Transform Your PowerPoint Presentations with Expert Visual Storytelling Strategies | Guest Emily Schneider

John: 00:00:00

There are always gonna be times when you're gonna want to

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use PowerPoint with presentations.

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Maybe not all the time, but when

you do, if you are a professional

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speaker, you probably want it to

look as good as it can possibly look.

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In fact, if it doesn't look like a

high quality presentation, visually,

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it could be damaging your brand

and your professional credibility.

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So that's certainly

something we wouldn't want.

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It's essential then to make sure that

your visual storytelling is as good as

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it possibly can be, which is why I'm

very happy to introduce you to my guest.

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And in fact, I'm gonna let my

guest introduce herself to you.

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Emily Schneider: I'm Emily Schneider.

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I am a visual storyteller

specializing in PowerPoint design.

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My magical knack is simplifying

complex information.

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I help, business leaders, presenters,

speakers, anybody who has a story to

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tell tell it with more impact concisely,

saving them time and energy and.

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Elevating their confidence so

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John: Welcome to Present Influence the

show that helps coaches, speakers, and

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communication professionals develop the

skills to impact, influence, and inspire.

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My name's John Ball, keynote coach,

professional speaker, and your guide

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on this journey to mastery level

communication and presentation skills.

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My mission is to provide professional

communicators like you with

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everything you need to maximize your

impact and present with influence.

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Follow the show on your favorite

podcast app for weekly episodes

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Also, if you haven't already done

so and you enjoy the show, please

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It does help other people to know that

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too, and I will really appreciate it.

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Emily, I'm so happy to have you on

the show today because I don't think

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I've ever had someone with your

kind of expertise and I know that

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my audience are gonna really value.

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You this, because we may not

use PowerPoint in every single

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presentation, but there's no doubt

we use it and we use it a lot as

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speakers, as coaches, as presenters.

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Whether it's gonna be in a keynote

or in a workshop or on a Zoom

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or whatever it is you're doing.

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Having good PowerPoint.

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We see a lot that isn't I can understand

why we need somebody like you.

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Tell us a little bit about what

the need is you've seen in the

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industry and how you help people.

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Emily Schneider: Yeah, I love that

and I'm so excited to talk about it.

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'cause it's always fun that I geek

out about a topic that a lot of people

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have pretty harsh feelings about.

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But yes, like you said, PowerPoint.

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Or just presentations in general

and the visuals that go to them

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are so critical and use so much.

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The challenges or the need that I

find the most is a couple, one, people

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either don't know how to use the tool,

but they're expected to, so they get

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this overwhelming feeling of over

communicating because they don't know

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how to tell a story properly, especially

when it comes to the visuals, right?

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We're really good at connecting and

talking in real life, but when you

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add visuals to it lays this whole

other level of complexity and just.

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I think anxiety, if that's fair to say.

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And then the other way that I really love

helping people is, especially when you're

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talking about speakers and presenters

and business leaders, is they know

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where their boundaries are and they'll

raise their hand and they'll be like, I

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don't have time, nor is this the right

place for me to be putting my energy.

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But I know what it needs

to do or it needs to say.

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And so I love partnering and

collaborating in that way.

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I'm such a, somebody who loves

being part of the process.

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Like I, I will take it off your hands, but

then I will keep you engaged so it still

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is yours and you'll own this at the end.

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And it should always feel like it

comes from you as the presenter

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and the sharer of that information.

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But I really just like it's the best

when I can save people time and energy.

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Especially, C-suites and business

leaders and those keynote speakers like.

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You focus on what you need to focus on.

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This is my zone of genius.

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I'll do my magic.

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And then together you're, when

we come together, there's this

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magical collaboration and then

everybody's, so happy and excited.

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And I'm sure you can speak from

your experience, but I find that

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when you're more confident and

you're more prepared to make that

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presentation or to share that update.

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It makes such a difference in how that

information is received, accepted, and how

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your audience really engages with you and

you feel like such a winner at the end.

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And that's the most important part in

my mind, is helping somebody else feel

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confident and ready to do their job.

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It's still fun.

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John: I really understand that because

we are, I think, in, in an environment

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now professionally at least, where if you

don't have things that look professional.

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Are high of a high quality, and

you're right, they're doing that.

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People really judge that very harshly

because we have so much access to

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all, to stuff that's done really well,

that we really notice it when it's not

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done well and when it's done badly.

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So I, I think what you're

doing is super important.

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That's why.

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I'm so glad that you agreed to

come and speak with me today.

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Here's a question for you though.

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What are the kinds of presentations

and talks that you most think

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benefit from having PowerPoint

and solid visual representations?

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Emily Schneider: I'm gonna say

I'm just somebody that thinks

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everything should have a visual

because I speak in visual language.

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I just can understand concepts when

somebody's sharing something with me

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when they're talking about something.

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It can be as simple as, I always use the

example of they're describing what the

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trees look like outside of their house.

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There's millions types of trees.

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So I need a visual.

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I need some kind of story or

picture painted so that I can

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really understand and connect and.

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See what they see or feel, what they feel.

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That's the whole point of

stories is it connects us, right?

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It makes us feel that

emotional connection.

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And when we're emotionally connected,

we're so much more engaged and we're

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excited and it, and especially in

a business sense, I think sometimes

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people are like I don't wanna be like

emotional or, have all these feelings.

