In this article, we will share some practical advice to make your presentations look professional, interesting and effective.
First of all, think about how you feel when all you see on the screen is some boring statistics and text, without any images. Not so appealing, right?
In order to create an effective presentation, we need to invest more time in finding the right images and illustrations. The most popular and easiest way to make interesting presentations is to find good characters or mascots and include them in your PowerPoint presentation. There are many sites where you can find such resources:
After you’ve picked your cartoon characters, you need to understand how to use them in your presentation in order to make it more powerful and attractive.
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The presentation’s purpose is still the same – to present information. The cartoons and images are only added to make the presentation more attractive.
Give your text enough space. Do not put the accent on the cartoon character. Arrange your text and data first and then find a place for your character. Check out the following two examples below. Feeling the difference?
How to create an effective presentation with character or mascot – advice 1 – wrong
In the first presentation slide, we’ve put the character first and centered it. Then, we put the text where there was space left, thus bringing the focus on the illustration. This is not really the point, isn’t it?
In the second example, we’ve put the text and data first, leaving enough whitespace around them. The whitespace or negative space makes the elements breathe. They are readable and notable. Although the character is not the accent, he’s still serving his purpose. He is friendly and welcoming, making the viewers inclined to accept the message effectively.
How to create an effective presentation with a character or mascot – advice 1 – correct
See two examples. The cartoon character we’ve used is placed well but the background color doesn’t really correspond to the positive statistics given.
How to create effective presentations with a character or mascot – advice 2 – wrong
Here is what the colors mean:
Now, look at the second example. The background color is green which makes the viewer feel a positive energy better.
How to create effective presentations with a character or mascot – advice 2 – correct
Check out 70 Inspiring Presentation Slides with Cartoon Designs
We’ll show you two examples again. In the first one, the illustration is good, the graph is well placed on the whiteboard. Still feel there’s a problem? You’d be right. The graphic is left centered and the cartoon character isn’t looking at the whiteboard.
How to create effective presentations with a character or mascot – advice 3 – wrong
Now let’s rotate the cartoon character to make him look at the whiteboard. This will instantly move the visitor’s eyes to the character’s point of interest.
It will also feel better if we scale down a bit the illustration in order to get his legs into the presentation. And then, align the illustration to the center. How does the composition feel now?
How to create effective presentations with a character or mascot – advice 3 – correct
It’s clever to use a character to point to our information… literally. You can find many cartoon characters made for this purpose. They definitely help present ideas better.
Let’s explore two examples. In the first one, we have a presentation guy with a pointer. But the title is above the character and he’s pointing to nowhere. Use the character’s pointer to direct your visitor’s eyes to the important stuff in the presentation.
How to create effective presentations with a character or mascot – advice 4 – wrong
If we move the text a little bit downwards, so that the pointer is directed right towards it, the composition looks much better.
How to create effective presentations with a character or mascot – advice 4 – correct
Even if the cartoon character doesn’t have a pointer, they may be looking at some direction or showing something with their hands. Use these poses to your advantage in the presentation.
Every presentation is individual, so the use of illustrations depends on many factors. We hope these basic rules will help you make better presentations.
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