The whole purpose of having presentations is that the audience remembers it. And there are one or two ideas that you really want your audience to remember but how can you make those selected few ideas stick to the minds of your audience?
And while there are many techniques out there on how to make a memorable presentation, the Von Restorff Effect is proven to actually work. Now the Von Restorff Effect states that a person is most likely to remember the most unusual part of a talk; something that “stands out like a sore thumb” has more chances to stick to your mind.
To make use of the Von Restorff Effect, you need to design your slides in such a way that the entire deck is coherent and tells a consistent story while also has some surprising anecdotes here and there. Such strategic twists to your slides not only ensures there’s no monotony in your presentation but is also the best way to make all the important points stand out.
Here are some design techniques that you can use to highlight the key concepts in your presentation:
Change the Visuals:
Playing creative with visuals can help make the most important ideas stick out. For example, if most of your slides feature charts and graphs, adding a few illustrations or photographs stating the important points will help highlight the important ideas.
Adjust the Font:
This is very simple. If you need to highlight an important point, try increasing the font and/or put it in bold or italics. Same goes with font color.
Mix Up Background Colors:
Another very simple technique to make important points stand out. If the entire slide deck is following a set theme, change the background of the slide with points you want to highlight and the audience is sure to notice and remember that.
In conclusion, strategic design techniques applied to your slide deck can ensure that the most important ideas in your presentation are highlighted. Such slides will peak up the audience’s curiosity as implied by the Von Restorff Effect and is likely to stick with them even after they’ve left the room.
Reference Link to slideshare article by Leslie Belknap 