Preparing the Keynote
When preparing for an important keynote lecture feels overwhelming, Felice Information Design partners with an associate professor who doesn’t know where to start
“WOW! I have no words to accurately describe how much better it was. My slides were so much more visually appealing and to the point. I never could have gotten there on my own.”
Read the story below:
Highly visible high stakes
I was scheduled to give the keynote presentation for an international research symposium in two weeks, and I didn’t feel ready.
It was important to me to do well; aside from wanting to show my colleagues and potential collaborators my best, I was asked to stand in by the more senior faculty member who had originally been invited, and I wanted everyone to be happy with the outcome.
But my slides needed work. I had updated them in minor ways so many times that they now looked crowded and unbalanced.
A grounding, time-saving collaboration
I appreciated the iterative approach Julia offered for this project. Having the chance to go back and forth a few times and have face-to-face meetings, especially in preparing a talk I hadn't given before, made a big difference in how much time it took me to prepare – not just the slides, but what I needed to add verbally in presenting it. It was also really helpful how Julia highlighted what wasn't coming through clearly on certain slides.
Exceeding expectations and catching compliments
My immediate reaction to Julia’s redesign was WOW! I have no words to accurately describe how much better it was. My slides were so much more visually appealing and to the point. I think it was that directness that impressed me the most! I never could have gotten it there on my own. I particularly appreciated how she simplified and improved the color scheme, and distilled the text information on the slides into less complicated points.
I even got a compliment from one of the symposium organizers, who approached me to say that she loved the organization bar that flowed through the presentation. She said, ‘I’m a visual person, and your slides were very visually appealing.’