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PowerPoint for iPad? Try the Haiku Deck Way

March 19, 2014 / / 1 Comment

PowerPoint for iPad

There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about the long-awaited arrival of PowerPoint for iPad, and as you might expect, we have a thought or two on the subject.

Should I Use PowerPoint for iPad?

It depends. We have long believed in the flexibility and power of the iPad as tool for content creation and productivity, not just content consumption. We love being able to work on a presentation whenever and wherever inspiration strikes, whether it’s at a coffee shop, on a plane, or curled up on the couch while half-watching House Hunters International. That’s why we started with Haiku Deck for iPad.

So we are all for creating and sharing presentations on an iPad, but we’ve also worked hard to make that experience uniquely tailored to the tablet — simple, fluid, and even fun. One key difference between Haiku Deck and PowerPoint is that we build the experience around images, not words.

We build the experience around images, not words.

We do this because we believe that people are tired of seeing presentation slides crammed with text (and, even worse, presenters who read that text word for word). Dave Paradi’s Annoying PowerPoint Survey provides more detail on this subject. Here’s our Haiku Deck version of the findings:

PowerPoint for iPad: Annoying PowerPoint Survey Results

Click to view the full Haiku Deck with Notes

Like many presentation design experts, we believe that images speak to our emotions and make what we have to say more engaging and memorable, and we’ve purposefully designed our Creative Commons image search to trigger creative flow.

Images speak to our emotions and make what we have to say more engaging and memorable.

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Inspiration: Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

February 17, 2014 / / 4 Comments

Seven score and 11 years ago, the 16th president of the United States stood in a muddy field and made a two-minute speech that has been celebrated as one of the greatest of all time. Abraham Lincoln’s eloquent Gettysburg Address graces the walls of the Lincoln Memorial and inspired the opening words of Martin Luther King’s equally famous “I Have a Dream” speech. It endures.

Though few of us will have occasion to consecrate a battlefield, the Gettysburg Address is worth studying and being inspired by, time and time again.


The Gettysburg Address – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

View The Gettysburg Address on haikudeck.com

The Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Note: Be sure to check out my companion piece, “10 Lessons Every Presenter Can Learn from America’s Most Iconic Speech” in Fast Company.

Haiku Deck for iPhone User Guide

February 13, 2014 / / 6 Comments

1. Getting Started

Current Haiku Deck Users

If you’re already a Haiku Deck user, be sure to sign in to the iPhone App the same way you do for the iPad App or the Web App to access your Haiku Deck collection on your iPhone.

Haiku Deck for iPhone User Guide: Signing In

Sign in the same way you do on your iPad or on the website

New Haiku Deck Users

If you’re new to Haiku Deck, welcome! We’re thrilled to have you in our creative community. You can set up a free account with a tap using Facebook or Twitter, or enter your email and password. Be sure to make a note of how you signed in, so you can use the Haiku Deck Web App and enjoy the full Haiku Deck experience.

Read more about creating a Haiku Deck account.

Help

At any time, you can tap the Account icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left corner, then NEED HELP? to get a screen overlay with tips.

2. Browsing and Selecting Decks

Basic Navigation

Tap the orange selector at the top to switch between  FEATURED, POPULAR, MY DECKS, or HISTORY.

Scroll down to view all available decks as well as deck creator, number of slides, and views.

Tap any deck to open it for viewing.

Tap the share icon next to the deck view count to share it via email, Twitter, Facebook, or AirDrop.

Featured Decks

The Featured Decks are hand-curated by our team each week and cover a wide range of subjects. They’re a perfect source of inspiration and demonstrate a variety of ways you can use Haiku Deck.

Popular Decks

Popular Decks, also updated weekly, showcases frequently viewed and shared decks from our creative community.

Haiku Deck for iPhone User Guide

Browsing the week’s Popular Decks

My Decks

My Decks displays any decks you have created and published using the Haiku Deck iPad App or the Haiku Deck Web App. (Soon, you’ll be able to create new Haiku Decks right on your iPhone!)

Haiku Deck for iPhone User Guide: My Decks

Browsing My Decks

There will be no decks to view here if you haven’t created a Haiku Deck. (But you can fix that easily by signing in to the Haiku Deck Web App Beta and creating a quick deck!)

