Learning Center
TIRED OF SPENDING HOURS CRAFTING MEDIOCRE PRESENTATIONS?
Then you are in the right place. Welcome!
During the last few years, I’ve worked hard to create an innovative presentation design approach, with the aim of allowing everybody (not just designers) to leverage a mix of presentation design, data visualization and communication techniques, in an effort to enhance their presentations.
All you need is a simple presentation software like PowerPoint and zero design skills to master this approach and achieve outstanding results, all in a timely manner.
I have put together my efforts in order to create a one-stop, full resource, which you can use to improve your presentations and save time.
Contents
Lean presentation & storytelling
What to say first. The way you structure your content makes all the difference. Use storytelling to enhance your communication.
Presentation Design Technique
Boost your production speed, find the most effective visualization form for your contents, and conquer the audience’s attention
Visual Composition
Pull all the design techniques together to create compelling visuals and effective layouts for your presentations
Presenting data
Charts and tables are a predominant component of every business presentation nowadays. Learn how to communicate effective stories crafting your data into effective layouts
Presentation delivery
People make the difference, not their slides! Learn to communicate emphatically with your audience, and influence the decision patterns of their experiences
Presentation resources
Invaluable resources at your disposal for free to improve the effectiveness of your presentations
It took me years to mature my on-the-job experience and gather the contents together. Now I’m offering and updating them for free. Wouldn’t it be fair to share the page?
Lean approach & storytelling
Why do some speakers inspire us, and others go unnoticed? Have you ever felt the full attention of your audience when you give a presentation? Having good slides is a must, but it’s not enough! You need to build a story behind your messages. Building stories doesn’t just mean to tell a joke or a personal anecdote. The magical communication power of stories resides in their special structure. Learn how to embed storytelling into your presentations and how to craft outstanding hooks to capture the audience’s attention from the first word.
How to sell your idea with a presentation
Presentations are everywhere, they are present on many occasions and transversal to many professions. The problem is that many of the presentations that are part of our daily lives often do not work.
Have you ever attended a presentation in which you found the speaker really boring and hard to follow?
Effective storytelling techniques for presentations [real case study]
Stories fascinate the human mind. We follow stories 24/7: when going to watch a movie or a talk show, when we read a novel, or when we hang out with friends and listen to how their week went. Learn how to leverage storytelling structures to enhance your communication through presentations.
The ultimate startup pitch structure to present your idea and get funded
What are the consequences to failing your next investor pitch? What happens if you keep failing to get your startup funded, how many more startup pitch presentations can you still afford to fail?Persuading investors through a startup pitch presentation it’s not an easy thing.
« Make the presentation your audience needs »
Maurizio La Cava
Presentation design technique
Presentations have the power to print your messages onto the audience’s mind. Visual communications are more likely to be remembered than words. Images create emotions and expand the reach of your speech. A presentation is the natural extension of a speaker, but we often see boring slides that distract the audience from the speaker and trigger sleep. Learn how to master visual engineering techniques to craft powerful presentations for your next speech.
My 12 secrets to make a presentation look consistent
I’m sure there are a few keywords that pop into your mind when you hear the word “presentations“: last minute, rushing, creating new layouts, assembling slides from existing presentations…Do not worry, it is the same for everybody. We are always called to create an effective presentation at the last minute. It’s time to stop rushing and start learning.
PowerPoint icons: The Complete Guide to using Presentation Icons
One of the most powerful tools easily accessible today to every one working with presentations is icons. Icons nowadays are an effective and powerful way to visualize abstract concepts and ideas. Learn how to visualize abstract concepts with the help of icons, learn where to find effective, free icons, and how to easily implement them in PowerPoint.
Slide Master PowerPoint: the complete guide to make the best use of it
How often do you receive slides from colleagues and waste entire days formatting them together in the hope of making your presentation continuity acceptable? How many times have you tried to reduce the size of a presentation, unable to figure out why it was so heavy? How many times have you tried to align titles from one slide to another, flicking back and forth? I created Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Master tutorial for practical experience on how to solve these problems!
10 powerpoint hacks you’d never heard of
When you are working, one of the most important things is to be fast and productive. With time and experience, I have learned countless functions, generally by working directly on PowerPoint presentations. Thanks to this article, you will be able to know all the PowerPoint tricks that will save you a lot of time.
How to use free images for powerpoint presentations: the definitive guide
Do you think using free images for PowerPoint presentations facilitates the understanding of a concept for your audience? I got you! You are nodding.You are not the only one. For now, we agree that images are an excellent communication tool. It is said that a picture may be worth a thousand words, but have you ever wondered why?
How to Make Images Transparent in PowerPoint
You might know how to apply transparency to the shapes, but how do you make images transparent in PowerPoint? There is a little trick that allows you to take advantage of the transparency function of the shapes that you learnt. Let’s try to reconstruct a well known graphic effect: superposition of formulas, do you know what it is?
