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Professional presentation design - impossible skill mix

July 27, 2008 · by Jan Schultink
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A good presentation involves good substance,a good presenter, and finally good supporting graphics. Many people are in the business of presentation design, but it is hard to find people that combine all skills under one roof.

  1. Statistician - visualization of data in charts
  2. Illustrator - for beautiful illustrations and images, consistent colors
  3. Designer - someone that can take a (business) concept and translate it into an original graphical metaphor, i.e. using an image of a rope that is about to snap to show a business being torn apart by 2 forces
  4. Story writer - for an engaging argument
  5. Rhetorician - for the perfect logical argument
  6. Strategist - for understanding a business audience and making the business content actually makes sense

I am 6. (by training), mixed with a bit of 1., 3. and 5., trying hard to learn more about 2. and 4. In my work I usually come across the “pure 6.” writing bullet point charts distilled from a 100 page business plan, or the “pure 2.”: great at designing graphics but with limited business understanding.

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