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Presentation Reference

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Blog Data Visualization 120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

Written by: Ryan McCready May 08, 2023

Did you know that 46% of people can’t sit through a presentation without losing focus? 

That’s why I wanted to learn how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience. After looking at hundreds of different authors, topics and designs, I’ve assembled over 100 presentation ideas and tips on how to design a compelling presentation for:

• Social media
• Online courses
• Pitch decks
• Lead generation

In this blog, you’ll find 120+ presentation ideas, design tips and examples to help you create an awesome presentations slide deck for your next presentation.

To start off, here’s a video on the 10 essential presentation design tips to make sure that your presentations don’t fall under the YAWN category.

1. Use a minimalist presentation theme

CREATE THIS PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

The best designs can also be some of the simplest you see. In the Airbnb pitch deck below, they use a minimalist color scheme and font selection.

A minimalist design is sleek, organized and places the most important thing in focus: your information. There are no distracting stock images, icons, or content. Everything on this unique presentation feels like it belongs and works together perfectly. 

Learn how to customize this template:

2. Use a consistent design motif throughout your presentation

Here’s a go-to tip to for a cohesive presentation design: use a design motif. The motif could be a recurring shape (like circles, lines or arrows) or symbol (like a leaf for “growth” or a mountain for “goals”). For more ideas, check out our guide to common symbols and meanings used in design .

For example, this  presentation template uses circles as a design motif. The same circle icon is used in three different colors to add a bubbly touch to the design. The team photos are also incorporated using circle frames:

3. Use an eye-catching presentation background image

Like with any type of design work, you should want to catch the eye of your audience. In a presentation, this should be done from the beginning with a  compelling background image or a color gradient.

In this presentation template, the creators were able to do just that with a landscape photo. When a presentation like this is seen on social media, during a webinar or in person, your audience will definitely listen up.

4. Visualize your points with icons

Icons are the perfect visuals to include in presentations. They’re compact and can convey a concept to your audience at a glance. You can even combine multiple icons to create custom illustrations for your slides. 

Use the Icon Search in Venngage to find illustrated and flat icons:

5. Use a black & white color scheme for a corporate presentation design

In the presentation below there are only two colors used: black and white. Now, you might be worried that only using two colors is boring, but it all comes down to balance.

Playing off the ideas of classic minimalism, the designer made this presentation look sleek and professional. And now your content can be the main attraction of your presentation as well!

6. Repurpose your slide deck into an infographic 

Different types of presentations serve different purposes and sometimes it helps to work smarter, not harder when you are creating a unique presentation. In fact, the spacing, layout, and style used in this presentation makes it easy to repurpose the same images into an infographic.

This allows you to create two unique pieces of content from one idea!  Which is exactly what  Officevibe did .

Join Venngage’s CEO, Eugene Woo, to learn how you can design impactful infographics that will help maintain trust, increase productivity and inspire action in your team.

SIGN UP NOW

7. Break your genre mold for a fun presentation idea

When I first clicked on this creative presentation from SEMrush, I was not expecting to be transported into a comic book. I’m glad I clicked because it may be the most unique slide deck I have ever seen. Going this extreme with your presentation ideas may seem a bit risky, but to be able to break the mold in this age of cookie-cutter presentations is worth it.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15  interactive presentation ideas  to enhance interactivity and engagement.

8. Make your presentation cover slide count

As I was scrolling through all of the presentations, this one made me stop in my tracks. It could be that I have a life-long love of Star Wars, or it could be that their presentation cover slide was designed to do just that: grab your attention. That’s why you should not stick with a boring, text-only title slide. Don’t be afraid to use icons and illustrations to make a statement.

9.  Alternate slide layouts to keep your presentation engaging

Keeping your audience engaged throughout an entire presentation is hard, even if you have been working on your presentation skills . No one wants to look at slides that look exactly the same for an hour. But on the other hand, you can’t create a unique masterpiece for each slide.

That’s why I’m very impressed with what the designers did in the presentation example above. They use a consistent visual theme on each slide, but alternate between vertical and horizontal orientations.

The swapping of orientations will show people that the presentation is progressing nicely. It can help you make a strong, almost physical, distinction between ideas, sections or topics.  