How to compress images in PowerPoint
Using images in high definition is essential to create a quality presentation but the images take up more memory and weight your PowerPoint, with the result that you can no longer send the presentation by email and you have to send it via sites. Alternatively, there is a solution if you know how to compress images in PowerPoint by reducing the resolution.
Semantic resonance: choose the right image for your presentation
Knowing how to choose the right image for your presentation is one of the most difficult and time-consuming parts of presentation design. I propose an enigma: what happens with the next slide?
Pictures for a PowerPoint presentation: where to source them for free
Where do you find the images for PowerPoint presentations? If the answer is the Google images, do not worry, you are not alone! Eventually, would you bet you knew how to use Google images properly? I’ll take you through a few tricks but before we do that, let me share you the tool that I really use when I have to find HD, free pictures for a PowerPoint presentation i care of.
How to effectively add text to images in PowerPoint
According to the famous “Double-coding theory” developed by Allan Paivio at the University of Western Ontario, the human brain remembers memories more easily when they have a double coding thanks to multiple mental representations. Working with images and text will require a double effort from the audience, will you be able to manage that effectively?
Image formats for presentations JPEG vs. PNG vs. GIF
So far I’ve told you about where to find beautiful images for your presentations, but we have not mentioned that not all the image files are the same. I would like to share with you the three image formats I use in my presentations to understand what the main differences are and when to use one over another.
Crop images in PowerPoint like a PRO
Did you notice that when you import images into PowerPoint, they are disproportionate in size compared to the slide? How do you change the size of an image without distorting it? Learning how to crop images in PowerPoint will enable you to properly manage the space on your slides and keep the images the right proportions.
The 3 key functions of images in PowerPoint presentations
In my experience, there are three reasons why I suggest that you visualize the concepts in your presentations. The images allow your audience to immediately understand your message. Images have the power to excite people and the moments in which we get excited are imprinted in our lives. Images can inspire people.
How to create a Corporate PowerPoint Template
Many companies use a corporate PowerPoint template for internal and external presentations. This allows you to work efficiently and communicate consistently with the brand guidelines. More efficient in the sense of faster? Yes, I mean that with a corporate PowerPoint template you will increase your productivity, learn how to make one.
Why the corporate PowerPoint template fails and how to make it work
The corporate PowerPoint template should enable consistent brand communication and save time for people who make presentations. However, if people don’t like it they won’t use it, communication will loose consistency and people will waste a lot of time.
Every presentation has an audience and every audience needs its own presentation
D. Avallone – Ferrero International HR & Training Manager
Working with Maurizio was, for me, a great learning experience. He is really prepared! The secret of his success is passion for what he does. He’s able to transfer messages, even technical concepts, in an easy way. My speeches and presentations are now really attractive and effective. I’ve already got several positive feedback from my stakeholders.
D. Caggiano – Dentsu Aegis Network
Maurizio is a great coach and he teaches a very interesting topic. His teachings have been immediately put into practice thanks to Maurizio’s effectiveness, who knew how to simplify complex procedures. I recommend the Lean Presentation Design course to every professional who works on PowerPoint.
Visual composition & applications
Working in complex organizations nowadays requires you, as a professional, to present projects and influence corporate stakeholders communicating abstract business concepts. The way you visualize ideas can win or definitely lose the attention of people. Learn how to use presentation design to compose powerful slides.
Neuro presentation design: how eye path control can dramatically improve your presentations
In an effective presentation, the audience’s eyes should focus on the speaker and only have a quick glance at the slides. In this way, the speaker will have most of the attention during the speech, and the slides will just support him allowing the audience to visualize the information and to retain them longer. Learn how to make effective PowerPoint presentations that stick to the audience’s mind.
Slidesumé: why hiring managers will never choose your résumé
Have you ever sent your resumé applying for a job opportunity and you didn’t get answered? Don’t worry, this is very likely for most of us. It is estimated that resumé applications have a 2% conversion rate. Therefore, you get interviewed once every 50 applications. To solve this problem, you need to rethink your application tools, starting from the way recruiters think.
Creating an effective presentation in PowerPoint with the Rule of Thirds
You’re preparing another presentation, yet you know that PowerPoint is an essential part of the job, and you face the same questions that plagued your previous presentations: Are these slides too full? Isn’t there a trick for creating an effective presentation in PowerPoint that I could easily implement? Maybe you’re aware of overfilling your slides, but you’re wondering, “How can I not include all this information? It is too important!”
Lean presentation design
How to create presentations that everybody loves
Influence
Change your audience’s mind and become a true leader
Design
Exploit advanced design techniques without necessarily being a designer
Speed boost
Make presentations twice as fast as you do today
Charts & tables for presentations
Nowadays it’s easier for everybody to generate charts and tables to display figures that support your message but making them in a way that they work and persuade the audience is a different job. Learn how to choose the best data visualization tool for every occasion and make stories around your numbers in order to make them stick to the memory of people.