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But I think it's important, those

one-on-one conversations, which is

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what I believe presentations really are

about, are really about creating that

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emotional connection with somebody.

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And not just surface level.

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And I think as businesses evolving,

we're finding that more and more

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that people want that connection.

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But going back to the type, so I

think, so going back to your question

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of I think every kind of story or

presentation should have a visual.

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And we are also used to that, like

we're so used to being stimulated and

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getting information in so many ways.

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At the same time, there's been so much,

learning and just, I think now things are

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more accepted that like we're all, we all

learn different I have young kids and so

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I'm really learning that like the way they

retain information at school, it doesn't

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look the same way I did, they need it.

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Sent, shared or repeated, or they

need the visual or they need to

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have that hand to mind connection.

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And that's where I think the power of

visual storytelling is so important

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because you allow your audience to

digest the information in the way that's

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right for them, but you get to lead

it in the way that you want it to go.

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When you have a well crafted

story, a visual story, your

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audience can listen to you.

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They can see it on the slide,

they can feel it, right?

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They get all these different inputs

and it really benefits both you

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as the sharer and as the audience

receiving this information.

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I.

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I geek out about the

neuroscience of it, right?

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But like we're 65% more likely to retain

information when it's visually designed.

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It just clicks better.

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Same as bullets, right?

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How many times have you read something

or seen something on a slide and it's so

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overwhelming because there's so many words

that you don't even know what to remember.

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But if I design and or bold, even the

one or the three words that are really

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critical, I'm gonna remember those.

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Now, delete the rest of those

words that aren't important.

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And I'm really focused on what

the presenter's saying because.

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I can follow along in a

way that is digestible.

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It becomes relatable.

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I build trust with my presenter

because I'm engaged with them.

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And there's, it's such a win-win

for both you as the presenter.

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But I think when we think about

it, it's really about making sure

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you're connecting with your audience

on the way, the right way, right?

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It's not about what's in it for me,

it's about what's in it for them.

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And going back to why I love what I

do, when you show up more confident.

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If you're gonna connect with them, it's

gonna be about them because it's, you're

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not worried, you're not having these,

the this conversation in your head as

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you're presenting of do people care?

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You know that it's good and

you're ready to share that out.

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John: I was say when I've coached people

who are doing the talks and we talk about

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things like PowerPoint and visuals visual

visual aids, I guess we'll call 'em.

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But the advice I always give is it should

only ever enhance your presentation.

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And I'm certainly open to the

possibility that every presentation

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could be enhanced by this as well.

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I can certainly get some truth to

what you're saying here that, um.

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Where do you think most people

initially go wrong with this?

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Emily Schneider: I can, I actually

respond to something that you said

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about like enhancing the presentation.

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So I like to use this analogy

that I help my clients become

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the conversation conductors.

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And I see that you have a piano,

a classical piano book behind you.

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So I think you might be

familiar with this kind of.

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Theory, but the idea is like when you

go and see an orchestra, there's the

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conductor and he stands on stage and he

helps create that harmonious experience.

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He tells, he knows, he's queuing

the instruments and the players

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and the sections, and he is,

he's helping to create this.

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The sound that comes to life.

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And as an audience member, you get to

sit back and you get to experience it.

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And you get to feel it.

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And when you become a conversation

conductor, when you lead that,

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that presentation, or you're

having this conversation, your

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slides should be the background

harmonious music to this experience.

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So they're not taking

over what is happening.

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They're actually helping to set, this

kind of yeah, just this overall experience

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that really again, helps to elevate and

connect your audience with what you're

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saying and so that they build that trust.

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And I love when my clients come

back and say, it works right?

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I led this conversation, I guided

them to feel the rhythm, to hear

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the things, to focus on what

I wanted to at the right time.

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That's the win.

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So going to your question about like, when

is, what do I see that goes wrong Is when

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we over communicate, when we don't create

this harmonious experience for somebody.

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I love to use the term

death by PowerPoint, right?

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How many times have you sat in

a presentation where it's so

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overdone it's not even designed.

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There's just so much information because.

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Sometimes we think that over communicating

shows our credibility where really

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the confidence and that, that cool

confidence comes when you know what you

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know, and you're sharing the right and

pertinent information with your audience.

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One of my, one of my first questions

with my clients is, who are you

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talking to and what do you want

them to think, feel, and do.

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Throughout this presentation

and especially at the end.

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And when you start with that in mind,

with them in mind, you can create

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and craft your story both visually

and with your narrative to really

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hit home on what you should do.

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Because over communication is gonna

drown people out, and they're used to

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being, they're used to getting a lot of

information and then tuning out what they

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don't want, and that, that is the opposite

of what you want in a presentation

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when you're sharing something.

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John: I'll be honest, this is one of

the biggest challenges for keynote

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speakers in general is keeping things.

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More minimal in terms of information, like

having the essential information and the

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mistake that people make is thinking that

adding more content, more information is

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adding more value and it's generally not.

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It's mostly overloading people to a point

where they're not gonna remember most

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or any of what you said if you do that.

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There are situations though, where we

do have to deliver somewhat data heavy.

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Presentations, workshops, et cetera.