Screen Shot 2014-02-12 at 1.46.29 PM

History

History displays any other decks you have viewed using the iPhone App — for example, decks that have been shared with you via email, social media, or AirDrop. (There will be no decks to view here if you haven’t been sent a link to a deck.)

3. Viewing Decks

Displaying Notes

Hold your iPhone in portrait orientation (vertically) to view a deck that has Notes. (Read more about Public Notes and Private Notes.) If you’re presenting from your iPhone, you can use the Notes as a personal teleprompter — they will be visible only to you.

Haiku Deck for iPhone User Guide: Displaying Notes

Hold in portrait orientation to display notes

Swipe left or right to advance or go back.

Tap the Share icon to share via mail, Twitter, Facebook, or AirDrop.

Tap the CC logo to view the image credit and licensing information. (Learn more about Haiku Deck’s integrated Creative Commons image search.)

Tap the ? for a screen overlay with helpful tips.

Full-Screen Display

Hold in landscape orientation to view the slides in full-screen display.

Haiku Deck for iPhone User Guide: Full-screen display

Hold in landscape orientation for full-screen display

Swipe left or right to advance or go back.

4. Presenting a Deck

Using your iPhone as a remote with your iPad

If you are signed into the Haiku Deck app on your iPad and your iPhone, you can use your iPhone to control playback of any published decks on your iPad! Just make sure both devices are connected to the same wifi network or have bluetooth turned on, and that the deck you want to play is published (if it is, it will be visible on your iPhone), then tap the remote button in the top right corner of the iPhone app.

Remote button - iPhone app

The remote button in the top right allows you to control your iPad from your iPhone.

As long as you’re signed into the same account on both devices, you’ll be able to select your iPad from the menu that pops up. A pop up will appear in Haiku Deck on your iPad, so that you can accept or decline the connection. Then, just play any of your decks from your iPhone – and watch the magic happen!

Presenting to an AppleTV with Airplay

If you have an AppleTV on the same network as your iPhone, you can stream your deck wirelessly to play on the TV with Airplay, just like you can with the iPad. Simply swipe up from the bottom of your screen, and tap the Airplay button in the bottom right. Choose AppleTV in the menu that pops up, and viola! Click here for more info about streaming to an AppleTV.

Connecting to a Projector

You can also present while connected to a projector like you can with the iPad. Just find the appropriate adapter for your iOS device and projector, connect it to the projector, and play your deck. You can rotate your iPhone vertically to see your notes. If you run into any trouble, swipe upward from the bottom of your screen to check your orientation lock and mirroring settings in control center, or check out this article.

5. Troubleshooting

Missing decks on your iPhone?

You can tap the three horizontal lines in the top left corner of the iPhone app and choose IMPORT to prompt the app to check for any recently published decks. If it still doesn’t show up, make sure that it’s been published to the same account from the web or your iPad.

I can’t connect my iPhone as a remote.

Make sure that:

  • Your iPhone and iPad are on the same wifi network, or that they both have bluetooth enabled.
  • You have the latest version of Haiku Deck installed on both devices, by going to the App Store, and checking under the Updates tab.
  • The account you’re signed into on your iPad and iPhone is the same. If you haven’t signed out/back in on either recently, you may want to sign out and sign back in just to make sure you’re in the same account.
  • Your iPhone and iPad are both up to date. To check this, you can go to the Settings app, and choose General – Software Update.
  • If you’re on a public network, such as one in a hotel or conference hall, that you don’t have to agree to any terms and conditions in a web browser before utilizing the connection. To check this easily, just try to go to a website like haikudeck.com in your browser on both devices.

If you’re still stuck:

  • Swipe upward from the bottom of the screen, and turn on Airplane Mode on both devices. Then, turn it back off, make sure you’re connected to wifi and/or bluetooth, and try again.
  • Follow the steps in this article on both devices.
  • Drop us a line so we can help out!

I can’t start a new deck.

The ability to create decks on the iPhone is something we’re working on. It’s coming soon, but for the time being, you’ll want to download our free iPad app, or head to haikudeck.com to use our Web App beta.

The app isn’t acting as expected.

Follow the steps in this article and if that doesn’t help, drop us a line for speedy, personalized assistance!

 

2013 Decks of the Year Finalists: Pure Wow

December 20, 2013 / / 0 Comments

#hdbestof2013

As the year draws to a close, we want to acknowledge and showcase the many amazing, inspiring decks that have been created by our community in 2013. We’ve selected ten categories, and each day beginning December 16th, we’ll reveal the five finalists in two of those categories.

