While doing a promo podcast for our book “Powerful Presentations,” our publisher, Laura Baxter of Castle Mount Media, recalled a memorable slide. She said she still exactly remembered which slide I had used three years ago during a presentation in Salzburg.
3 years!
Of course, I asked her which slide it was, and especially, what the message was. Laura was able to recall it clearly:
The slide was a black and white photo of a large audience. It seemed that when you taped the screen, a part of the picture changed in color. You then walked from left to right and waved your hand from the bottom corner to the top, and simultaneously the photo changed to full color.
What she describes can be seen in the photo at the top of this blog.
WOW-slides
The slide vividly remembered is called a ‘WOW-slide’, as it always elicits a “Wow” and “do it again!” response from the audience. It is easy to make and has a significant effect. It remains a firm favorite, as confirmed by the fact that an audience member can still clearly recall it three years later.
To make a slide beautiful, that is one. But for it to really add value, that is two!
A WOW-slide as Anchor
When I asked Laura what my message was, she was just as clear about that:
If you give a standard presentation, not much is achieved. And with this, you showed the black and white photo. If you use more images, you can achieve a bit more – that is when we saw two people appear in color. Finally, you told us what the effect would be if we increased our Presentation IQ. And that is when you changed the photo completely to color in a beautiful wave motion.
It was fantastic to receive the confirmation that not only was my WOW-slide memorable and that it worked as an anchor, but also that it enhanced my message.
What I recall as special about that presentation, was that Laura Baxter was eager to publish the English version of our Dutch book, and that is why our book “Powerful Presentations” is now available to all who wants to learn more about WOW-slides and Presentation IQ.
Have you ever asked yourself what part of your presentation will an audience remember? Is that because of a slide, a story, or something else? It is worthwhile thinking about this for anyone who does presentations.
I am a fan of WOW-slides because I have experienced their many positive effects. However, don’t overuse them — 2 to 3 per presentation. Otherwise, you will overwhelm your audience and only be remembered as the flashy presenter.
In my next blog, I will share a presentation that was crucial for my business development. I encourage you to consider which presentation has meant a lot to you, and especially how you think it was made.
Until next time!
Frowa Schuitemaker from Powerful Presentations is an educationalist by heart. She and her daughter, Charlotte, wrote the book “Powerful Presentations – How to Easily Create and Use Impactful, Brain-Friendly Slide Presentations with the P-IQ Method.” She is the immediate president of the Dutch Speakers’ Association PSA NL. She is co-founder of VSAI, the Virtual Speakers Association International.
More information about their book can be found here:
https://castlemountmedia.mykajabi.com/powerfulpresentations
powerfulpresentations.nl/english | frowa@powerfulpresentations.nl