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Are there ways that we can make data more

visually digestible for our audiences.

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Emily Schneider: A hundred percent.

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There's so many great

tricks and tips I have.

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One of them is simply, and as you

talk about, like overwhelmingness

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is breaking that information up.

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I'm a big component of.

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Less on a slide, more slides.

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Not only do our brains connect that

there's something new I need to

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maybe listen to as this presenter is

changing slides, but it gives you the

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ability to focus on that one or two

key things that are really critical.

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And sometimes, when it comes to

data, it's not necessarily having a

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new chart, but it's highlighting the

different parts of what your narrative

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is saying that aligns with the visuals.

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Again, it's reinforcing, it's

that harmonious background.

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Visual that supports what

you're talking about.

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It's also to your point of not

overdoing it, a lot of times I'll

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get data and I, and to be honest,

I got into this business because I

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geek out about data infographics.

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But.

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It's part of my like, journey

to get to where I'm at.

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But they give you all the information.

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I'm like, is it really important when

you're giving this update or if this

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is what you're focused on and this is

the quarter that you wanna talk about.

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Why do you need to talk about

what happened last year?

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Or if you do, let's just breeze over

it and then let's pull out this.

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Whether it's in color, whether it's just

zooming in on that section of the graph.

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Some of the other things are like

limiting the amount of information.

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So do I have to label every X and y Axi?

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Every dot or every bar column, does

it need to have the numbers associated

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or is that overall feeling going to

get where I see the bars going up and

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then I see where the dip is that shows

me what the data is proving or what

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I'm, the narrative then is really the

voice over to, to connect the dots.

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And the best part is our brains

do this great work for us.

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They want to put the

puzzle pieces together.

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So if you set it up properly,

it really does work.

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So simplifying your and your

labels and your accesses.

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Leveraging colors to

highlight and focus things.

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Now, I don't wanna see a rainbow of

colors to show a year, I always use

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the kind of the quick terms of whether

you're talking about quarters or

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you're talking about a certain product

and you're looking at data overall.

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Start to associate colors throughout

your whole presentation and definitely

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use those in your data visualizations

because again, our brains will

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start to see the connections and

it, and you can reinforce it.

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You could still have labels or your keys

and your legends that, highlight that.

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But I think that's really important.

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Sometimes people will put like.

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A data chart and sometimes do I actually

need the whole graph or do I just need

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to like design more of an infographic

treatment of the numbers and the success

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and where we were to where we're going.

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I've done a lot where I'll show pie

charts, but instead of just having

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the pie chart, you're calling out

the numbers in the middle or you're

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toning those back and you're overlaying

it with the information on top

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because that's what's most important.

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I have the visual support, but

if I just had the pie chart.

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It's not as impactful.

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It doesn't mean as much.

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Creating a little bit of drama in there,

but simple and consistently really helps

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to elevate that experience and again,

connect and help your audience focus

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on what you want them to be focused on.

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John: That's cool.

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What, sometimes when you're working

with clients, do you ever present

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some things like that in, in some

different ways so they can see like

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what may be is most effective or

do you have a pretty good idea?

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Emily Schneider: No, always.

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I'm always one.

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I actually think maybe it's not a

default, but I always tell my clients

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like, when we work together, like I'm

gonna give you a couple options and you

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can pick, because again, the beauty of

it is in visual interpretation is not

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necessarily subjective, but the way.

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I think about something and what

resonates with me might not be right

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for what works for you as a presenter.

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And I'm not like, this is, I'm just

jumping, not jumping in, but Right.

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I'm coming in as an outside source

trying to give a different perspective.

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And so yes, there's always multiple ways.

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But one of the beauty, beautiful

parts of that is usually within

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a sequence of, whether it's 10

to 20 slides in a presentation.

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Once we figure out one

or two examples, we.

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You get that rhythm right.

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I like to say, I like to,

speak their language, but it

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takes me a second to learn.

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But there's there's multiple ways

to always solve a creative problem.

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I I also always tell people

like, I have a phone, right?

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You have a phone.

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There's a picture button.

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There's a text message button.

299

: 00:15:18

There's a phone button.

300

: 00:15:19

How we access those and where we get them,

even though they're the same thing on our

301

: 00:15:23

phones is so different because our user

experience and how our habits or how we.

302

: 00:15:29

How we leverage that is different.

303

: 00:15:30

And that's the same

when it comes to design.

304

: 00:15:32

So there's some best practices.

305

: 00:15:34

Sometimes people wanna be totally

outta the box and sometimes people

306

: 00:15:37

are like, keep me really simple

because it's really critical.

307

: 00:15:40

One, one of the examples is I recently

was working with a venture capitalist

308

: 00:15:44

company and they had a timeline.

309

: 00:15:46

And just articulating, I think

we went through four different

310

: 00:15:49

versions of a timeline, sequence

of visualization, visualizing it.

311

: 00:15:53

I thought I had some really

great ones at the beginning,

312

: 00:15:55

but it was too much for her.

313

: 00:15:57

It was focused too much on

the wrong part of that story.

314

: 00:16:00

And that's that's what I love

actually about my process is I

315

: 00:16:03

worked directly with clients.

316

: 00:16:04

I share my screen.