Pure Wow

Over the course of the week, we’ve celebrated outstanding awesome idea sharing, business case studies, conference & event decks, bloggers, education case studies, creative hooks, how-to decks, “about me” decks, and inspiring presentations. This last set of five, to us, couldn’t be categorized in any other way besides pure wow.

1. Ink, by Paula Guinto

This is one of those visually stunning decks that we all gathered around and ooh’d and aah’d over. Ms P, a middle school teacher a gifted storyteller, recounts the story of her first tattoo, shares her first Instagram, and, through a powerful combination of beautiful, vivid words and images, urges us all to find our story, believe in it, and honor it.

Click to be wowed by Paula’s story, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for the year’s best Pure Wow deck!


Ink: On Celebrating Our Stories 3.0 – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Visual Storytelling, by Ken Shelton

In this deservedly popular deck, Haiku Deck Guru Ken Shelton shares tips for engaging our most dominant sense through color, texture, perspective, and  composition. (This also has to be one of the most arresting cover images we’ve seen!) He also concisely illustrates the difference between effective and ineffective visual storytelling.
Click for a lightning lesson in bringing your story to life visually, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for Ken Shelton’s Pure Wow!

Visual Storytelling – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

3. The Book of Play, Alex Smith

The Book of Play is a fun, colorful, precious reminder of the power and beauty of play — for all of us. (Actually, all for one and one for all!) We love how Alex interspersed his own images with Creative Commons ones, and even the Zissou subtitles (in mostly lowercase) feel playful and perfectly placed.
Click to see how play is a little push and a little pull, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for The Book of Play!

The Book of Play – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
by Alex Smith

4. GlobalFootprints: A Travel Photography Project, by Tercia Goh

This is surely one of the most stylish, cohesive, gorgeous Haiku Decks that’s been created to date. A series of beautifully composed Instagram photos and a compelling visual motif take us on a trip around the world, inspiring us to collect moments, not things (though we are kind of smitten with all of those cool shoes, too).

Click to find out how to travel is to evolve, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for the Pure Wow of GlobalFootprints!


Globalfootprints: A Travel Photography Project – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
by Tercia Goh

5. The New Mindset, by Simon McKenzie

Expertly weaving in references to Sir Ken Robinson and the SAMR model, Haiku Deck Guru Simon McKenzie makes a compelling case for professional disenthrallment, asking educators around the globe: what are you prepared to do this year?  Thank you, Simon, for advocating for the new mindset of innovation, student-led learning, and green schools so eloquently!

Click to master the New Mindset, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for its Pure Wow power!


The New Mind Set – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Cast Your Vote!

Don’t forget to help select the winner and bring more visibility to these pure wow Haiku Decks by adding a comment below, sharing your favorite with the #hdbestof2013 hashtag, or dropping us a line at gallery@haikudeck.com. (And, for decks this WOW, more sharing = a win all around!) We’ll select one winner from each category to receive a special Haiku Deck prize (and, of course, creative bragging rights)!

Tips for Unlocking Your Pure Wow

We are here to help you create presentations that are pure wow! Here are a few great resources.

 

 

2013 Decks of the Year Finalists: Most Inspiring Presentation

December 20, 2013 / / 4 Comments

#hdbestof2013

As the year draws to a close, we want to acknowledge and showcase the many amazing, inspiring decks that have been created by our community in 2013. We’ve selected ten categories, and each day beginning December 16th, we’ll reveal the five finalists in two of those categories.

Most Inspiring Presentation

When high-impact messages are paired with powerful visuals, the results are nothing short of inspiring. Our next-to-last Decks of the Year category showcases a few of the very best examples from 2013.

1. Letting Go of Negative Thoughts, by Erin Luong

Don’t define yourself by others’ ideas of perfection, fill a journal with bad thoughts and burn it, and never underestimate the good that you can do. Erin’s simple, powerful messages got a huge audience this spring when her deck was embedded in a popular Mashable article!

Click for inspiration to let go of negative thoughts (just in time for the new year), and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for most inspiring deck of 2013!