10. Make your audience laugh, or at least chuckle

Sometimes you need to not take your business presentations too seriously. Not sure what I mean? Go check out slide number 10 on this slide deck below.

If you did not actually laugh out loud, then I don’t know what to tell you. Small illustrated embellishments can be very powerful because they evoke an emotional response and to gain your audience’s trust.

Did you know 70% of employees think that giving a good presentation is an essential workplace skill? Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

11. Supplement your presentation with printed materials

Printed takeaways (such as brochures and business cards ) give audience members a chance to take home the most important elements of your presentation in a format they can easily access without using a computer. Make sure you brand these materials in a way that’s visually consistent with your slide deck, with the same color scheme, icons, and other iconic features; otherwise, your recipients will just end up scratching their heads.

If you’re giving people multiple materials, try packaging them all into one convenient presentation folder. There are over 100 styles with a wide range of custom options, so feel free to get creative and make your folder stand out. Sometimes a unique die cut or an unusual stock is all you need to make something truly memorable. Here are some brochure templates to get you started.

12. Only use one chart or graphic per slide 

Having too much information on a slide is the easiest way to lose the focus of your audience. This is especially common when people are using graphs, charts or tables .

In this creative slide deck, the author made sure to only include one focal point per slide, and I applaud them for it. I know this may sound like a simple presentation tip, but I have seen many people lose their audience because the slides are too complex.

13. Keep your employee engagement presentations light   

Sometimes you need to get away from stuffy, professional presentation ideas to capture your audience’s attention. In this case, Officevibe used some very colorful and playful illustrations to stand out from the crowd.

I mean, who could not love the plant with a face on slide number 9? And if you want to see some more icons and illustrations like this, be sure to check out our article on how to tell a story with icons.

14.  Feature a map when talking about locations

Including a map in your creative presentations is a fantastic idea! Not only do they make an interesting focal point for your slide layout, they also make location-based information easier to understand.

This cool presentation example by our pro designers at Venngage uses maps to visualize information. This map both dominates the screen, and also displays all the locations being covered.

15. Use a font that is large and in charge 

If you are presenting to a small group or a packed stadium, make sure your audience can see your text! Use a large and in charge font that can be read from even the nosebleed seats. 

Honestly, you really never know where your unique presentation will be seen. It could be seen in a conference room or conference hall, and everything in between. Be ready to present almost anywhere with a bold and easy to read font.

16. Use pop culture references to build a fun presentation 

Using a meme or pop culture reference is another way that you can jive with your audience. It can be used to quickly get a point across without saying a word or create a moment that you can connect with the room. For example in this presentation, they used Napoleon Dynamite to give the audience feelings of nostalgia.

17. Use more than one font weight on your presentation cover slide

Just like you would never use one font on an infographic, you should never use just one font on your presentation (for more tips, read our guide on how to choose fonts ). In this presentation example from HubSpot, they use a bunch of different font weights to add emphasis to key words and ideas.

As you can see, they use a bold font on the presentation cover to bring attention to Steve Jobs name. This makes it easy for the audience to know what your presentation is going to be about from the beginning as well. 

18. Use a color theme for each idea 

Color is another extremely powerful nonverbal tool that you can use to guide your audience. By using a different color for each section of your creative presentation, Dell is able to clearly indicate when they are switching points or ideas.  Going from green to orange, and even red almost effortlessly.

This is a great way to design a list, guide, or a  how-to presentation as well. And each color can be assigned to a different step or number with ease. 

Need help picking the perfect color palette? Start here !

19. Use illustrations instead of pictures 

An easy way to keep your design consistent throughout your unique presentation is to use illustrations like in this slide deck by Domo.

They used illustrations instead of pictures to show off their subject on slide numbers 4-10 and it looks fantastic. This will ensure that the audience focuses on the content, instead of just the photo they could have used.

It also helps that illustrations are a top design trend for 2020 .

20. Use contrasting colors to compare two perspectives or sides of an argument 

Contrasting colors can be used to quickly show each side of topic or an argument. For example in this presentation, they use this trick to show the difference between their company and the competition.

They use color very effectively in this example to show their company is better, in a nonverbal way. With a lighter color and illustrated icons, the company is able to position them as the better choice. All without saying a word.  

