"Simplicity" and The Presentation Summit 2014

The always amazing Presentation Summit was held a couple of weeks ago in San Diego, and this year I had the honor of giving the opening keynote.

The topic was one of my favorites: Simplicity.

Looking at everything from songs by the Beatles to the Vietnam Memorial to the menu at Chipotle, I like to think I made an argument for simplicity standing out, being memorable and actually making money where complexity does not. 

Bad presentations have many root causes, but over complicated messages and design are high on the list, and so I felt that a discussion of simplicity was an appropriate kickoff to 3 days dedicated to all things presentation. And indeed, it seemed to set the theme for the conference. (That and Star Wars references.)

Geetesh Bajaj from indezine.com has a nice play by play review of the talk, and here are a few slides...

 

 

I had a blast from beginning to end at the Summit, reconnecting with so many friends from around the world (even met a new one from Iceland this year!) who just happen to be the top people in the business. I also managed to get a number of new faces to attend this year—always trying to get more design blood at the Summit—including the kick ass women from SlideRabbit who put together a nice set of learnings from the conference. Also check out Presentitude's ABC Guide to the Presentation for a nice recap.

Thanks and kudos to Rick Altman who has run the conference since day one, puts on an incredible show each year, and is a great friend.

For those still on the fence over attending, next year will be in New Orleans. Now you really have no excuse...

Lastly, here are some visual notes taken by the awesome Stephy Lewis on my keynote and my breakout session, "Confessions of a Presentation Designer."

  

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If anyone is looking for a keynote speaker for their conference and would like to know how simplicity can help their business and endeavors, drop me a line!