How to create a Timeline in PowerPoint
PowerPoint timelines are a common feature of any business presentation. Here is how to create an effective timeline in PowerPoint.
PowerPoint Table of Contents: How to create it
The PowerPoint table of Contents is often used to give order and structure to the presentation.
The definitive guide to effectively presenting data in powerpoint
Learn how to effectively present data in PowerPoint, dissecting numeric information, visualizing figures, optimizing tables and charts in the most efficient way for your presentations.
The definitive guide to creating a gantt chart in powerpoint
Gantt is a powerful tool to organize activities, identify any delays and monitoring the upcoming deadlines. Learn how to use Gantt chart effectively and creating outstanding PowerPoint presentations.
How to create cool powerpoint tables
We all face the dreaded issue of presenting a full load of data organized into an awful table, often coming from Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word. Especially if you work in business, you will always need to present performance updates, data analysis, market analysis, stock analysis, trends, etc. How do you turn awful tables in powerful slides?
Get the MLC PowerPoint add-in now
MLC PowerPoint Addin: a Super Smart set of exclusive functionalities developed by presentation maker professionals to skyrocket your productivity
Presentation delivery
Giving a presentation means establishing a dialogue with your audience. The goal is to influence people doing something they would have done differently. Through successful presentations, you can influence people to change their behavior.
How to Present a Project Effectively
If you’re wondering how to present a project, it means that your “baby” has finally reached that necessary stage of maturity that it needs to be shared with others.
Presentation Hook Examples: the 13 Most Successful Presentation Hook Ideas Ever
Wouldn’t it be great if every single person who attends your presentation gets excited at your speech and stays tuned until the end, focusing on you the entire time? It would be great, but how hard is it to achieve?
How to make a remote presentation effective
Often, presentations are used as a pre-read, meaning a document to prepare for the meeting where they will be shared.
There is one case, however, on which I would like to focus your attention, namely remote presentations. Yes, I mean the online presentations made in video conference. How to make them effective?
8 presentation mistakes to avoid at all costs
You’re going over your next presentation and you can’t have anything going wrong. An important presentation can go wrong in a short time and there are many pitfalls waiting for you as a speaker. What are the typical mistakes to avoid during a presentation?
Business presentations: the ultimate guide to creating modular and effective slides
Your business presentation is your organization’s first calling card. Whether your audience will want to deal with you or not will depend on it. An effective business presentation starts by generating interest, talking to people, and is never self-referential. You can use the Lean Presentation Strategy Canvas to structure the storyline of your business presentation.
Virtual presentations: the definitive guide
Virtual presentations are now part of our daily routine. These days, all we do is walk in and out of digital rooms. Delivering an effective virtual presentation requires the ability to control your own performance, an in-depth knowledge of video conferencing and PowerPoint tools, the ability to create effective storylines and to design slides that bring your messages to life.
How to Create Effective Hybrid PowerPoint Presentations
Hybrid presentations are already happening all over the world, and there will soon be a lot of attention on this topic. It would certainly seem that hybrid presentations are the new frontier and, from a certain point of view, a great new challenge for presenters.
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Presentation resources
When crafting presentations, going fast is just not enough! Every second is crucial to the cost you generate and, after all, to your lifestyle balance. Shortcuts, customizing quick access toolbars, and advanced PowerPoint add-ins are powerful tricks to boost your effectiveness. Learn how to achieve super-fast speeds and take your PowerPoint to the next level.
The ultimate guide to creating a brilliant startup pitch presentation
Pitching is the second hardest task of entrepreneurs launching a start-up, after creating something people really want. Nowadays, start-ups pitch to survive, to get funding for their companies to keep going. However, pitching has become extremely competitive and the funding sizes smaller. If you can’t afford to fail your next pitch, you’ll find everything you need to make an effective an convincing presentation for your investors here.
Design slides +300% faster with MLC PowerPoint Add-in
Did you know you can add additional functionality to PowerPoint using a MLC PowerPoint Add-in? Let me illustrate why this is important and how it could save you a significant amount of time. Imagine, you must create one or more presentations for an approaching event. You do not have much time and work is pressing. The presentations always come as something more to do compared to the work.
3 PowerPoint Add-ins That Will Save 50% of Your Time
Creating an effective presentation is critical to the success of your ideas, but there is one aspect of presentations that we often tend to forget. Have you ever thought about how much time you invest in them? You will discover that you waste a lot of time on PowerPoint because of the tool itself. Ever wonder how many clicks you spend on each action? I know, you’re thinking I’m exaggerating, but thinking about the number of clicks per action is what has led to the development of tools that complement the operation of software like PowerPoint. Do you understand what I’m talking about? That’s right, let’s talk about PowerPoint add-ins.
Presenter view: how to enable it using clickshare
How important is it for you to have your next slide in your field of view during a presentation? How much should you leverage the Presenter View of PowerPoint in order to look natural and to avoid turning back to your slides during your speech? At the end of this article, you will be able to enable PowerPoint presenter view using Clickshare.