317

: 00:16:06

There's everything is on because you

have to see the evolution and you

318

: 00:16:09

have to see how things move because

when you move something, it makes

319

: 00:16:13

you feel or think or different.

320

: 00:16:14

Different parts come to the focus.

321

: 00:16:16

And aligning and working through

those creatively is such a huge win.

322

: 00:16:19

'cause in the end it's always better.

323

: 00:16:20

John: Yeah I know that a

lot of people who listen.

324

: 00:16:24

To this show will be the kinds of people

who have their own logos and branding,

325

: 00:16:31

and you'd mentioned some things about

bringing in color and things like that.

326

: 00:16:35

How what recommendations would

you have for bringing in personal

327

: 00:16:38

branding without it becoming intrusive

or cheesy or anything like that?

328

: 00:16:43

So that you could still

brand your own presentations?

329

: 00:16:46

Emily Schneider: I think that

branding is so important because

330

: 00:16:48

again, it creates that credibility.

331

: 00:16:50

Your audience then knows

that you're real, right?

332

: 00:16:52

That you care about this, that it's

important that it's not something, showing

333

: 00:16:55

up half baked is like, it's very obvious.

334

: 00:16:58

But personal branding is critical.

335

: 00:16:59

But it comes down to, and usually I

think if you have your personal brand,

336

: 00:17:03

you've already gone through the exercise

of you have one or two brand fonts.

337

: 00:17:06

Use those, your color palette,

use that and don't, if you only

338

: 00:17:10

have three colors, that's great.

339

: 00:17:11

There's opacities you can

use, you can play with it.

340

: 00:17:14

Even if it's only one

color throughout the thing.

341

: 00:17:16

There's a lot of great ways

you can use color blocking.

342

: 00:17:19

You can bring in grays or,

toning things back to help really

343

: 00:17:23

create an essence of a brand.

344

: 00:17:25

But simply like even just the credibility

of using your colors consistently,

345

: 00:17:30

your own brand colors and your fonts.

346

: 00:17:32

So if you have a headline and it's

always in the same spot, it should

347

: 00:17:35

always be the same font because

my brain starts to think that I'm

348

: 00:17:37

gonna, I know I'm gonna see it there.

349

: 00:17:39

Logos, some clients like logos.

350

: 00:17:42

Their logo on every page.

351

: 00:17:43

Some clients don't need it because

they feel like it's part of a system.

352

: 00:17:46

And but again, keep it in the same spot.

353

: 00:17:48

When you start creating this chaos and I

need to find what you're talking about,

354

: 00:17:53

or things are jumping around as a,

especially I think when you're thinking

355

: 00:17:57

about it as a keynote and you're on this

big screen, if your logo starts moving,

356

: 00:18:00

even if it shifts to the right it lose,

you lose your credibility, but it also

357

: 00:18:04

creates confusion for your audience.

358

: 00:18:05

So I'm a big component of locking

things into the same space

359

: 00:18:09

and using them intentionally.

360

: 00:18:11

I think going back to we see some

beautiful stuff in AI or Canva, there's

361

: 00:18:15

all these great access to tools,

but PowerPoint does a great job of

362

: 00:18:19

really helping us create those, the

guidelines and the grids and making

363

: 00:18:24

sure things are safe, are locked in

so that you create that consistency.

364

: 00:18:28

Where I know just Canva doesn't have

the tools yet to create that jump.

365

: 00:18:31

But, one of my pet peeves.

366

: 00:18:33

John: like template slides

that kind of, you can Yeah.

367

: 00:18:36

Model, model off each of those.

368

: 00:18:38

Do you feel that there should be some

link to your branding on all of your

369

: 00:18:42

presentation or is, are there some

exceptions where that's not so important?

370

: 00:18:46

Emily Schneider: I I think it always

will be because if you use your brand

371

: 00:18:49

font and you use your brand colors,

a data chart's gonna feel like it.

372

: 00:18:53

You.

373

: 00:18:53

Like it's yours then if you

default to the PowerPoint colors.

374

: 00:18:57

Even when you bring in photography

there's a sense and there's an emotional

375

: 00:19:01

feel or illustrations and icons.

376

: 00:19:03

Using your colors simply helps

create that brand connection.

377

: 00:19:07

Photography again.

378

: 00:19:08

If you can build it as you do it.

379

: 00:19:10

That's actually one of my favorite

things to do with clients is they'll

380

: 00:19:13

be like, I don't have much of a brand.

381

: 00:19:15

And I'm like, let's not

create a fake template.

382

: 00:19:17

Let's actually create a presentation

and then build back of what your,

383

: 00:19:20

your guidelines are and your.

384

: 00:19:21

Presentation template, but using the

same style of imagery, colorizing

385

: 00:19:26

it the same way, or cropping it and

treating it so it feels holistic.

386

: 00:19:30

Simply having a full image on a slide.

387

: 00:19:32

If you have a lot or if you have a couple

images and they all feel like they're

388

: 00:19:35

from the same photo shoot, let's say.

389

: 00:19:37

You've created a brand, you've created

a benchmark of what to expect of

390

: 00:19:42

how I'm going to share information

with you or things with you.

391

: 00:19:45

And when it comes to photography, one of

my other favorite tips, I think is 'cause

392

: 00:19:49

again, going back to keynotes, I know

sometimes you just need a picture because

393

: 00:19:52

you wanna show that emotional connection.

