-: Let's talk about minimalism. 2 2
Less is more. 3 3
Simplicity works best. 4 4
Making slides that have minimal detail on them 5 5
is not for every occasion 6 6
as complex software program 7 7
or engineering related presentations 8 8
can be tough to minimalize, okay? 9 9
But you can do it and it's actually less work. 10 10
It's easier to understand as well, okay. 11 11
And just as a side note. 12 12
I'm gonna explain how to articulate more complex topics 13 13
in the case study section of this act 14 14
when we talk about using animation to build upon 15 15
and explain very complex topics. 16 16
But when it comes to minimalism, 17 17
I wanna stress that I really believe that less is more 18 18
in business communications 19 19
and I want you to really try hard 20 20
to never have more than three bullet points on a slide 21 21
because we just can't retain more than three things 22 22
at a time, right? 23 23
It is what it is 24 24
and so try to experiment with even less than three ideas 25 25
on a slide if you can. 26 26
Simplicity works extraordinarily well, right? 27 27
And we're conditioned 28 28
to not read instruction manuals anymore 29 29
or to hit that F1 key on a keyboard for help, right? 30 30
My kids don't even know what that means F1, right? 31 31
The way it works now is if it's not intuitive 32 32
then you gotta rethink it please. 33 33
Just keep it simple. 34 34
Kinda like this device that Steve Jobs pioneered. 35 35
It's just got one button, right? 36 36
There's no instruction manual on how to use this. 37 37
And I used to be a software programmer for years 38 38
and we used to create these complex 39 39
client server-based applications, right? 40 40
But what's happened is in software, 41 41
all you gotta know how to use is a browser. 42 42
Forward, back, home, stop, refresh. 43 43
That's it, right? 44 44
You never really have to learn how to use a website, right? 45 45
If it's not intuitive then people won't pay attention 46 46
so if it's not intuitive, 47 47
please rethink your slide structure. 48 48
Just keep it simple, right? 49 49
And use simple language as well, okay? 50 50
Steve Jobs was amazing at this, right? 51 51
He used to use words like insanely great on his slides. 52 52
And one online magazine company that I wrote for 53 53
actually asked me to write at an eighth grade level. 54 54
I know it sounds out there, 55 55
but I guess minimalism works, right? 56 56
And you wanna cast your net as wide as you can. 57 57
And so minimalism on slides is very effective too 58 58
when it comes to showing contrast 59 59
like in these sample slides.