Its All Too Much

Its All Too MuchPeter WalshProfessional OrganizerDealing with clutter in your lifePeter Walsh Design, Inc.

Play the slide show for this presentation to listen to the audio commentary by Peter Walsh and view slide timings. Or, click the sound icon on a slide for controls that you can use to hear the audio at your own pace.

A little organization will go a long way to enhancing your PowerPoint presentation. Your title slide should be catching and relevant to your audience offer something in the title that your audience wants. Keep some basic principles in mind:Your slides should complement what you have to say, not say it for you. Keep slides direct and to the point - less is more!Choose a background color or design that enhances and complements your presentation rather than competes with it. Dont get too fancy - a simple font, elegant color scheme and clear message is more important than lots of information (clutter!) on the slide.Keep it simple! The purpose of the PowerPoint slide is to keep the mind of your audience focused fewer words are better.

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1Dealing with Clutter

Be sure that major headings are always in the same font, size and color this provides your audience with a visual cue to where they are in the presentation.Organize your thoughts before you start preparing your slides too much mental clutter is as bad for your presentation as too much clutter on your slides. Use the Animation Schemes to add interest here the Fade entrance animation is used to gradually reveal content.Clarity is what your audience needs here so keep your message clear and focused.Keep your major slides brief the slides are meant to summarize what youre saying, not contain all your information.

2Lazy ClutterGet Rid of It F.A.S.T.

Keep your presentation logical and be sure that one point flows to the next. If there are sub-points, add them with an additional slide. Make sure that when you move to a new main bullet point your audience knows where they are in the presentation.If you sense that youre losing your audience summarize what youve said and pick up the pace.

3Memory ClutterThings that remind you of an important person, achievement or eventItems From the Past

Watch your timing! Allocate a time for each slide and stick to it so as to keep track of your presentation and avoid speaking too much.4Memory ClutterItems From the PastTo illustrate your presentation and bring it to life use:Real-life stories.Recent news events.Strong and relevant anecdotes.Statistics that are relevant and not overwhelming be careful of filling a slide with figures that cant be read or quickly understood.

5I Might Need That One Day ClutterAll those just in case itemsPreparing for many imagined futuresOften this clutter is about fearItems for the FutureSet limits to control what you buy and what you keep

Make a natural segue to the next slide so that your presentation flows naturally.The gradual reveal of your points serves to keep anticipation up and enables you to flow naturally to the next point.

Note: Level one text on the Title and Content layout used by this slide contains no bullet. To demote your text to level two, which is the bulleted text level shown on this slide, on the Home tab, under Paragraph, click Increase Indent.6From Chaos to OrderThe First Step to DeclutteringHave a clear vision for the life you wantLive in the now be mindfulAsk yourself: Will this item help me create the life I want?Regularly declutter to remove things you no longer need, use or want

Consider sub-headings that provide an emotional or action-oriented aspect to your presentation these can be very motivating to an audience.

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The black slide: Whenever I have a strong anecdote to tell I insert a black slide.This technique:Creates a black screen.Automatically focuses the audiences attention to the speaker.Provides a sure way to emphasize a strong point or tell an important story.

Note: To create a black slide, on the Themes tab, under Theme Options, click Background and then click Format Background. On the Fill tab, under Solid, set black as the fill color. Click Apply to apply black to only the current slide. Or, instead of inserting a black slide, you can press the B key during the slide show to turn the screen black (or the W key to turn the screen white) to instantly pause the presentation and change the screen to black. Press B or W again to remove the black or white screen and continue your presentation.

8Conquering Clutter Once and For AllClutter is anything that gets between you and the life you want.Three main types of clutter.Without a vision for the life you want, you cant create the spaces you want.Decluttering and organization is a part of everyday living.

Have a summary slide of your presentation state it succinctly in a way that wraps your presentation.Use the Fade in and dim animation this keeps focus on the major summary heading but still allows you to talk about summary points.Three important steps in wrapping your presentation: Thank your audience for taking part in the presentation. Call for questions, making it clear how many questions youll take or how long question time will last. Encourage the audience to take what theyve learned in the presentation and apply it to their situation directly.

9For More InformationPeter WalshPeter Walsh Design, Inc.www.peterwalshdesign.com services@peterwalshdesign.com

Replace this shape with images of publications relevant to your presentation or other items that may be of interest to your audience.If youre presenting to an audience, the final slide should include:Your contact information.Publications relevant to your presentation and of interest to the audience.Other relevant information for the audience to follow up if interested.Keep this slide on screen while the audience disperses.

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