Clear slides aren’t about taste. They come from a few habits that remove work from the audience’s eyes.
1. One idea per slide
If a slide needs two titles, it’s two slides. More slides with less on each is almost always easier to follow than fewer, denser ones.
2. Say it in the title
The title carries the point; the rest of the slide supports it. See Write slide titles that do the work.
3. Fewer words than you think
Aim for no more than about six short lines. Your slides aren’t the script — you are. Put the detail in the speaker notes.
4. Make the important thing big
Size is the loudest signal on a slide. One number, one phrase or one picture should clearly win. If everything is the same size, nothing is important.
5. Line things up
Use the same margins on every slide, and align text and shapes to shared edges. Small misalignments read as sloppiness even when nobody can say why.
6. Two fonts, a few colors
A heading font, a body font, one accent color for emphasis. Use the accent sparingly — if it’s everywhere, it stops meaning “look here”.
7. Pictures that prove something
A product screenshot, a real photo of the problem, a diagram of how it works. Skip decorative stock photos — they take space and say nothing.
