by Lisa | Sep 5, 2018 | Business, Facilitation, Productivity, Uncategorized
You have all of your content ready for your big presentation – graphs, stats and more. So how do you get your presentation noticed by the team? Keep your employees and co-workers engaged with your presentation thanks to these quick tips!
- Keep the colors simple – Use solid colored backgrounds for your slides, no need for a custom background. A strong palette can keep your presentation visually appealing. Refrain from using too many different colors. Stick to 3-5 different colors throughout your slides.
- Make it legible – Reading is fundamental! When creating your presentation, make sure people can actually read it. Font sizes are key to getting your message across. Keeping sizes large, about 30 pt size or larger, will allow team members to take notes and really see the information that you are sharing. Keep with the ‘Rule of 7’ for your presentation. There should not be more than seven lines of text and keep to seven words per line.
- Use visuals – Elements like bar graphs or photography and illustrations can draw attention to your presentation. When using visuals, make sure that they are high-quality files. Stay away from blurry photos. Test your slides out on the big screen before you present and make sure that everything looks crisp.
A few presentation bonus tips!
Infographics – Provide an infographic as a presentation handout. Allow your audience to follow along with your information in a fresh and visual way. Our team can help with creating these visuals for your presentation. Check out our services here!
Stay on time – While you may have a lot to share, watch the clock and keep it on time. There’s nothing worse than going over time when there are other presentations after you. Be respectful of your team’s time as well. This will also help keep them focused on what you have to say if you provide an expected timeframe for your content. You can also assign someone to be the timekeeper. This will be helpful to provide 10 and 2-minute warnings during the presentation.
Thanks for reading! If you find this valuable, please share this with someone you know.
Are you or maybe someone you know planning a conference? Keep the attendees engaged, they need to SEE the big picture. Just contact me for a free consultation. I’m happy to help (smile).
by Lisa | Nov 16, 2017 | Uncategorized
Time waits for no one. Especially when it’s getting close to the end of the year. Ever notice how things speed up after October. What’s up with that?
This is the time to think about how you will manage your business, team, or your career in the next year. I created this visual template that allows you to focus on 3 key areas:
- Stop: What are the things you need to STOP doing in order to meet your goals.
- Continue: What activities have moved you closer to your goal? What will you continue to do to achieve your goal?
- Start: What are the things you need to start doing to reach your goals?
Click here to print the Stop, Continue, Start template and instructions.
Of course you don’t have to wait until the end of the year to use this exercise. Here are some ideas on how you can use this template anytime:
- Maybe you’re an event/meeting planner, use this exercise with your team after you finish a large project. Build on your success and drop whatever is holding you back.
- What if you are in a leadership position. Use this exercise with your team at the end of each quarter or mid-year. This allows you to make course corrections early.
- Maybe you’re a consultant or trainer, use this exercise during your workshop to help your group take lessons learned and make adjustments.
Larger wall size versions of this template are available, perfect for group activities and workshops.
Are you ready to use visual communication for your next meeting, just contact me for ideas. I’m happy to help.
![National Cyber Security Month]()
by Lisa | Oct 6, 2017 | Uncategorized
Did you know October is National Cyber Security Month?
The news is filled with stories about cyber attacks, data breaches, identity theft, viruses, lions, tigers and bears, oh my!
It can get a bit overwhelming. I remember my former employer would periodically test us to ensure we were following security guidelines. Yes…. we were tested. Information is valuable and you pay a heavy price when you don’t keep it secure.
The topic of Cyber Security reminded me of a great talk I heard by Alex Schoof at TedxHerndon. See In Colors was a community sponsor for TedxHerndon and I had the opportunity to draw these visual notes (graphic recording) based on his talk.
Take precautions to keep your data safe and secure. It may take an extra step, but it’s always worth it.
Thanks for reading! I appreciate all the comments and feedback that you send me (smile). If you want to use the power of visual communications at your next conference, just contact us.
by Lisa | Apr 28, 2017 | Uncategorized
Did you know that only 8% of under represented minorities are STEM professors at 4 year institutions?
Well, I was excited to have a chance to make an impact and be a part of the APLU Includes Summit this week. The summit was focused on STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) pathways and diversity in the professorate.
Believe it or not, my background is in Information Technology. Before I started on this artistic path, most of my working life had been around coding, testing, and applications. Yep… it’s true!
I was hired by The Value Web to join their team and provide graphic recording and facilitate a smooth process for attendees. Our team was all about service and “making things easy” for attendees with facilitation and high impact visuals. It was a great experience working side by side with a top notch team. Team work makes the dream work!
Here are some pictures from the event. I can’t wait until next year, I really enjoyed the energy and ideas from the participants. Change is possible!
APLU Summit Participants
Plenary Session for Day 1 of the #APLUIncludes Summit
Live Graphic Recording
Signage helps attendees to remember the hashtag and to share photos
Posters display the objective of the round robin breakout session
Final Wrap up for Day 2, all done!
Thanks for reading! I appreciate all the comments and feedback that you send me (smile). If you want to use the power of visual learning at your next conference, workshop or event, contact me for ideas.
by Lisa | Mar 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
Last week I had the privilege of graphic recording the Howard County Chamber of Commerce – Women In Government Contracting Conference. This one day conference was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Columbia, MD and featured top women in leadership, business, and government contracting.
During this conference See In Colors provided graphic recording for the morning, lunchtime keynote sessions and 2 break out sessions. Speakers included:
- Marissa Levin, CEO, Successful Culture
- Kimberly Ellis Taylor, Global Accounting Strategy Director, Oracle
- Timothy Schmitt, Aronson Capital Partners
- Gloria Larkin, TargetGov
The speakers were awesome and the content was priceless! Take a look at the visual summaries below.
See In Colors, Corporate Sponsor. Looks familiar? Hey, that’s me!
Marissa Levin, “Own Your Outcome”. Loved how she structured her talk.
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor brought her “A” Game!, “Winning with Your A Game”. and HCCC President, Leonardo McCarty.
Gloria Larkin, “New Trends and Updated Tactic for Effective Govt Business Development”. Gloria shared valuable tips to make you stand out.
“Value Enhancing Strategies for Govt. Contractors”, Aronson Capital Partners. Timothy Schmitt brought the strategies and the numbers to back it up.
If you want to use visual images for your next project, conference, or strategy session, contact me for ideas.
by Lisa | Jan 28, 2017 | Animation Video, Uncategorized
We love watching explainer videos, but why?
One reason is that they grab our attention.
It’s amazing that the average attention span on the internet is just 8 seconds…that’s less than a goldfish.
These videos are highly effective because of one simple rule.
Show don’t Tell.
You could tell a person something over and over but when you show them… that changes the game completely.
Here is an example of an explainer video I created. I send my clients a digital image after each graphic recording project is complete. This explainer video shows how they can use the digital image.
Just click the image below to watch.
Explainer videos are great for marketing, training, and communications. They are direct, persuasive, and engaging.
Have a question? Hit “reply” or contact me. Let me know what you’re thinking, I’m here to help.
