MYTH: I can’t do this because I suck at drawing

Good!

Your audience doesn’t want to see an elaborate masterpiece on the slide, anyway.

The scrappier the drawing, the better.

MYTH: I can’t do this because I’m not “a creative”

First of all, you are absolutely creative.

Second, not that it matters because it doesn’t take any creativity to draw a square or a stick figure saying something.

Finally, being able to take your text-heavy slides and create your own visuals for it is a skill that you can develop with training, support, and practice.

MYTH: I can’t do this because it’s unprofessional

Yeah? Says who?

Because in my experience, audiences LOVE when the presenter uses their own drawings.

I mean, yeah, don’t do this for your job talk. But other than that, go for it.

Look. This whole myth of "being professional" seriously gets in the way of my peaceful protest against #DeathByPowerpoint.

Hand drawings are more likely to catch the attention of your audience than a great stock photo or any other type of visual.

They’re also fantastic at helping your audience understand and remember the material.

I'm still waiting for a legitimate argument that being ineffective and boring at presenting is somehow professional.

MYTH: I can’t do this because I don’t have professional software or can’t afford Adobe Illustrator!

Good news: You can draw directly in PowerPoint!

Also: We don’t use Adobe Illustrator.

We use the MUCH more affordable (and easier to use) app called Affinity Designer (bonus: members of my course get a discount on it, too).

Sometimes, it's impossible to find a visual that works for your slide.

When it's an important point you want to make, or when you want to connect/resonate with your audience, then your own doodles can come to the rescue.

Here is a very simple set of 2 slides. I was making the point that watching presentations—even if they’re really great presentations—does not effectively teach you how to create effective presentations.

I drew a couple stick figures, then added speech bubbles.