Now if they would have used similar colors, or a single color the effect wouldn’t have been as strong or noticeable.

21. Include your own personal interests

This example is one of the most interesting and cool presentations I have seen in awhile, so I suggest checking out the entire thing. The creator inserts a bunch of his personal interests into the slide to make his presentation about education fun and relatable. And they even use a Super Mario Bros inspired presentation cover, so you know it has to be fantastic! 

22. Try to stick to groups of three 

How many major ideas should be present on your presentation aid? Never break your  presentation layout down into anything more than thirds. This means there should be at most three columns, three icons, three ideas and so on.  A great example of this idea starts on slide number 9 in this slide deck and continues throughout the rest of the presentation.

 Here is a great three columned slide template to get started with.

23. Add a timeline to help visualize ideas 

One of the best ways to visualize a complex process or historical event is to use a timeline presentation. A list of all the steps or events is just not going to cut it in a professional setting. You need to find an engaging way to visualize the information.

Take the presentation example above, where they outline the rise and fall of Athens in a visually stimulating way.

24. Label your graphs & charts 

If the people at Pollen VC had not added those annotations to the graphs on slide number 5, I would have definitely not known what to make of that graph.

But when you combine the visuals on a graph with descriptive text, the graph is able to paint a picture for your audience. So make your graphs easy to understand by annotating them (this is a chart design best practice ).

Create a free graph right here, right now!

25. White font over pictures just works 

There is a reason that you see so many quotes or sayings in a white font that are then overlaid on an image. That it is because it just works in so many situations and the text is very easy to read on any image.

If you do not believe me, look at the slide deck example above where they use a white font with a few different fonts and about 100 images. Plus the presentation template is chocked full of other tips on how to create a winning slideshow.

26. Color code your points across the whole presentation 

Here is another example of a presentation that uses color to keep their points organized. In this case, they use 10 different pastel colors to match the 10 different tips for employee engagement.

Check out our guide for how to pick the best colors for your visuals .

27.  Use a simple flow chart to break down a process

If you’re a fan of the movie Step Brothers , you may have heard of Prestige Worldwide before. In this fun presentation example they are back to sell you on their business model and growth plans.

This time, the presentation will be effective because it actually talks about what the business does.

Instead of making a music video, they use a helpful flowchart template to explain their business model. I would recommend following their lead and creating a dynamic flow chart to visually break down any process.  Try making your own flowchart  with Venngage.

28. Make your slide deck mobile friendly 

As more people move to mobile as their main device each year, making your presentations mobile-friendly is becoming increasingly important. This means that the text is large and there aren’t too many small details, so everything can scale down. Just like in this presentation example from the creators at Globoforce.

29. Don’t be afraid to include too many examples 

If you are presenting a complex idea to a group, especially a large audience, I would recommend having a ton of good examples. Now, I would try not to overdo it, but having too many it is better than having too few.

In this creative presentation, the people at With Company spend about 20 slides just giving great examples of prototyping. It doesn’t feel too repetitive because they all are useful and informative examples.

30.  Use consistent visual styles for an elegant presentation design

I have already written extensively about using icons in all of your design projects . I haven’t talked as much about matching icons to your presentation template.

But that’s just as important, especially if you want to create a professional presentation for your audience.

As you can see in the example above, the designer used minimalist icons that fit the slide designs. All of the other graphics, charts and visual elements fit together nicely as well.

Plus the icons don’t distract from the content, which could ruin a stellar presentation.

31. Use a consistent presentation layout 

In this example from Bannersnack, they use a consistent layout on each of their slides to help with the flow by using the same margins and text layout.

It’s a solid presentation example because they help the user know where to look immediately. It may seem like they are playing it safe, but anything that can speed up the time it takes for a user to read the content of the slides, the better.

32. Use loud colors as much as possible 

This is one of my favorite presentations because of the highlighter yellow they chose to use as their main color. It is actually very similar to one that I saw presented live a few years ago and I have used this same approach in a few presentations ideas of my own.

33. Pull your design motif from your content 

If you are talking about an interesting topic, why not use the topic as the main design motif in your creative slide deck? For example, in this presentation about sketchbooks, the creator uses a sketchy, handwritten motif. It is something simple that helps the audience connect with the topic. Plus, it allows you to include a ton of great examples.

