mitt romney
Making Over Mitt
July 06, 2007 Filed in: Slide
Makeovers
Right now, a set of bad PowerPoint slides is probably
the least of Governor Romney's public relations worries, but
every little bit helps I guess. Anyway, revising
slides is a good practice, so, regardless of how
you or I might personally feel about Governor
Romney, let's take a look at some slides on his
site and how we can improve them just a little.
(Quick note: I'm checking all political opinions
at the door for this post, and I ask you the
courtesy to do the same. This is merely an
academic exercise on improving some common
PowerPoint mistakes.)
From the first slide, it's possible to predict some of the issues we're going to run into while going through Mr. Romney's visuals. Too much text is on the slide. The planet graphic is obviously clip art, and overall, the slide is pretty hard on the eyes.
x
Even though the title slide is unnecessary in and of itself, using it sets a tone for the entire presentation. You want it to look nice. In this alteration, most of the text has been cut from the slide, focusing on two words: "values" and "freedom." I retained the global theme but used a higher quality image from Corbis. Also, I used a color scheme that suggests patriotism and bipartisan qualities. The text is a very classic-looking font called Cochin.
I had a hard time deciding what to do with the next slide (only partially because I couldn't read some of the text at all), but I think it would be appropriate to divide this single slide into multiple slides – taking a thematic approach rather than chronological.
x
A strong theme that I took away from this slide is Romney's desire to discredit Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I retained the color scheme from the first slide and faded a common media image of Ahmadinejad into the background, focusing on one quote in particular. The presenter could keep this background intact while transitioning between facts and quotes rather than cramming tons of tiny text together. Font sizes on my version of this slide are 64 points and 96 points.
The final slide in this re-imagining contains a couple of quotes by Tony Blair. A similar approach to the preceding slide seems best, and this should be broken up into two slides because there are two quotes.
x
Because Tony Blair is placed in opposition to Ahmadinejad in this presentation, he is facing the opposite direction. Also, I removed "Marketing Values" as the title. Talking about war in terms of marketing just doesn't seem to fit in with the themes of freedom and values. I'm not sure what Romney was trying to communicate with that title, but I think it sends a wrong message.
Every aspect of your slides – from the graphics used to the font to the color scheme to the amount of text – creates a feel for your presentation. The visual aspects of your presentation can either be powerful tools that help create a memorable experience for the audience, or they can serve as mindless filler that facilitates the audience in filtering you and your message out. If you prepare slides, create visuals that enhance your message and that serve as an evocative backdrop to your own performance. If you are in politics, such attention to detail might even help your momentum.
From the first slide, it's possible to predict some of the issues we're going to run into while going through Mr. Romney's visuals. Too much text is on the slide. The planet graphic is obviously clip art, and overall, the slide is pretty hard on the eyes.
x
Even though the title slide is unnecessary in and of itself, using it sets a tone for the entire presentation. You want it to look nice. In this alteration, most of the text has been cut from the slide, focusing on two words: "values" and "freedom." I retained the global theme but used a higher quality image from Corbis. Also, I used a color scheme that suggests patriotism and bipartisan qualities. The text is a very classic-looking font called Cochin.
I had a hard time deciding what to do with the next slide (only partially because I couldn't read some of the text at all), but I think it would be appropriate to divide this single slide into multiple slides – taking a thematic approach rather than chronological.
x
A strong theme that I took away from this slide is Romney's desire to discredit Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I retained the color scheme from the first slide and faded a common media image of Ahmadinejad into the background, focusing on one quote in particular. The presenter could keep this background intact while transitioning between facts and quotes rather than cramming tons of tiny text together. Font sizes on my version of this slide are 64 points and 96 points.
The final slide in this re-imagining contains a couple of quotes by Tony Blair. A similar approach to the preceding slide seems best, and this should be broken up into two slides because there are two quotes.
x
Because Tony Blair is placed in opposition to Ahmadinejad in this presentation, he is facing the opposite direction. Also, I removed "Marketing Values" as the title. Talking about war in terms of marketing just doesn't seem to fit in with the themes of freedom and values. I'm not sure what Romney was trying to communicate with that title, but I think it sends a wrong message.
Every aspect of your slides – from the graphics used to the font to the color scheme to the amount of text – creates a feel for your presentation. The visual aspects of your presentation can either be powerful tools that help create a memorable experience for the audience, or they can serve as mindless filler that facilitates the audience in filtering you and your message out. If you prepare slides, create visuals that enhance your message and that serve as an evocative backdrop to your own performance. If you are in politics, such attention to detail might even help your momentum.