394

: 00:19:54

If you're in a small me business meeting,

I'm gonna show you more of the specific

395

: 00:19:57

data interaction, but I might show

you a picture of this experience that

396

: 00:20:01

the consumer has whatever that may be.

397

: 00:20:04

Turning an image black and white

is like such a simple trick to help

398

: 00:20:07

you brings it back to your brand.

399

: 00:20:09

I don't know, but like sometimes I see

people that use, eighties pictures have

400

: 00:20:12

the yellowish hue and but if you turn

it black and white, you lose all that.

401

: 00:20:16

And it helps it feel again that it's

it aligns and it fits right into

402

: 00:20:19

with your brand style very simply.

403

: 00:20:21

So.

404

: 00:20:22

John: That, no, that's pretty cool.

405

: 00:20:23

I, what are some of the creative ways

that we can perhaps use PowerPoint

406

: 00:20:29

in our presentations that you've come

across that perhaps that, oh, people

407

: 00:20:33

generally wouldn't necessarily think

about that straight off the bat.

408

: 00:20:37

Emily Schneider: Okay.

409

: 00:20:37

That's a good question.

410

: 00:20:38

I don't know if I've asked, had that where

I have to like so the photography and like

411

: 00:20:42

colorizing your stuff in the same way.

412

: 00:20:44

Using color itself.

413

: 00:20:45

Again, creating your brand and

leveraging that throughout your data

414

: 00:20:49

and your charts or your headlines.

415

: 00:20:51

Again, simplicity and consistency.

416

: 00:20:53

So my headlines are always

gonna be in a maroon.

417

: 00:20:56

Always make them a maroon.

418

: 00:20:57

Use that as accent colors.

419

: 00:20:59

I like to use modular or blocking of

information so you can house information

420

: 00:21:04

in colored squares or sections, right?

421

: 00:21:06

Dividing a slide into a third,

like a two thirds and one third

422

: 00:21:11

so you can break up information so

423

: 00:21:13

even though you might talk about

two main topics, you're giving

424

: 00:21:16

it space so people can digest it.

425

: 00:21:18

I also think it's important to go

from full color slide backgrounds to

426

: 00:21:23

white, giving your brain that time to.

427

: 00:21:25

To change and see that

there's something different.

428

: 00:21:28

Dividers are really important and using,

I think using imagery and dividers is

429

: 00:21:32

so helpful because again, you create,

you're starting to create an experience

430

: 00:21:36

for somebody without overlaying

too much information in one slide.

431

: 00:21:40

What else?

432

: 00:21:40

Those are really good.

433

: 00:21:41

Oh, stylizing of your bullets and your

fonts or just picking things again and.

434

: 00:21:46

PowerPoint does a great job of

defaulting to this, so that always helps.

435

: 00:21:49

But, you don't wanna use some bullets

and sizing and colorizing of them.

436

: 00:21:54

And then on the next slide,

they're completely different.

437

: 00:21:56

It's gonna feel like a whole

different presentation.

438

: 00:21:58

And so creating, again, simplicity,

consistency, and then being intentional,

439

: 00:22:02

those are always the top three kind

of principles that I preach and

440

: 00:22:06

use in in my work and in my life.

441

: 00:22:08

I think it really it was really important.

442

: 00:22:11

John: I hope we're a long way away.

443

: 00:22:12

Now, from the times when people would use

like yellow as a written font and things

444

: 00:22:18

like that on PowerPoint stuff, that stuff

is just really hard to read on a screen.

445

: 00:22:22

But this may be polarizing

for some people.

446

: 00:22:25

Gently polarizing, I would hope.

447

: 00:22:27

Where would you stand on things like

animations and things on PowerPoints?

448

: 00:22:31

Are they

449

: 00:22:32

Emily Schneider: I think.

450

: 00:22:33

I think they are good,

but that's like a 2.0,

451

: 00:22:36

right?

452

: 00:22:36

If you're just getting comfortable in

elevating your visual story, you don't

453

: 00:22:41

necessarily have to have the animations.

454

: 00:22:42

And I think it goes back to we were

talking about be before where like

455

: 00:22:45

we're so used to seeing all these really

dynamic over design stuff, especially

456

: 00:22:50

with, again, the advancement of tools

and programs that are helping us.

457

: 00:22:54

Helping connect that and make that easier.

458

: 00:22:56

But if it's not done to, to e to support

what you're saying, it causes confusion.

459

: 00:23:01

So I go into starting with just

transitioning from one slide to

460

: 00:23:06

the other and how that feels.

461

: 00:23:07

The morph tool is a really great

transition that seems very dynamic.

462

: 00:23:11

And again it's, I think it's something

I would Google ' cause it's easier

463

: 00:23:14

to like, understand how to use it

than for me to walk you through it.

464

: 00:23:17

But doing a morph transition.

465

: 00:23:19

Is really dynamic.

466

: 00:23:21

It's simple and it helps

elevate that experience.

467

: 00:23:24

You don't wanna overdo your animations,

so you want your animations or

468

: 00:23:28

your transitions picking one or two

approaches and using them throughout.

469

: 00:23:33

And again, animation should

help build your story.

470

: 00:23:37

So if you're talking about three points.