34. Utilize a call & answer cadence

In this SlideShare about how to create a presentation, Peter Zvirinsky uses a two-step process to present a point. First, he presents the header presentation tip in a speech bubble. Then he shows a supporting point in a responding speech bubble. This gives the presentation a conversational flow.

35. Repurpose ebook content into a creative presentation

This slide deck was adapted perfectly from a Seth Godin ebook into the presentation example you see above. In the slide deck, they take a piece of content that would usually take a while to read and cut it down to a few minutes. Just remember to include only the most important ideas, and try to present them in a fresh way.

36. Add a timed outline to your presentation

We have already covered how important it is to have a table of contents in your slides but this takes it a bit further. On the second slide of the presentation below, the creator added how long each of the slides should take.

This is great because it helps your audience know the pace the presentation will take and will help keep them engaged. It also will help them identify the most important and in-depth parts of the presentation from the beginning.

37. Use a “next steps” slide to direct your audience

One of the worst things you can do as a presenter is to leave your audience without any idea of what to do next. A presentation should never just end because you ran out of slides.

Instead, use a conclusion or “next steps” slide like in the example above to finish your presentation. Sum up some of your main points, tell your audience where they can get more information, and push them to take action.

38. Go a bit crazy with the design 

Sometimes you need to throw convention to the wind to create something unforgettable. This presentation from Velocity Partners does just that, and I think it is one of my favorite ones from this entire roundup.

They use unconventional typography, quirky icons, and unusual presentation layout to make each slide surprising.

39. Make your slide deck easy to share 

If you are looking to get a lot of eyes on your presentation I would make sure people will want to share it on social media. How do you do that? By presenting new and interesting value. This means your content needs to answer a common question and your design needs to be clutter-free. For example, look at this very social media-friendly. The slides are simple and answer questions directly.

40.  Use shapes to integrate your photos into the slides

Want to include a bunch of images in your presentation? I say do it!

Now most of the time you would add a raw image directly to your slide. However, if you want to present images in a professional way I would recommend using an image frame .

Like in the example above, you can use these frame to create a collage of images almost instantly. Or provide a similar visual theme to all of your slides.  

Overall, I believe it’s a great way to add a new visual component to your presentation.

41. Hijack someone’s influence in your marketing slides

If you are stuck in the brainstorming phase of your presentation, focusing on a brand or influencer is a great place to start. It could be a case study, a collection of ideas or just some quotes from the influencer. But what makes it effective is that the audience knows the influencer and trusts them. And you are able to hijack their awareness or influence.

42. Put y our logo on every slide 

Whether you have a brand as powerful as Moz, or you are just getting started, you should always have your logo on each slide. You really never know where a presentation is going to end up–or what parts of it will! In this presentation template, Moz does a good job of including their branding and such to get others interested in Moz Local. Don’t have a logo yet? Our logo design tips will help you create a logo that’s iconic and will stand the test of time.

43. Lead your audience to it 

In this example, the creator uses something very similar to the call and answer approach I mentioned above, but with a little twist. Instead of just throwing all the info up at once, they use three slides to build to a particular point and include a subtle call to action in the third slide.

44. Make visuals the focal point of your presentation slides

If you haven’t noticed, illustrated icons are having a revival in 2020 and beyond. This is likely because minimalist icons dominated the design world for the past decade. And now people want something new.

Brands also like using illustrated icons because they are seen as genuine and fun.

And because they are so eye-catching you can use them as focal points in your presentation slides. Just like they did in the creative presentation example above.

Picking the perfect icon is tough, learn how you can use infographic icons like a pro.

45. Use a quirky presentation theme 

In this slide deck, the authors show you how to become an Animation Ninja…and they use ninja graphics and icons extensively. This caught my eye immediately because of the amount of work that I knew was behind this. It takes a lot of time and effort to line all of the content and graphic up to create a cohesive theme, but the payoff can be massively worth it.

46. Use a consistent background image 

I am a big fan of the way that Aleyda Solís uses only a single presentation background image throughout her presentation.

