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Presentation handouts can play a significant role in the process of effective presentation delivery if you know how to use them to your benefit. These supplementary means can back up your main message and make sure that your presentation creates a lasting impression.
Many people think that handouts for a presentation are something they used to work on while in college. However, these additional materials, if they are well-thought-out and relevant, can assist business professionals, educators, and students equally well.
Today, we'd like to discuss the main purpose of presentation handouts. We'll show you how to plan and design effective handout material. Moreover, we will also share a few handy tips and useful tools to amplify the effect of your supplementary means.
Does that sound like a plan?
Understanding Presentation Handouts
Jerry Weissman, the author of 'Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story," compares the notion of a presentation handout to a bridge between your presentation and the long-term memory of your audience. We want to simplify the definition a little. Presentation handouts are additional materials that you share with the audience to support the central message of your presentation and improve the level of comprehension.
If you put a handout and a presentation face to face, the first one will remain the static source of additional information that the viewer can refer to at any time. At the same time, presentations are a dynamic source of information, and a viewer does not have any control over its pace.
Usually, a presentation contains multiple vital aspects for the audience to focus on and digest. The main aim of handouts for presentations is to enhance viewer engagement and ensure a lasting impact even when the presentation is over. You can refer to the handouts at any time during the presentation or after it, so the materials improve retention and help to recall specific essential details.
IMPORTANT!
The handouts mustn't replicate the presentation. They should complement it.
Planning Your Handouts
A great example of a handout for a presentation is a well-planned one. It means that you shouldn't treat your handouts as a last-minute task.
Key information
As you brood upon the data to include, you can start with additional statistics, relevant details, and facts that support and strengthen the core message of your presentation. Choose information that helps the audience understand some field-specific or overly complex notions.
Tips:
Highlight the main aspects that you want the audience to remember in your handouts.
Audience needs
Another critical part of the handout planning is the audience you will interact with. You should consider the level of expertise, needs, and preferences when working on supplementary materials. There will be little use of handouts that are irrelevant, overly simplified, or too complicated.
Format and structure
Even the best handouts will lose their impact if they are unappealing, illogical, and unorganized. A neat structure topped with relevant visuals will enhance user perception and trigger their productivity. That is why you may want to play around with different headings, supporting images, graphs, bullet points, colors, and fonts.
Designing Effective Handouts
A quality presentation handout template relies on effective design as much as it depends on the informative component. There are a few principles to stick to when you design your handouts.
Basic design
Whitepage pitch deck design agency outlines three principles that may assist you in creating a successful handout for presentation.
- Hierarchy
- Legibility
- Banding
Use these practical tips to move in the right direction:
- Present different types of content in complementary but distinguishable fonts
- Section information with the help of headings and subheadings
- Outline the main aspects through bullet points
- Ensure that all the data is easy to read, avoid unclear and small fonts
- Use the same color palette and theme throughout the presentation and the supplementary materials
- Add brand logos to stress consistency
Visuals
The right visuals make any information twice as easy to remember and digest. Whitepage professionals share the following advice:
- Use charts, tables, graphs, and other visuals to deliver complex notions concisely and more comprehensively.
- Intertwine text content with images that complement the core narrative
- Symbols and icons aid in better understanding
Appeal and informativeness
It is not enough to design visually appealing presentation handout templates. They should carry out an informative purpose as well. You can do the following to achieve the desired effect through your presentation handouts:
- Use different colors to highlight vital points and trigger the reader's interest
- Use whitespaces to define the structure of your handouts
- Use contrast to attract user attention to critical aspects of the presentation
Content Creation for Handouts
We may be stating the obvious, but your handouts should contain clear and concise content. You don't want to distract the audience from the presentation as they are trying to make out some complex notions written in the supplementary materials.
A professional handout sample for presentation should:
- Deliver the main message without unnecessary details mentioned
- Steer clear of tech-savvy language and slang and preserve an accessible tone
- Present essential data through lists and bullet points
On top of that, you can complement your handouts with relevant and appealing, not to mention appropriate visuals. Different charts and images can improve information perception and enhance retention.
Lastly, handout ideas for presentations prove to generate better results when spiced up with well-thought and strategic CTAs(Call-to-Action elements):
- Give the audience clear instructions if any action is requested
- Use questions and activities to promote engagement
- Provide contact information in case someone decides to contact you later
Utilizing Technology in Handout Creation
After you come up with a desired design and content, you will naturally start to wonder how to make a handout for a presentation. Luckily, many tools and software solutions come of use.
