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Loading...The title “Do audiences recall your slides?” might sound like aiming low. Why? Because great presentations are remembered for their speakers and messages, not just their slides.
What’s the point of memorable slides if your message is not remembered? The presenter and slides must work together as a team, delivering a consistent message. That’s how it works—audiences remember the whole package: the presenter, the slides, and the message.
Some people believe that the speaker’s narrative and the slides compete for the audience’s attention. For them, it is like choosing between apples and oranges. But that’s not true—you don’t have to pick one between the narrative and the slides. You can, and should, use both of them together, to create something greater than either could be on its own.
Multimedia Principles
Dr. Richard Mayer, a renowned cognitive psychologist, and author of the book, Multimedia Learning has extensively studied multimedia learning and offers insights relevant to this topic. One of his key principles is the Multimedia Principle, which states that people learn better from words and pictures together than from words alone. Do note that words do not denote just the words on the slides, but also words used in the presenter’s narrative. This aligns with the idea that slides and narratives can complement each other rather than compete.
Mayer also emphasizes the importance of aligning the visual and verbal elements in presentations to reduce cognitive overload. According to Mayer’s Modality Principle, using spoken words alongside relevant visuals is more effective than relying on written text and visuals simultaneously. This supports the idea that slides, and the speaker’s narrative should work together cohesively, enhancing understanding and retention.
Mayer’s research shows that when slides and narration work together, people learn and remember the underlying stories better. By using his principles, you’ll create slides that stick—because the story strengthens the visuals, and the visuals help the story stay in your audience’s mind.
Visuals Complement Words
John Medina addresses concepts related to this same idea in his book Brain Rules. His Rule #10: Vision Trumps All Other Senses is particularly relevant for this discussion. Medina explains that humans are highly visual creatures, and the brain processes images much faster and more effectively than text. This underscores the importance of using visuals in presentation slides to complement the spoken message.
He also emphasizes that visuals should not just decorate but actively enhance the narrative. The combination of compelling visuals and a clear, engaging narrative creates a more powerful and memorable story-like experience for the audience. Medina suggests that what people see and hear in a presentation should match and support each other, so it’s easier to focus and remember—rather than confusing the brain by sending mixed signals.
In short, Medina’s work shows that combining story and visuals is key to keeping audiences interested and helping them remember your message.
We now know that the narrated story and the visible slides should work together as a team. Next, let’s look at how to create slide content that your audience will actually remember.
The Memory Test
There are two popular tests that help you find out what your audience remembers after looking at your slides.
Vinod Khosla, a prominent venture capitalist, recommended a test known as the 5-second memory test. In this test, a slide is shown to someone for five seconds, and then they are asked to describe what they remember. The idea is that if a slide or design cannot convey its key message or grab attention in those first five seconds, it’s likely to be ineffective. This approach stresses the need for clear, impactful slides that make complex ideas easy to understand and highlight the main message quickly.
Nancy Duarte, a well-known author who heads Duarte Design recommends the glance test that can help create memorable slides. The glance test is a concept where your audience should be able to understand the main point of your slide in three seconds or less. This approach ensures that the design of the slide captures attention and communicates complex ideas instantly without detracting from the speaker’s message. It emphasizes the importance of slide design elements like contrast, whitespace, and visual hierarchy to make the key message stand out and be quickly comprehensible.
Contrast
The use of differing elements (like color, size, or shape) to make important content stand out and be easily distinguishable.
Whitespace
The empty or unused space around elements that helps reduce visual clutter and improves readability and focus.
Visual hierarchy
The arrangement and styling of elements to guide the viewer’s eye through the slide in the intended order of importance.
Understandably, it’s not so easy to create slides that can pass both these tests. Duarte graciously provides a download option for their Glance Test checklist.
Even More Memorable?
In effect, Mayer, Medina, and others are using extensive research findings to conclude that it’s a good idea to use words and visuals together. But how can you make your slides (and indeed your presenter) more memorable? That may happen when your words are also visual in nature!
Carmen Simon, a cognitive scientist, has conducted extensive research on memory, specifically how audiences remember content from PowerPoint presentations. In one of her posts, she says:
So, how do we tell stories that people remember accurately? One way is to anchor abstract concepts in concrete elements. For example, notice the difference between The market was volatile vs. The market swung like a pendulum between fear and greed.
Carmen uses words that help the audience picture things in their minds. Then, you match those mental pictures with images on your slides. This makes your slides stick in people’s memory long after the presentation is over.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a truly effective presentation isn’t just about eye-catching slides or a compelling script—it’s about how well those elements work together to create a lasting impression. When your narrative and visuals are in sync, they boost each other and help the audience retain your message long after the presentation ends. By applying principles from experts like Mayer, Medina, and Simon, you can turn ordinary slides into memorable moments. So, aim for clarity, reinforce your story with strong visuals, and design with memory in mind—because the goal isn’t just to inform, but to be remembered.
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