12 slide:ology
It’s easy to get impatient with the creative process, but
investing enough time is critical to developing a great
presentation. Though time is often one’s most valuable
resource, there’s no way to avoid spending it if you want
a powerful and persuasive speech. Additionally, though
the creative process can be messy and involve more
iterations than you ever imagined, keep in mind that
exploration, informal input, and review cycles ultimately
lead to a stronger result.
World Class Presentations Require Time and Focus
The amount of time required to develop
a presentation is directly proportional
to how high the stakes are.
Sometimes recycling an old keynote with minimal modi-
fication works. Other times, when there’s a big deal to
close or a critical vision to present, you need to start
from scratch and follow a creative process that takes
into account both audience needs and feedback
from colleagues.
Once you know you have a speaking engagement, immediately
schedule preparation time and review cycles on your calendar.
Recently, during a Q&A session about presentations,
someone asked, “I was up until 2 a.m. this morning build-
ing a presentation to deliver today. What am I doing
wrong?” When asked when he started, the answer was
predictable: “Yesterday afternoon.” Clearly, the presenta-
tion was of low priority, or the employee seriously mis-
judged the time required. Either way, there’s little doubt
that the presentation could have benefited from
better planning.
Creating a New Slide Ideology 13
Below are some average timeframes and steps for an hour-long
presentation that has 30 slides.
Time Estimate for Developing a Presentation
6–20 hours
Research and collect input from the web, colleagues,
and the industry.
1 hour
Build an audience-needs map.
2 hours
Generate ideas via sticky notes.
1 hour
Organize the ideas.
1 hour
Have colleagues critique or collaborate around the impact
the ideas will have on audience.
2 hours
Sketch a structure and/or a storyboard.
20–60 hours
Build the slides in a presentation application.
3 hours
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse (in the shower, on the treadmill,
or during the commute)
36–90 hours total
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