim Pamela Slim

When I used to consult in corporations, I collected slides like these for my “PowerPoint Hall of Shame.” Whenever I was feeling blue, I would click through them and instantly feel better. Thanks for sharing!
Etc

I have a few I could contribute…. when is the next conmpetition. PowerPoint Oscars.
Etc

I have a few I could contribute…. when is the next conmpetition. PowerPoint Oscars.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1409615572 Shadeed Eleazer

Slides reflect the speaker’s personality, confidence, and preparation. Great post.
Laura Friesen

The one on “Core Competencies” looks like one I attended! Great illustrations of what not to do.
Scott Hodin

Regarding 3-D, I teach a slide design course at a semiconductor (talk about an uphill battle!) based heavily on best practices from Nancy and Garr. During the portion of the training where I’m discussing the presentation of data on slides, I have a supporting slide that I created (see attached image) and I go on to talk about how woodgrain or marble textures and 3-D destract from what’s important. This is such an area of struggle for the folks I train, but there is hope!
http://somewiseguy.com ThatGuyKC

AHH!! My eyes!!
I think I’ve sat through each of these presentations.
Yikes.
Ann Christin Mahrt

Great blog!
Interesting that people don’t see that their PowerPoint presentation is a reflection of themselves.
Janet Bornemann

The funny thing is, the people who created these slides probably thought they were good.
As designers, our job is to help people differentiate between the bad and the good. Hopefully the more good design they’re exposed to, the more it will start to rub off. Or one would hope, anyway.