471

: 00:23:39

Your first one maybe appears when

the slide comes on, and then when

472

: 00:23:43

you're, and then you click it so you

control when the next one pops up.

473

: 00:23:46

'cause again, you're leading your

audience to focus on the information

474

: 00:23:50

that you want them to focus on.

475

: 00:23:52

But again, it's not about doing

a million different styles.

476

: 00:23:55

It's about picking one or two approaches

and then using those throughout.

477

: 00:23:59

John: I still have burned into my

brain some bad experiences from when

478

: 00:24:03

Apple Keynote first came out and people

getting a little bit carried away with

479

: 00:24:07

some of the features and animations

on these things and using them very

480

: 00:24:11

excessively in presentations, which

was funny in, at the time, but also

481

: 00:24:16

Emily Schneider: a little scary.

482

: 00:24:17

Yeah.

483

: 00:24:18

And one of my other starter tips

I I should share is so let's say

484

: 00:24:21

you wanna do animations or you

wanna do a building sequence, but

485

: 00:24:24

you're not comfortable in animation.

486

: 00:24:26

You can just have three slides, right?

487

: 00:24:28

You build the first slide, and then

the second slide has the added second.

488

: 00:24:32

Section that you're talking

about, and then the third slide.

489

: 00:24:34

So it looks like it builds but from

your abilities in the power PowerPoint,

490

: 00:24:40

you don't have to be, nervous if

animations are gonna build right.

491

: 00:24:42

Or how it looks because there is

some technical and understanding

492

: 00:24:45

how that works and everybody's

comfortable in their own way.

493

: 00:24:48

But always explore it.

494

: 00:24:49

I'm always one to try something new.

495

: 00:24:50

It's always great.

496

: 00:24:51

John: Are there any kind of other

ad advanced, like I know you help

497

: 00:24:55

people specifically with this, so are

there any of the more advanced tools

498

: 00:24:58

that probably people wouldn't really

use on their own that you might get?

499

: 00:25:02

Is your experience with working with

someone who does this professionally?

500

: 00:25:05

Emily Schneider: That's interesting.

501

: 00:25:06

Maybe it's PowerPoint has their own

library of imagery, illustrations,

502

: 00:25:10

photography, vector shapes that

I think people don't always know.

503

: 00:25:14

Again, it's in the insert tab.

504

: 00:25:16

You can find them and you can search.

505

: 00:25:19

There's also an amazing company

it's called Bright Carbon.

506

: 00:25:22

I think they're in.

507

: 00:25:23

In the UK and they have an add-on

that really helps to think about.

508

: 00:25:28

And maybe it's a little bit advanced, but

they actually have some great trainings

509

: 00:25:31

too where it's how to use the program

better, or just simply controlling,

510

: 00:25:35

the lettering, spacing between

letters, but also the line spacing.

511

: 00:25:40

Those kind of things are really important

and it helps you feel like you're sharing

512

: 00:25:44

something that's a little bit more

elevated and it sets that bar again,

513

: 00:25:47

it creates that brand credibility.

514

: 00:25:49

It's always the little things.

515

: 00:25:50

It's those simple, little details that

really do make such a big difference.

516

: 00:25:55

John: One of the ways that I've

been tripped up, and I've certainly

517

: 00:25:58

seen other people get tripped up on

this as well in their professional

518

: 00:26:01

presentations, is bringing in audio and

video into their PowerPoints as well.

519

: 00:26:07

What would you say, should we avoid

that or are there other, some best,

520

: 00:26:11

better ways to bring that in and

have it still where and be effective?

521

: 00:26:16

Emily Schneider: That's

a really good question.

522

: 00:26:18

I don't work a lot with videos and

animation or, and, voice or audio

523

: 00:26:22

because my clients it just hasn't

been something that has been prepped.

524

: 00:26:26

Like prevalent.

525

: 00:26:27

I think that's more in,

again, like bigger sessions.

526

: 00:26:30

And that is you're gonna

be working with somebody.

527

: 00:26:32

You wanna connect with your tech,

your person on site and your

528

: 00:26:36

tech people and do some testing.

529

: 00:26:38

The biggest kind of hiccup

there is file size, right?

530

: 00:26:41

It's the delay, but there, there

are controls about how and when

531

: 00:26:46

things are started and if it's

automated or if you have to click.

532

: 00:26:49

And that's always, again, when I'm working

in animation or bringing in, sometimes

533

: 00:26:53

there has been videos with my clients.

534

: 00:26:55

I always ask them like, what

are you more comfortable in?

535

: 00:26:56

Do you want this to automatically

play or do you wanna be in control?

536

: 00:27:00

And I think those are critical

things to know what your comfort is.

537

: 00:27:05

And then again, it's.

538

: 00:27:06

You need to be confident in how it works

and once you're confident, it doesn't

539

: 00:27:10

matter because you know you're gonna

click it or you know it's gonna roll

540

: 00:27:13

and you don't have to think about it.

541

: 00:27:14

So each person has their

own perspective on that.

542

: 00:27:16

But I would say it comes with the planning

and the preparation and the testing.

543

: 00:27:21

For sure.

544

: 00:27:22

John: I've been aware in certain

situations with Class four

545

: 00:27:26

that there's been something

of a tendency to create the.

