Do you remember making collages as a child or teenager? I, for one, remember exactly how proud I was of cutting out little pictures of pop stars from magazines, gluing them onto thin cardboard in A2 format, and hanging them on the wall above my bed. It wasn't just a poster. The collage reflected so much more: the spirit of the times, a love of music, and even my personality.
Mood boards, helpful presentation tools in the design and communications industries, work on the same principle. They are excellent for brainstorming and therefore also for creating presentations.
Mood boards are a potpourri of what we like. Thoughts, ideas, wishes, dreams, goals – everything finds its place on such a mood board. And the best part is: pictures impress us a thousand times more than words.
And you can make use of this very power of images before and during the presentation.
Before the presentation
Think of storytelling. We all love stories. They captivate, provoke, make us think, amuse, or amaze us. Whatever effect a story has, it always grabs attention. And that's exactly what you want for your presentation.
We've already written about how important storytelling is for presentations. Anyone can simply list facts. The presentation quickly becomes boring. Do it differently.
To get your research and story development off to a quick start, you can use a mood board as a helpful tool. On it, you collect everything that catches your eye online or in newspapers, magazines, and (specialist) books. Create your personal mood board either on cardboard, like you did as a child, or digitally on a tablet or computer.
It is important that you can easily access the board, pin new images to it, and find inspiration.
You'll quickly notice that a concept for storytelling emerges as you sort through your collected images and graphics. Simply look at your collage. Perhaps there's just one image that particularly fascinates you. What's the story behind it? How can it be connected to your theme? Bring together things that don't seem to belong together at first glance. The solution often becomes intuitive.
During the presentation
Normally, one graphic per slide is sufficient to illustrate facts. However, those who know and master the basic rules can occasionally break them.
Our tip:
Create a mood board on a PowerPoint slide while preparing your presentation by placing several images on it. This will allow you to later share your thought processes with your audience and illustrate even complex concepts at a glance.
Don't overdo it, though. Avoid cluttered visuals. Guide your audience. Ask questions, involve them. This way you'll leave a positive impression and avoid overwhelming them with overloaded slides.
Featured image: PresentationLoad