Haiku Deck is a free app that will completely transform the way you think about presentations. SlideShare users can now create Haiku Decks right from the site at http://www.SlideShare.net/create

This is a perfect introduction to Haiku Deck and the ideas that inspired it, but these tips will help you tell your story more effectively no matter what tool you're using.

We believe that presentations should be captivating.

After all, what are presentations but stories?

They should capture our attention and speak to our emotions.

They should stir our imaginations.

They should make time stand still.

Yet, too often, it's time standing still in the not-so-inspiring way.

We fall into the header-and-bullets formula.

We turn our slides into slideuments. We pack them with tiny text and read them out loud, word for word.

Does the world need more flying bullet points and lame clip art? We say no.

Does it need more beautiful stories and ideas? More simplicity, more fun?

That is why we're here.

Our goal is to make it incredibly simple for anyone to create flawlessly beautiful slides to express those ideas, with minimal time and effort -- and this new integration means you can share them instantly with SlideShare’s 60 million users.

We’ve studied the advice of many presentation design experts, and we’ve built Haiku Deck to make it easy to follow their advice. Here’s a quick introduction to the Haiku Deck philosophy of simple, beautiful, and fun, with some expert tips to get you creating beautiful, share-worthy Haiku Decks quickly.

Keep it Simple

We believe that constraints lead Many presentation tools operate under the assumption that more is better--more options, more choices, more fancy stuff.

In our view, constraints lead to creativity (the haiku, which inspired our name, illustrates this perfectly).

Your presentation will be most effective if you craft it around one big, memorable, unifying idea — it could be a list of tips or insights, a process you want to explain, a recap of an event or a trip, or an idea you’d like to express. Think of your big idea like a headline, a unifying creative theme that can inspire all of your word and image choices.

Hands-on:
Type your big idea in the title text box in the top left corner and in the headline field of your first slide -- you can go back and edit any time.
You can also add a subheader with an intriguing question or statement, or you can include your name and contact information here.

The typical slide formula is a header with a few supporting points, but this can get, well, formulaic.

We deliberately limit the amount of text you can include on each slide to encourage clarity and precision. Focusing on one idea at a time helps you hold your audience’s attention more effectively as well.

Hands-on:
Click ADD SLIDE in the lower right corner to add new slides. Try giving each point its own slide, and removing any points that aren’t essential to communicating your message.

Tip #3: Keep words to a minimum.

Some experts have rules about how many words to include on a slide. The general consensus is the fewer, the better. I like to think of words like oysters. About a half-dozen is perfect. Too many more than that runs the risk of overdoing it.

Hands-on:
You’ll notice that your text size adjusts automatically as you type. If the text on your slide starts getting too small, try cutting down the text, or click the orange Text button at far left, and select the multiline slide layout for a little more space to work with.

You can also choose a short list or a numbered list, though I recommend using these sparingly in your presentation.

Image isn't everything, but let's face it--it matters. Even the most compelling story can fall flat if it unfolds in unappealing slides crammed with tiny text. We make it easy for anyone to create beautiful, image-rich slides.

Pictures, above all, grab our attention and connect with our emotions, making ideas vivid and memorable. Haiku Deck's keyword search puts more than 35 million free, high-quality, Creative Commons images at your fingertips.

You're bound to find the perfect backdrop for your words from this treasure trove, but you can create a chart or import your own images just as easily. The key is to use your images for true storytelling power, not just as embellishment.

Hands-on:

Click the blue Image icon on the left, and type any word or phrase to explore beautiful Creative Commons images you can use for your slide background. (The image credit information is pulled in automatically.)

To adjust the zoom or placement of your image, look for the controls in the bottom right corner of your slide.

To create a beautiful bar chart, pie chart, or stat chart, click the blue Image icon, then the Chart icon.

To upload your own images from your computer, Instagram, Facebook, Dropbox, and other popular services, click the blue Image icon, then UPLOAD.

Tip #5: Keep formatting consistent and simple.

When it comes to presentation design, we often favor consistency over individual style. We grab the corporate template, or we stick with a set combination of fonts, layouts, and colors.

We believe every story deserves to be told in its own unique way, and Haiku Deck's range of stylish, one-click themes makes it easy to experiment. Each professionally designed theme includes an integrated font, image filter, and color palette that can effortlessly change the look and mood of your story.

Hands-on:

Click the Themes tab at top center, and try different combinations on for size. You can toggle an optional image filter on or off by hovering over the theme name.

Did you notice how in The Haiku Deck Way, each tip appears in the same place on the slide? And how I used solid-color slides to introduce sections? Think about how your formatting can create a sense of hierarchy and rhythm to aid comprehension. {And don't forget to keep it simple.}

Hands-on:
Click the green Layout button, then explore different options to find the best arrangement for each slide. You can either use the same layout for every slide, or vary it to match your image.

Checking the TEXT BACKGROUND box adds a dark screen behind your text that helps with readability.

To make your words pop against a solid-color background, click the blue Image icon, then the diagonally shaded rectangle.

Have Fun

"Fun" is not a word that most of us associate with either creating or listening to presentations. But we don't see why these things shouldn't be fun!

Read more about our story and our philosophy here:
http://haikudeck.com/about

Tip #6: Keep your focus on what really matters: your story.

When you're working on a presentation, it's easy to get caught up in time-consuming things like building animations, text formatting, and fancy transitions. But these aren't the things that make your message memorable--it's the story. We have tried to make Haiku Deck incredibly simple to use so you can concentrate on your message.

Hands-on:
To move slides around, just click and drag. To copy or delete a slide, hover over it, then select COPY or DELETE.

Tip #7: Be yourself.

When it comes to presentation Sometimes a little metaphorical thinking can help you discover your big idea, and everything just flows from there. I often find that the very process of exploring pictures and words with Haiku Deck's built-in image search unlocks ideas and opens up new creative possibilities. In fact, we've designed the app to encourage creative flow.

Hands-on:
Give yourself plenty of time to explore in the image search. You can click some of the recommended tags, or get creative with your thinking. Try not to be too literal with your searches -- instead of searching for “teamwork,” for example, you’ll get more interesting pictures if you search for activities that require teamwork, like paddling a canoe or riding a tandem bicycle.

And, whether you're using Haiku Deck or not, we hope you'll remember the Haiku Deck way:

Keep it Simple
Make it Beautiful
Have Fun

This collaboration between Haiku Deck and SlideShare makes it easier than ever to create beautiful presentations and instantly share them with a broad audience.

Hands-on:
When you’re ready to set your story free, you can click PUBLISH at top right to upload your Haiku Deck to SlideShare.

If you’d like a little more time to work on it, your work will be saved automatically to your My Uploads page. Simply visit that page to keep working on a draft.

If you have questions or need more ideas, we’re always here to help! We can’t wait to see what kinds of stories you’ll set free with Haiku Deck and SlideShare.