546

: 00:27:30

PowerPoint before the presentation,

547

: 00:27:34

do you, would you think that always

has to be created first or is that

548

: 00:27:38

a way that could actually work?

549

: 00:27:40

Emily Schneider: I think it could work

my, but my best practice, and actually I

550

: 00:27:43

was just sharing about this yesterday, is

you have to start with the end in mind.

551

: 00:27:48

You have to write your story first.

552

: 00:27:50

You have to know what you wanna say.

553

: 00:27:52

It doesn't have to be totally baked in

terms of your narrative, but you have

554

: 00:27:55

to lay out that groundwork so that

you know what points you wanna share.

555

: 00:28:01

And to be honest.

556

: 00:28:02

I'd say get offline when you do

that, write that somewhere else.

557

: 00:28:06

My my favorite tip is grab a

bunch of post-it notes and a

558

: 00:28:09

sharpie 'cause you can't erase it.

559

: 00:28:10

Start writing your ideas down.

560

: 00:28:12

One idea for a post-it note and get

them somewhere where you can move

561

: 00:28:15

them around and you can start to

see the sequence of what you wanna

562

: 00:28:18

share and how you wanna share it.

563

: 00:28:20

And you can put ideas of the visuals, you

could put the topic, you could put your

564

: 00:28:24

speaking notes, whatever it needs to be.

565

: 00:28:25

But you'll start to see this come to life.

566

: 00:28:27

And again, something I.

567

: 00:28:29

I geek out about the neuroscience, but

our brains, we, the screens can limit us.

568

: 00:28:34

They even though we don't, we think

there's endless possibilities with them

569

: 00:28:38

the way our minds actually work when we're

responding to something on screen, I.

570

: 00:28:43

So different than when it's

paper and pencil and offline.

571

: 00:28:46

And even brainstorming is so

much more freeing when you're

572

: 00:28:50

not stuck on a computer.

573

: 00:28:52

Because sometimes, I'm, I am a candidate

too where I'll jump onto a PowerPoint

574

: 00:28:56

slide and all of a sudden I'm like, I'm

over designing this thing and I don't

575

: 00:28:59

even know what it's supposed to say yet.

576

: 00:29:00

So I've gotta remind

myself to get offline.

577

: 00:29:02

And just take some time to really plan.

578

: 00:29:04

I think there's so much that.

579

: 00:29:07

There's so many wins that happen

when you start offline and then bring

580

: 00:29:10

it back into to the online space.

581

: 00:29:12

John: Not least for

having less distractions

582

: 00:29:15

Emily Schneider: Yes, exactly.

583

: 00:29:16

Yeah, totally.

584

: 00:29:16

John: that.

585

: 00:29:18

Yeah.

586

: 00:29:18

Fantastic.

587

: 00:29:20

I it's very clear that when you work

with someone professionally, you're

588

: 00:29:23

gonna get a much better end product than

probably most of us could do by ourselves.

589

: 00:29:27

But for those who are doing their own

PowerPoints what would be the, your

590

: 00:29:31

best advice, best practices, and maybe

even some useful resources for people?

591

: 00:29:37

Emily Schneider: Yes.

592

: 00:29:37

Great question.

593

: 00:29:38

So I mentioned Bright Carbon.

594

: 00:29:40

That's an awesome resource.

595

: 00:29:41

They have a bunch of free webinars

that you can sign up for, but they

596

: 00:29:44

also just have stuff on their website.

597

: 00:29:46

But on my own website, I have a free

resources tabs where I share my four.

598

: 00:29:50

I have a four page tip

sheet that helps you from.

599

: 00:29:54

The first thing where you're like,

okay, I got a presentation to, to share.

600

: 00:29:57

What do I do?

601

: 00:29:58

And it starts with your audience in mind.

602

: 00:30:00

Then it talks about

crafting your narrative.

603

: 00:30:02

Then it talks about some design

tips and tricks, and then it even

604

: 00:30:05

talks a little bit about delivery.

605

: 00:30:07

So that's a great resource

to read or to grab.

606

: 00:30:10

I'm again, one visual, so I always

like to have that like printed or.

607

: 00:30:13

Somewhere where I can reference

it 'cause it's a good reminder.

608

: 00:30:16

I also have a masterclass recording in

that free resources tab that people can

609

: 00:30:21

access so they can learn a little bit

more behind the scenes of how to do this.

610

: 00:30:25

But yeah, I think, it's about being

curious and then finding something that

611

: 00:30:30

you really like and then figuring out

how they did that and backing into it.

612

: 00:30:33

I do ask Google a lot of questions or

chat GPT about like, how do I do this?

613

: 00:30:37

Or what's the best way to do this?

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: 00:30:38

Because sometimes.

615

: 00:30:39

To your, I to your point, we get blocked

or we get, we get distracted and we

616

: 00:30:43

lose that ability to think bigger.

617

: 00:30:44

And so it's always helpful to reach out.

618

: 00:30:46

I'm also always happy to answer some,

someone off questions or I share a

619

: 00:30:50

bunch of tips and resources or how

to approach different parts of that

620

: 00:30:54

process in my social media on LinkedIn.

621

: 00:30:57

So that's a happy to

connect with people there.

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: 00:30:59

'cause I think there's

some good resources.

