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Find useful ways to make memorable numbered lists. Get inspired to come up with your own variations for your presentations.
Quick word about numbered lists in PowerPoint:
Numbered lists are quite common in most business presentations. However, the problem with most lists is – the items are easily forgotten by audience. In this article, we will see some simple ideas to make your numbered lists more memorable for your audience.
Idea 1: Find a core around which to organize your list
Many times presenters make the mistake of just listing down items one below the other as shown here:
To make the list more memorable, see if you can color code the items in the list and use the code later in the presentation to recall the points you listed earlier. For example, item no. 4 concerns with environmental issues and the color code for the item is green. Use green whenever you refer to any issue concerned with environment during the course of the presentation.
If you can’t do so – see if you can add some excitement to the list by structuring the items as countdown factors.
If you can put the core issue in the centre and structure the items around them, your audience would find it easy to connect the items as shown below:
Source: PowerPoint Framework | CEO pack 2
Idea 2: Group the lists
A simple way to make your list memorable is to group the related items together as shown below:
Here is another example of the idea where the items are listed as two sides of the arguments:
Source: Comparison Templates | CEO pack 2
Idea 3: Find the underlying relationship
Dig a bit deeper and see if you can find an underlying relationship between the items in the list. For example, the items could be steps in a linear process as shown below:
Or the items could be steps in a circular process as shown below:
Or the relationship between items could be hierarchical as shown here:
When you use simple diagrams like the ones you saw above, you help your audience place the items in their mind for easy recall later.
Idea 4: Use a creative hook
The last idea is to create a memory hook for your audience where they can peg the items easily. For example, you can use the silhouette of five fingers in your hand to signify five items on your list:
You can also use a geometric figure to serve as memory hook. For example, in the following template we used the image of a ‘star’ to list five reasons for star performance.
Sometimes, items related to work environment may work better to aid the memory – than a generic image. Take a look at the following example where we used the image of the wheels in a conveyer belt to serve as memory hook for five steps in a process;
The basic thought process behind all the ideas you saw in the article is – dig deeper to establish a meaningful relationship between items in the list. Your audience would automatically remember your message longer and better.
Smarter option for business presenters:
Good diagram templates go a long way in making your message memorable in a business presentation. However, it takes a lot of effort and time to create high quality business diagrams and graphics from scratch. That is why we came up with our PowerPoint Graphics and Concepts CEO Pack Vol. 2. All the Numbered lists in PowerPoint used as examples in this article are from this volume.
 | The pack contains 815+ fully editable templates. Just choose the template that matches your thought. Replace the sample text with your own text and your business slides get ready in no time. Creating professional looking business slides has never been easier. You can browse more Graphics from the CEO Pack 2 here and evaluate the pack yourself. |
If you found the creative ideas in this article useful, please leave us a comment below.
Related: 5 Ideas to Get from Boring List to Smart Graphics