How to make a title slide less dull
Title slides can be used as onscreen decoration before your presentations, giving people something to look at as they file into the room. Boring title slides do you no favors and might actually set the expectation that the rest of your presentation will be boring, too.
Before: A tranquil blue slide
Zzzzzz…huh, what? Sorry, just taking a little nap. The tiny text floating in a tranquil sea of blue was just too relaxing! Seriously, though, the text is way to small for the space. And besides letting people know who’s giving the presentation and what it’s called, there’s not much this title slide is communicating.
After: A billboard for your presentation!
Think of a title slide as a billboard that’s advertising your presentation. It should be interesting to look at and include useful information.
For the slide makeover, I’ve included a photo of two businesspeople (a free download from pexels.com) that’s screened behind a rectangle with a transparent blue fill. I added some bold diagonal blue stripes and improved the typography with larger letters and a fresh typeface. And having the URL up there gives people a way to get more information about the presenter and the company before the meeting starts.
Finally, I changed the title from “Customer Development” to “Smart Customer Development,” with the client’s permission, of course. This could either mean that people are going to learn about how to develop smart customers or they’ll find out about the smart way to develop new customers. Actually, in the context of the presentation, it’s both!
Make title slides work for you
Showing a title slide is a good way to introduce the audience to your topic long before you hit the stage. Make your title slide work for you with an intriguing title, interesting and relevant photographs, clean typography and contact information.