Ask HN: What background to use for online presentation?

#1

Post by 2rsf » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 12:08 PM UTC

As part of a "community day" I am going to do a short presentation, it's going to be online due to Corona and voice only due to bandwidth limitations (big company, terrible VPN, useless security regulations).

My company have a few suggested, but not compulsory, presentation templates but I feel that they are too cluttered for this case.

How wrong will I be to use black text on white background with no patterned or colored background ?

Re: Ask HN: What background to use for online presentation?

#2

Post by probably_wrong » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 12:28 PM UTC

You can rarely go wrong with black text on white.

For an example of how to make a simple presentation look good, the "Death by Powerpoint" slides [1] show how to do a good job.

[1] https://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint

Re: Ask HN: What background to use for online presentation?

#3

Post by brudgers » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 3:46 PM UTC

Is there something that makes this a battle worth fighting? Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: What background to use for online presentation?

#4

Post by partisan » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 4:26 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #3

Is there something that makes this a battle worth fighting? Good luck.

This was my reaction as well. If you have company-provided presentation materials then use those. What benefit is there in not doing so?

Re: Ask HN: What background to use for online presentation?

#5

Post by Jtsummers » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 4:49 PM UTC

Consider at least keeping a logo in a corner, or perhaps as part of a title bar on each slide or a few key slides (title, intro, outro, first in a section). It makes it seem more official (should be a minor thing, but can be impactful depending on the audience). When presenting to peers, my simple presentation slides were appreciated and accepted. When presenting to management or other teams, I had to make those additions or it was thought of as a draft or hastily assembled.

Re: Ask HN: What background to use for online presentation?

#6

Post by 2rsf » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 6:09 PM UTC

partisan wrote: post #4

brudgers wrote: post #3

Is there something that makes this a battle worth fighting? Good luck.

This was my reaction as well. If you have company-provided presentation materials then use those. What benefit is there in not doing so?

The templates are too busy and makes adding content difficult, especially when some will see them in lower quality over poor lines. It's not really a battle since no one is really objecting.

Re: Ask HN: What background to use for online presentation?

#7

Post by theswaagar » Thu, Sep 24, 2020, 6:21 PM UTC

Its the details that matter. A small company logo on every slide, color scheme that matches the company colors, and not having things too crowded (a la Death by Powerpoint) tends to make things look more put together.