Letting Go Of Negative Thoughts – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

2. 9 Tips for My 22-Year-Old Self, by Katie Richman

In this clever deck, ESPN social media director Katie Richman shares wisdom gleaned from the first 10 years of her career. There’s the practical point of reining it in at the company  party, but also reminders that when it comes to your path, you’re in the driver’s seat — i.e., “If you get to that point where you dread Monday, you’ve stayed too long.”

Click to see Katie’s inspiring career advice, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote as the year’s most inspiring Haiku Deck!


3. I’m Not Creative, by Brandon George

With wit and style, Haiku Deck Guru Brandon George of Write the Good Fight spells out “14 guaranteed ways to kick creative ass.” (Case in point: Find the time. You have 24 hours in each day. So did Picasso, Gandhi, and Einstein.) Props to Brandon for using Public Notes so effectively and mixing in some cool charts to drive his points home.

Click to learn how to eat doubt for breakfast, and share Brandon’s awesome creation with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for kicking creative ass!


“I’m Not Creative” (Oh Yeah? Bull$#!%.) – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

 4. Who Matters, by Susan Spellman Cann

Anyone who has met, tweeted with, or read about Haiku Deck Guru and Forever Friend of Haiku Deck Susan can’t help but be inspired by her boundless positive energy. And with more than 75,000 views this year, it’s clear that this simple, heartfelt Haiku Deck (one of many that she created this year) has inspired many.

Click to be reminded that you matter, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to support and spread this important, inspiring message!


Who Matters? – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

5. What I Carry, by Jonathan Colman

This crisp reflection by star content strategist Jonathan Colman headlined on Slideshare and even got picked up by the Huffington Post. From humility (everyone has something to teach us) to coffee, he’s outlined his personal toolkit in a way that can inspire anyone who reads it (especially introverts, perhaps).

Click to see what makes Jonathan tick (and to reflect on what you carry), and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for most inspiring deck of 2013!


What I Carry – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Cast Your Vote!

Don’t forget to help select the winner and bring more visibility to these inspiring Haiku Decks by adding a comment below, sharing your favorite with the #hdbestof2013 hashtag, or dropping us a line at gallery@haikudeck.com. (For this category in particular, the more sharing, the more we all win!) We’ll select one winner from each category to receive a special Haiku Deck prize (and, of course, creative bragging rights)!

Tips for Creating Your Own Inspiring Haiku Deck

We are here to help you create presentations that inspire! Here are a few useful resources.

 

2013 Decks of the Year Finalists: Most Creative Hook

December 18, 2013 / / 2 Comments

#hdbestof2013

As the year draws to a close, we want to acknowledge and showcase the many amazing, inspiring decks that have been created by our community in 2013. We’ve selected ten categories, and each day beginning December 16th, we’ll reveal the five finalists in two of those categories.

Most Creative Hook

A clever hook piques curiosity and draws your audience in — our sixth category highlights decks that do this particularly well.

1. Dear Speaker, I Loathe You. Sincerely, Your Event Planner, by Julius Solaris

This clever piece of content marketing turns the tables and enumerates tips for conference presenters–from the perspective of the event planner. With humorous images and  hard-hitting copy, Julius Solaris gently (and not so gently) reminds speakers that “Your time is not about you, it’s about them,” that the time slot is not a suggestion, and–our favorite—slides that look like this “are not cool.” (Full disclosure: Julius completes the picture with a companion piece titled “Dear Event Planner, I Hate You. Sincerely, Your Speaker” on his blog.)

Click to peruse Julius’s clever list of do’s and don’ts for speakers, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for better speaker behavior everywhere!


Dear Speaker, I Loathe You. Sincerely, Your Event Planner – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

2. I Am Your Dog, by Casey Lomonaco 

Like Julius, Casey plays with perspective by creating her Haiku Deck in the voice of her dog Mokie. The transcript of her dog’s thought process, captured using the Public Notes feature, is funny, touching, and awesomely clever  — “I mean, I bark when the UPS guy arrives within our zip code and YOU KEEP TALKING ON THE PHONE LIKE YOU DON’T EVEN HEAR ME!” And the “top secret tips” she shares about dog behavior along the way are terrific, whether you’re a dog lover or not.

Click to see life from Mokie’s perspective, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote as the most creative hook of 2013!


