Following last week's tips for your presentation, today we are turning our attention to the visual appearance of your slides.
The following tools are not only easy to use, but more importantly, they produce results that are truly impressive.
1. Prezi
Prezi is, above all, different.
Presentations created with Prezi stand out clearly from the monotony of PowerPoint. There are no sequential slides here. Instead, you arrange all your information on a large canvas before editing the path—the sequence in which the tool zooms into individual objects.
Much like PowerPoint, however, Prezi carries the risk that using too many effects can quickly overshadow the content.
Because it differs so significantly from other tools, Prezi requires a bit of a learning curve. You should be prepared to try something completely new.
Tip: Before you start building your presentation, think about how you want to arrange the individual pieces of information on the canvas.
2. Canva
If you want to take your presentations to the next level visually, Canva provides everything you need to make it happen.
This works even for non-designers: Canva offers a huge library of templates that you can easily populate with your own content. You can also add numerous other elements such as images, illustrations, or icons, which Canva provides as well. If you can't find the right images or backgrounds, use the AI feature to generate them for you.
There is also a chart feature that allows you to present data more effectively—and, of course, more attractively—than in PowerPoint presentations. Once you are happy with your result, you can download it or start presentation mode directly from within Canva.
The tool does not need to be installed; it is available online immediately after registration. Canva itself is completely free; only some icons or images incur a fee. These are marked with an icon or a watermark. All other elements are free to use.
3. Visme
Visme comes with a powerful AI feature.
This is particularly practical for anyone who struggles with design. Visme provides a chatbot to assist you, which takes over the design process. Your task: tell it the basics, such as the fact that you want to create a presentation on a specific topic. The bot asks follow-up questions and provides a few suitable design suggestions. You simply choose the one you like best. The bot can even incorporate the text for you.
Visme also has tools for creating charts, infographics, and other visual elements that you can add to your presentation.
4. Slides
With Slides, the finished result is just a few clicks away. Users can choose from a variety of pre-made styles and elements. It is incredibly easy to use, yet the final presentation looks professional.
As a special bonus, Slides users have access to a built-in formula editor, making the tool particularly well-suited for creating scientific presentations.
5. Sway
Last but not least, Microsoft itself offers an alternative to PowerPoint called Sway, which features a web-layout style.
More intuitive and visually appealing than its Office suite counterpart, Sway is excellent for presentations that rely heavily on graphics.
The tool is designed so that presentations can be created and viewed on any device. You can insert content from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and OneDrive without ever leaving Sway.
One more thing: The tools presented here are generally free to use. However, the free versions often do not include offline access or the ability to save finished presentations directly to your device. If you prefer to keep your work private, you will need to upgrade to a premium version. Be sure to check the features and pricing of each tool before you start working.
