4 Keys to Bring Your Deck to Life Using Animation

Animation is an effective tool to keep your next slide deck engaging and your audience connected to what you are sharing. However, if used ineffectively, animation can become distracting and overwhelming for your audience to follow. We have all experienced a presentation filled with bouncing text and spinning letters. While these presentations may look cool, they can quickly distract from the overall focus – your powerful content.

With this in mind, the team at Ethos3 has put together 4 keys to utilizing animation effectively in your next presentation.

Avoid overwhelming your audience by focusing on simplicity.

Be sure to keep the amount of animation to a minimum. It’s important when using animation to ensure that it does not overpower your message or weaken the impact of your visuals. It can be tempting and easy to go overboard with all the built-in animation options available to you, but be sure to use restraint whenever utilizing animation in your slide deck.

Keep your presentation consistent by using similar animation.

When you add animation to elements in your slides, stay consistent with your choices. Stick to only two and, at the most, three types of animation. Avoid applying different types of animation back to back as this can cause your audience to become distracted from your overall content. Consider using the same type of animation throughout the entire presentation to ensure consistency across the deck.

Pay attention to the directional flow of your animation.

In order to prevent distraction and leverage animation in your next presentation, be sure that the direction of your animation highlights the most important content in your deck. Use animation effects that flow with the direction of your content. Choose from top to bottom, from one side to another, or any effect that can call attention to the most important point in each slide.

Visualize what your audience will see.

When designing your slides and adding animation, visualize the way an audience will view your information. Imagine your audience looking at your presentation, and add effects accordingly. You can add an important animation to the parts that need more attention and less to the filler content throughout your presentation.

Animation is a powerful tool….when used correctly. However, many presenters make the fatal flaw of going overboard resulting in distraction rather than elevation of their content. Just because it’s available, doesn’t mean it must be used. As you add animation to your next presentation, be sure to think through the lens of your audience, and not just about what you think might look cool.

If you don’t have time to worry about your presentation design or the idea of designing elegant and engaging slides overwhelms you, contact our team today to find out how we can help!

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