I Am Your Dog. – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

3. Bad Client Situation Toolkit, by Nick Armstrong

We see a ton of Haiku Decks each day, and we can say with confidence that this is the only one we’ve seen that includes a cover image of urinals AND some seriously useful information about improving client communication. Haiku Deck Guru Nick Armstrong of WTF Marketing gives a step-by-step guide to diagnosing and fixing a bad situation, articulating common causes, how to save boatloads of money, and how to prevent the same situation from happening again. (Bonus points to Nick for using the awesome Novella theme and solid-color list slides to amp up the impact of his tips.)

Click to check out all the clever wisdom in the Bad Client Situation Toolkit, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for it as most creative hook of the year!


Bad Client Situation Toolkit – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

4. Movember Stache Facts, by Centurion Signs UK

We love Haiku Decks that rally support for a great cause, but this one takes it to the next level, promoting mens health by offering “comebacks for dealing with derogatory Movember comments.” Relevant stats, such as the amount of time you save by not shaving, are cleverly brought to life with memorable images and snappy sound bites. Kudos to Centurion Signs UK, both for supporting Movember and for spreading the word with such wit!

Click to find out why you should trust the ‘stache, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to show your support in the most creative hook category!


Movember ‘Stache facts – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

5. Little H Woodworking, by Stephen Harrison

This isn’t the first example we’ve seen of a Haiku Deck digital portfolio or catalog, but Seattle woodworker Stephen Harrison makes his stand out with playful imagery and clever copy — from “Ukulele starts with u” to “Everybody needs a little moose in their life.” Each of Stephen’s elegantly crafted slides (created with the sleek Tabletop theme) tells a story — illustrating how he reuses material, for example, or showcasing functionality.

Click to take a peek at Stephen’s unique portfolio, and share it with the hashtag #hdbestof2013 to cast your vote for the most creative hook of 2013!

Most Creative Hook: Haiku Deck #hdbestof2013 finalists

“Little H Woodworking,” by Stephen Harrison

Cast Your Vote!

Don’t forget to help select the winner and bring more visibility to these clever creations by adding a comment below, sharing your favorite with the #hdbestof2013 hashtag, or dropping us a line at gallery@haikudeck.com. We’ll select one winner from each category to receive a special Haiku Deck prize (and, of course, creative bragging rights)!

Tips for Crafting Creative Hooks

We believe there’s a creative hook for any story! Here are a few resources that might be helpful.

Simple, Stylish Presentation Handouts

December 6, 2013 / / 1 Comment

Presentation Handouts that Wow

An extremely common mistake that presenters make is to pack their slides full of text so they can also be used as a leave-behind. (One of our heroes, Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen, calls this messy mashup of slides and a document a slideument.)

The problem with this? Your audience can either listen to you, or read your slides, but they can’t do both — and honestly, they don’t want to do both. In fact, the #1 complaint about presentations, according to Dave Paradi’s fascinating Annoying PowerPoint Survey (here’s a fun Haiku Deck summarizing the results), is when presenters read slides aloud — and putting everything you’re going to say right up there on the screen is pretty much guaranteed to bore your audience to death.

Your audience can either listen to you, or read your slides, but they can’t do both.

The solution? Most presentation experts recommend creating two separate things: well-designed presentation slides, which engage your audience’s attention with minimal text and evocative imagery (hint, hint), and presentation handouts, which complete the package with key talking points and other supporting information.

This, of course, sounds like a lot of extra work — but if you’re using Haiku Deck to create your slides, beautiful presentation handouts are a snap.

How to Create Presentation Handouts with Haiku Deck

1. Create your killer slides, using either the iPad App or the Web App, and publish your deck to the web.

2. Add the supplemental text you’d like to appear on your presentation handouts using the Public Notes feature. (Tip: You can add or edit Public Notes from either the Web App or the iPad App. Just be sure to PUBLISH or UPDATE when you’re finished.)

3. Pull the deck up online, either by signing in to haikudeck.com and heading to MY DECKS or by emailing yourself a link.

4. Hover over the + icon on the left side of the deck (beneath the social sharing icons).

5. Click the download arrow icon that appears at the bottom of the grey icons.

Presentation Handouts: Adding public notes and downloading a PDF in Haiku Deck

Hover over the +, then click the download arrow

5. Choose Download an Adobe Acrobat PDF copy of your Haiku Deck. (Patience, grasshopper…This may take a couple minutes.)

6. Look for your PDF handout in your Downloads folder. You can print them out (or share online to save paper).

Here’s a page from my presentation handouts for “Crafting a Winning Story,” a talk I gave recently at AMA Houston MarketingEdge. Note that the attribution for any Creative Commons images you have selected using the Haiku Deck image search is automatically displayed at the bottom.

