Using a Motion Graphic Designer for Your Next Presentation
People say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a moving picture (or moving graphics) can be worth even more. Adding a creative visual to your work is powerful. Whether you have a complicated idea or want to show how things change over time, or simply want to add some sparkle to your content, then hiring a motion graphic designer will help you every time and be more creative at the same time. In this article, we’ll look at why they are important and why our sales presentation and graphic design agency can help you wow your audience and get the results you want from your presentation. Ultimately, content is king, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important to also use some visual magic along the way.
We see motion graphics all the time:
at the bank, at fast-food restaurants, on commercials, on every online streaming video site, and of course of Social Media. These are all avenues where showing a creative visual engages the audience. This can’t just be a coincidence. Marketers know that the use of visual motion graphics in a video or animation form is a powerful tool that creates interest and memorability to your brand/message to an audience. Gone are the days where custom motion graphics are only available to large productions with insane budgets. Our team at Presentation Geeks have motion graphic designers that can use anything from data to logos to concepts and bring them to life in an exciting and visual motion graphic. These videos can then be implemented seamlessly into a PowerPoint to truly elevate your presentation. Now we don’t do a lot of KeyNote, but here’s a great example of how implementing a motion graphic can add a little pop to your existing deck. This is just an example of how you can get your audience to say, “I like it!“
The Power of Motion & Animation
Did you know that Psychologists have found that a moving image is more likely to grab our brain’s attention than a static one? That’s because during our long evolution, moving things might be something that would eat us, or that we could eat. So your brain is wired to go “hey! Pay attention to this!” It’s a visual thing.
Learning from the Greats
Steve Jobs was one of the masters of presentations. There have even been books written about his presentation secrets. He typically used a very clear calligraphy style, an uncluttered look and the careful but powerful use of motion graphics. Remember he helped found Apple but also, Pixar. He knew the power of video and motion graphics; from start to finish. Yes, his content was interesting to the masses, but he also knew how to display it in a visual way that engaged his audience. And so does every good sales presentation and graphic design agency.
Who needs Animations & Motion Graphics?
Let’s say you are in Marketing, Sales, Learning and Development, HR, or in a Franchise. So, you have something really important you want to tell an audience. You want to motivate that audience to do something. Or, you want to motivate that audience to buy something – either a product, or a service, or just buy into an idea.
It’s very easy to create long Powerpoint presentations, but that’s a mistake. You might be excited to tell your audience all the things that you have in your mind. You might have a great time but the trouble is often they won’t. The problem with huge presentations with dozens and dozens of slides is your audience either may not really follow your ideas (as it’s too much to take in) or worse still they, will switch off at some point (from fatigue or boredom). So, any sales presentation and design agency will tell you those very long presentations can be a mistake, even if they look good.
“OK” you might be thinking “I never do that. I keep it short and get all the information across in a few slides”. Well, that’s fine, except if those few slides are crammed with complex information. Hands up: who has never made a slide packed with text or multiple diagrams that the audience will struggle to read, at the same time as you are standing there talking over it?. How about those huge long bullet-pointed lists? Or those 12 point unreadable text boxes? Ever see Steve Jobs doing that? So, every sales presentation and design agency knows very short cluttered presentations can be a mistake, even if they cover all your points. Also, even if the content is captivating, everybody has a limit on how much they can digest in one sitting.
Instead, a better and more effective way is to see if motion graphics can help you get your ideas across. Sometimes even a simple visual animation can start to make all the difference. Remember, we are visual creatures. Don’t forget, you can always use and/or send your audience detailed information after the presentation, or show them where to go find more.
Three situations that need Motion Graphics
A Motion Graphic or Designer can be advantageous in three situations:
You want to show change over time - like Sales or Marketing data, or improvements.
You want to show how things relate to each other, like forces acting on a business, a market, a product or service.
You want to illustrate a complex topic by breaking it down for your audience.
In fact, Motion Graphics can help in most presentations but we all know about keeping key points to three or four, right?
Now you’ve decided to use a motion graphic designer for your next presentation, what next? Powerpoint and some basic abilities, but other software tools have powerful motion graphics & animation capabilities that can export to a video format that can then be inserted into PowerPoint. This could be the powerful Adobe After Effects, AutoDesk 3D Studio, or even Adobe Animate. So, just dive in and do, some right? Well, you could but doing it all yourself isn’t ideal. It takes hours and hours and usually professional training to be able to create/design a visual, animated video that truly captures your content to the user. You will get a better result using a sales presentation and graphic design agency (especially one that specializes in animation). Well-designed motion graphics look great and add to the credibility of you as a presenter and – very importantly – what you are presenting. However, it’s really easy to get carried away with moving graphics and you end up with presentations that look cheesy, cheap or amateurish. The problem when that happens is, sometimes subconsciously, your audience will be judging you and your content. You don’t want their impression of you, or what you are saying, to be cheesy, cheap or amateurish.
You will get a far better result using an expert sales presentation and graphic design agency that knows how to make your vision come alive. That’s when it’s time to work with a team like Presentation Geeks comes in.
What Presentation Geeks can do for you:
You might have the most exciting information to give your audience – but unless you get that excitement in your presentation, you won’t be doing it justice. Your audience is lending you their time and attention and you must make the most of it. The expert team at Presentation Geeks will help you do just that. We publish our own tips and tricks and We know how to capture and excite an audience and motion graphics are one way to do that.
On the other hand, you might have some very complex or frankly plain dull information which is still important. It’s unfair on your audience to just give them an ‘information dump’. You have a responsibility to keep them engaged. The team at Presentation Geeks handles these situations all the time and will make sure your audience stays engaged and motivated to find out more and a new visual and/or video animation can often help. Also, the last thing you want to say when you walk away is, “I’ll make sure to engage them more next time.“
Finally – and this happens more than people realize – you may have a situation where some of your audience is likely to be skeptical or opposed to what you have to say. No matter how creative your video, your animation, or your design, sometimes it’s just the content that the audience is struggling with. In this case, you are trying to persuade not just inform or motivate. Presentation Geeks have just about seen it all with tough audiences and motion graphics – expertly done – is one of several tools that can guide the audience into a new perspective that is the first step towards changing their views and in a visual way. Working with your team, and your content, give us a chance to create a video, an animation, a fresh design, or anything else you like and watch the creative process work!
Get Started Today
So, don’t miss the opportunity to speak to Presentation Geeks. Start by giving us a call and we’ll go from there. We are an expert sales presentation and graphic design agency, that will help you get the results you want, whatever it is you have to say.