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: 00:31:01

John: No, that's great.

624

: 00:31:01

And for people who are wanting to check

out those resources or maybe would like

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: 00:31:05

to find out more about you and speak to

you about having you do some PowerPoint

626

: 00:31:10

work for 'em what's gonna be the best

way for them to get in contact with you?

627

: 00:31:14

Emily Schneider: My website

is a great place to start.

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: 00:31:16

I am emily schneider.com.

629

: 00:31:18

You can see more examples of my work,

so that might be inspirational too.

630

: 00:31:22

You can learn more about my

process, who I am, where I came

631

: 00:31:24

from, and how I work with clients.

632

: 00:31:26

Like I said, we mentioned

there's a free resource tab.

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: 00:31:28

I'm also going to start a newsletter

this year, so that would be a

634

: 00:31:31

great thing so you can get that

directly into your mailbox.

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: 00:31:34

But LinkedIn, I'm super active.

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: 00:31:35

I love sharing and

connecting on there as well.

637

: 00:31:37

So that's a good another space.

638

: 00:31:40

John: You'll be able to find all of

those links in the show notes or make

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: 00:31:43

sure that you can access everything

that Emily has talked about here.

640

: 00:31:47

It's a question view.

641

: 00:31:48

Do you feel that AI is gonna get to

a point soon, or maybe it already is,

642

: 00:31:51

maybe I'm behind the times where it's

gonna be doing PowerPoints for us

643

: 00:31:54

or are we a long way off from that?

644

: 00:31:56

Emily Schneider: Sure AI is

already doing PowerPoints for

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: 00:31:58

us, but is it doing it right?

646

: 00:31:59

Is it telling your story?

647

: 00:32:01

Is it hitting the points that you need?

648

: 00:32:04

AI is powered by humans, but.

649

: 00:32:06

If you just rely on AI to do the work,

you're not connecting to your audience.

650

: 00:32:10

It's never gonna be able to create

that empathetic emotional connection

651

: 00:32:15

to build that credibility, that

authenticity, and that trust.

652

: 00:32:18

That as a presenter is so

critical when you're sharing

653

: 00:32:21

something with your audience.

654

: 00:32:23

And so I think it could be used as a great

tool, again, another resource, but it

655

: 00:32:27

shouldn't be the end all, be all because.

656

: 00:32:29

Going back to people always

ask oh, there's all these great

657

: 00:32:32

suggestions from PowerPoint on

that, that will pop up great.

658

: 00:32:35

But are they hitting, are they

highlighting the right thing?

659

: 00:32:38

Are they bolding the key

takeaways that you want?

660

: 00:32:41

Probably not because all it's doing

is making it look good, but looks

661

: 00:32:45

don't, looks could be deceiving

if it's not done intentionally.

662

: 00:32:48

John: I love that.

663

: 00:32:49

I don't think I've ever come

across anyone so excited about

664

: 00:32:52

PowerPoint and visual storytelling

as you, Emily, and I love that.

665

: 00:32:55

I love that that you are as well.

666

: 00:32:57

We'll finish up with this.

667

: 00:32:58

What is your, what's your most favorite

thing to see in a PowerPoint or maybe even

668

: 00:33:03

to put in a PowerPoint and think, oh yeah,

that's just that's an absolute killer.

669

: 00:33:06

Wanna see that in it in pretty

much every good PowerPoint.

670

: 00:33:09

Emily Schneider: I love

taking data and just making it

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: 00:33:11

stand out and look different.

672

: 00:33:13

So how do the challenge of we've

got all this information and how do

673

: 00:33:16

we really share it in a way that I.

674

: 00:33:18

Looks cool.

675

: 00:33:19

That makes an impact, but also,

most importantly, that connects

676

: 00:33:22

with the story I wanna tell.

677

: 00:33:23

And so it's always fun to be

challenged with what clients give

678

: 00:33:27

me in terms of over communication or

the slide that just has, the bullet

679

: 00:33:31

or the words that they need to have.

680

: 00:33:33

And then bringing that to life

with a visualization through data.

681

: 00:33:36

John: Look, listen, now if you listen into

any of this, there is no excuse for you

682

: 00:33:40

ever having mediocre or bad PowerPoint

or slides ever again in the future.

683

: 00:33:46

So at least go and check out the

resources and take some of the

684

: 00:33:49

advice we've got from Emily today.

685

: 00:33:51

And I don't think you're

gonna go too far on.

686

: 00:33:52

I'm gonna be checking all that

out as well and I really love

687

: 00:33:55

everything you said, Emily.

688

: 00:33:56

Thank you so much for coming

and speaking with me today.

689

: 00:33:59

I know that I'm gonna be getting

some good audience feedback about

690

: 00:34:02

this as well because we are big

PowerPoint users, so thank you.

691

: 00:34:05

Much appreciated,

692

: 00:34:07

Emily Schneider: Oh,

I'm so happy to be here.

693

: 00:34:08

Thanks for having me, John.

694

: 00:34:09

It was an awesome conversation

and I hope I helped people.

695

: 00:34:11

Whatever.

696

: 00:34:11

One, if you learn one thing,

that's always a good win for me.

697

: 00:34:14

John: Undoubtedly.

698

: 00:34:15

Thank you.