Presentation Handouts: Sample Haiku Deck PDF Handout

Sample Haiku Deck PDF handout page

By making my presentation handouts separate, I could keep my actual slides clean and uncluttered:


Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that’s simple, beautiful and fun.

Tip: The Public Notes do double-duty — they also provide additional context for online viewing. Click here to view the full Haiku Deck with my Public Notes.

More Help

Have more questions about presentations handouts, or tips to share? Let us know in the comments!

TEDx and Haiku Deck: Kent Gustavson’s Creative Win

November 25, 2013 / / 2 Comments

A TEDx Talk We’ll Never Forget

We always love getting mail from our creative community. Recently we heard from speaker, publisher, and thought leader Kent Gustavson, who wrote: “I thought I would tell you about my amazing experience with Haiku Deck. I used it to prepare the slides for my TEDx talk. I didn’t use the Haiku Deck slides directly – but found the Flickr images, and created a presentation in high-def that was highly informed by the incredible service you provide.”

First off, Kent’s story –and TEDxSBU talk–is incredibly powerful and definitely worth a watch.

Bringing the TEDx Story to Life

We were especially intrigued by Kent’s process. Even though he didn’t use Haiku Deck to present his final talk, he used it as the starting point. (This is a great technique to keep in mind if you are presenting at a venue that requires PowerPoint, for example.) In Kent’s words, “In preparing for my TEDx, I used the web app, and exported the presentation as a PDF, which allowed me to find the original images on Flickr, and insert them into a presentation that was at a higher resolution to the TED specifications.”

Here’s a Haiku Deck he made outlining his step-by-step process.


Using Haiku Deck for My TEDx Talk – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

Q&A with TEDx Speaker Kent Gustavson

Haiku Deck: What inspired you to try Haiku Deck?

Kent: I first found out about Haiku Deck through a friend who is a thought leader and creates “decks” all the time with various programs. One of his contacts downloaded the app and experimented with it. I really liked the images and the aesthetic of the stark, simple statements over the top of the images.

Haiku Deck: What role did Haiku Deck play in helping your talk take shape?

Kent: The images and slides that I was able to build using Haiku Deck were actually extremely formative in creating the narrative and structure of my TEDx Talk. I knew what I wanted to speak about, but the images really pulled together the themes and stories that I was speaking about in a way that anchors those concepts for visual people. I also was careful to create thematic slides that were closely related to the talk, but created a tiny bit of harmony and dissonance with what I was saying at times.

“The images really pulled together the themes and stories that I was speaking about in a way that anchors those concepts for visual people.”

Most importantly, the slides during TED Talks create an environment within which the presenter actually resides. So, when I put a landscape behind me on the screen, I was actually within that landscape in my mind, and in the mind of the audience members. Long story short, Haiku Deck was the tool I used to pull the many strands of my talk together into one cohesive 18-minute speech.

Haiku Deck: Who do you think would benefit from using Haiku Deck?

Kent: I taught for nearly a decade at the college level, and would have loved to have a tool like this in my classroom — it’s so simple to use, and encourages presenters to simplify and solidify their concepts. So, it’s certainly great for students and teachers.

It would also be very refreshing in the business world. There is still the ability to include complex images and so forth, but the format encourages the presenter to entertain through images, and to simplify text and concepts. Traditional PowerPoint presentations feel like they were designed in 1985 at the dawning of the PC era, and Haiku Deck feels fresh and exciting. There are a million possible applications of this software, and I can’t wait to see how it grows and expands!

“Traditional PowerPoint presentations feel like they were designed in 1985 at the dawning of the PC era, and Haiku Deck feels fresh and exciting.”

One last important point: Haiku Deck encourages fair use of photographs. That is very important to me, and in working with professionals every day, I see way too many images simply harvested from Google Images, and not credited to the original photographer or artist. This tool gives the presenter countless options for images, and allows them to credit the artist, and even be in touch with that artist.

“I see way too many images simply harvested from Google Images, and not credit to the original photographer or artist.”

Haiku Deck: What tips do you have for someone trying out the app for the first time?