Platforms like Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe InDesign, Canva, Venngage, and Inkscape present multiple features to create and enhance handouts. Some of them are free. Others include paid options. You can work on text, visuals, and charts using these tools.
However, if you want to make your presentation handout example a little more interactive, you should implement such interactive elements as QR codes and online resource links. You can find free QR code generators online to succeed with the task effectively.
QR codes can serve as a linking piece between physical and digital supplements. As the audience exploits their devices during the presentation, they will find additional facts and details that intensify the primary message. The same applies to online resource links if you use digital handouts only.
We would like to stress the fact that a balance of printed information and digital addition will add more dynamics to the learning process. Such an approach ensures that you cater to every user's needs and provide a better and more memorable experience.
Printing and Distribution
You can present your handout examples for presentation in two formats – either physical or digital. Each comes with a set of perks and downsides.
Physical handouts
The physical template for the presentation handout is a good old sheet of paper that contains all the information you want to share with the audience. It is material, you can touch it, and you don't require additional devices to interact with it. On a slightly less bright side, print paper has a negative environmental impact, which is a concern for many. You can try to decrease that impact by using recycled paper, vegetable ink, and double-sided printing.
Digital handouts
Digital examples of handouts for presentations that do not pose an environmental threat can be shared within seconds through email and other online platforms. They can be enhanced with all sorts of multimedia and interactive elements. However, digital handouts can't be accessed without electronic devices that support the format. While that isn't much of a challenge in today's world, the use of various devices can distract the audience from the presentation.
Distribution timing
There's an ongoing debate as to when you should plan to distribute a presentation handout: before, during, or after the presentation. Different timing can have a diverse effect on the audience.
Before. Some of the viewers may get curious and leaf through the material before you start. This means they will know what to expect from the presentation. It isn't entirely a bad thing, but it may have a distractive effect.
During. You can share your handouts to support the presented message and help the audience understand some points or learn more about the subject.
After. If you want to ensure that the message sets in, you can share the handouts after the presentation is over. In this case, you should include your contact information in the handout to make sure that the audience can reach out to you in case of any questions.
Examples and Templates
If you still feel a bit uncertain about how to make a handout that is well-structured and appealing, you can make use of downloadable templates.
Education handouts
A good teaching plan will have a positive effect on the students. You can enhance their interest and involvement with an elegant and straightforward handout template.
Business handouts
Any business plan presentation highlights a fair share of statistics and analytical information. With a template like this, you can coat complex notions into simple visuals and improve user experience, which leads to better understanding and positive actions.
All-purpose handouts
Some templates can be suited for any purpose. While they are subtle and non-specific, they remain well-structured and appealing.
If you need more presentation handout ideas to inspire from, our experts suggest you check these sources out:
Common Mistakes to Avoid
As you try to keep away from making presentation design mistakes, you should try to minimize handout errors as well. There are a few common pitfalls to stay clear of:
- Information overload – use white spaces to avoid clutter and hand-pick information you want to add to the template.
- Poor readability – choose clear and legible fonts, and don't try to overdecorate the handout.
- Color distraction – try to use complementing and subtle colors so that the color palette doesn't hurt the eye and make the viewer's mind wander.
- Absent interactivity – while static content is necessary, you should combine it with such interactive elements as QR codes and links to relative resources.
- Low content quality – you must proofread your handouts before sharing them with the audience to avoid any typos and errors that can put your professionalism under question.
Advanced Tips for Professionals
Is there any professional advice on how to make handouts that promote successful presentations? Professional presentation design services point out a few advanced tips you can benefit from:
- You can use more than a single QR code and place them strategically so that one complements the other and boosts user engagement.
- Make your infographics interactive if you are using digital handouts. Implement additional details that the audience can find by hovering over certain icons. Make sure you highlight those interactive parts.
- Leave blank spaces for the users to write down critical points and make notes.
- Modern design is all about minimalism. Consider the trend when designing your template.
- Consider investing in responsive design when using digital handouts.
- Make sure that your digital handouts work across multiple devices.
- Create collaborative templates that allow different members to interact and discuss some crucial points.
Conclusion
What is a handout for a presentation? It is a practical link between your presentation and the audience. A quality presentation handout can enhance subject perception, improve understanding, and promote desired impact.
If you consider your audience's needs, keep up with modern presentation trends, and create concise and well-structured supplementary materials, you can count on projecting a lasting impression and succeeding with your project goals.
Wonder how to hire a presentation design agency to help you achieve the desired result and get ahead of the competition? Whitepage team is only a phone call away!
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