Kent: Don’t try to make it do what PowerPoint does. If PowerPoint is a bulldog, Haiku Deck is a leopard. It’s beautiful, and a totally different kind of creature. Experiment, search for images, try to fit text into the presentation in new ways.

In the same way a guitarist uses different instruments to get different sounds, Haiku Deck will bring a different (and more vibrant and succinct) aspect to presentations. To be honest, Haiku Deck is also the simplest presentation creator on the market, and makes slides look as if they have been designed by a professional marketing team.

“To be honest, Haiku Deck is…the simplest presentation creator on the market, and makes slides look as if they have been designed by a professional marketing team.”

I really was inspired by Haiku Deck, and the incredible photos I found through the app. I believe it added another dimension to my talk, both in the room and on the live stream (or on the YouTube video). Simple, succinct statements, combined with images that were bold, beautiful and expansive, helped me to tell disparate stories and still feel anchored to the core message of the speech.

Kent added, “Thank you to Haiku Deck for creating software worthy of the word haiku. Simple, beautiful, clean, and incredibly expressive and malleable to the goals of the artist or presenter.”

We are incredibly grateful to Kent for sharing his story and his process (and for his inspiring creative message). We hope to see many more TEDx talks incorporating Haiku Deck — if you’ve used it in this way, please let us know!

More Inspiring TEDx Resources

  • Greg Gottesman, Managing Director of Madrona Venture Group, also used Haiku Deck for his TEDx talk, “One Trillion Dollars, Student Debt and Higher Education.” See his slides and watch the video of his talk (since it’s all in the delivery).
  • This Haiku Deck captures inspiring quotes and highlights from TEDx Seattle.
  • Ashlyn Bernier created this Haiku Deck for “The Ph.D. Problem,” which she delivered at TEDxEdmonton Education.
  • This Haiku Deck by Rokk3rLabs summarizes Daphne Koller’s “What We’re Learning from Online Education” TED talk.
  • Tara-Nicholle Nelson of  Rethink7 shares 11 favorite transformational TED talks with a Haiku Deck and videos in this blog post.

10 Winning Presentation Ideas

June 17, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Presentation Ideas

Whether you’re a Haiku Deck master or you’re just checking it out, I hope you’re getting the picture that we have a point of view about presentations. Does the world need more lame clip art and bullet points? We say no. Does it need more inspiration, more simplicity and beauty? That’s why we’re here.

I have created probably hundreds of presentations over the course of my career, and I always worked hard (and I mean, really, really hard) to try to make them creative and nice-looking. But I have to say that Haiku Deck completely transformed the way I think about my slides, and I now wish I could go back and redo all those bad decks. Haiku Deck makes me feel more focused and creative, and there’s a spontaneity to the experience that truly makes it fun. I also love being able to work on my slides at a coffee shop, or curled up on a couch, instead of being chained to my desk.

Over the past few months, it has been fascinating to study both what the experts say and what our amazing creative community (that’s you!) creates. I made this Haiku Deck to articulate our core philosophy, and to share 10 tips–simple, concrete presentation ideas– that can help transform your experience and set your story free, whether you’re using Haiku Deck or not. (The Notes are important for this one, so I’m including a linked screenshot instead of embedding my deck. Just click to view the full deck.)

Presentation Ideas: 10 Tips to Transform your Presentations

Click to view the full Haiku Deck with Notes

If you try to make a typical Powerpoint-y type presentation with Haiku Deck, you might feel initially frustrated by the limitations. But if you can understand the why behind Haiku Deck, and open your mind to telling your story in a slightly different way, I think you’ll enjoy the process and open some exciting new creative possibilities.

More Presentation Ideas

Have a question, or some presentation ideas you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments, or drop us a line any time with our support team.

Present like a Rock Star with Private Notes

June 3, 2013 / / 6 Comments

Rock Star Tips

Whether you’re a Haiku Deck rock star or you’re new to the club, you’ve probably figured out that Haiku Deck is not the tool for creating slides crammed with text and bullet points that you can stand up and READ to your audience, right?

Which is good, because nobody wants to listen to that anyway. (Seriously. Nobody.)

When you create a Haiku Deck, you’ll notice that we limit the amount of text you can put on each slide. We designed our app specifically to help you focus your message on what’s most important, to put images front and center, and to produce slides that are beautiful and easy to read. Most presentation experts agree that when it comes to text, less is more.

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