By using this tactic the audience is able to focus on what is happening in the foreground. Plus it gives the whole presentation a different feel than all the other ones I have looked at.

47. Summarize your points at the end

It’s a good idea to summarize your points before you end your presentation , especially if you’ve covered a lot of information. In this presentation example, Deanta summarizes exactly what they do on slide numbers 16-18. They also provide their contact information in case their audience has any more questions. I think that every presentation should use this same approach, especially the ones you are presenting outside of your company.

48. Use a minimalist presentation template

This slide deck from QuickBooks uses a minimalist theme to help the audience focus on what is important, the content.

There were only five colors used in the entire presentation and the graphics were simple line drawings. This made it easy to read and very pleasing to the eyes.

49. Split your slides length-wise 

Here is a simple template you can use to separate your headers, or main points, from your body text in a presentation.

Instead of using a solid presentation background, split the slide in half like Sequoia did in their slide deck. They used their brand color for the title portion and a neutral white for the supporting content.

Use this company report template to create a very similar slide right now!

50.  Embrace a bold color scheme throughout your presentation

My favorite part of the creative presentation example above is the use of complementary colors in each slide. As you can see, not one of the slides use the same color scheme but they all feel related connected.

This approach can be used to make your presentation visually unique, without abandoning a cohesive theme or idea.

51. Put text in the top left corner 

English speakers will instinctively try to read text from a top to bottom, left to right orientation. I would recommend using a left alignment for your text and adding additional things from top to bottom, just like Aaron Irizarry did in this presentation layout.

52. Break up your tables 

A plain table with a white background with black or gray lines are difficult to read on a computer screen, so why would you create one for viewing on a large presentation screen? You shouldn’t!

Instead, follow Intuit’s lead and break up the rows with a bit of color. This applies to data visualization in general , but think it is even more important when it comes to presentations.

53.  Present connected information in a visually similar way

In this startup pitch presentation example, they have a ton of information to get through. But they present their most important slides, the problem and solution, in a visually similar way.

By using a similar layout on each slide, the audience will be able to quickly make a connection. If you want to present two connected pieces of information, use this tactic.

From the font to the layout, it’s all basically the same. The main message they’re trying to impart is a lot more impactful to the reader.

If they would have used two wildly different presentation layouts, the message may have been lost.

54. Roundup expert tips into one presentation 

If you are looking for useful insights into the topic of your presentation, talk to some influencers in your niche. These are called “expert roundups” in the content marketing world and they are incredibly shareable.

Plus, they are pretty easy to create and have a great shelf life. In the example above, we talked to a gaggle of marketing experts about what makes a SlideShare great.

55. Use bold & brash colors throughout 

B old colors usually make your presentation template a lot easier to read and remember. Like at this slide deck made by our talented designers, which doesn’t shy away from bright, bold colors.

Want to pick a perfect color palette for your presentation? Read this blog on the do’s and don’ts of infographic color selection .

56. Make your graphs easy to read & interpret 

It should not require a Master’s degree in statistics to understand the graphs that someone uses in a presentation. Instead, the axis should be easy to read, the colors should enforce the point, and the data should be clearly plotted.

For example, in this presentation on slide numbers 14 and 25, the graphs nail all of those tips perfectly.

57. Condense your presentation into a memorable line 

If you can, try condensing your information into a simple one-liner to help the message stick with your audience. In slide number 36 of this presentation, Mika Aldaba does just that and shows that “Facts + Feelings = Data Storytelling.”

He does this again a few times throughout the presentation with other memorable one-liners.

58.  Bring attention to important figures with colorful icons

If you’re including a figure or number on your slides, I’m guessing you want the audience to actually see it.

That’s why I would recommend using an icon or graphic to highlight that figure. Maybe use a color or icon that isn’t used anywhere else in the presentation to make sure it really jumps off the screen.

In the presentation example above, all that’s used is a simple circle to make each figure a focal point. It’s really that easy, but many people leave it out of their presentations.

59. Anchor Your Text With Icons 

Having your text or content floating out in the white space of your presentation is not a good look.

Instead, you should use anchor icons to give the text something to hold onto and draw the audience’s eye. If you need some examples of good anchor icons, check out slide numbers 4, 7 and 9 in this presentation example.

60. Add semi-opaque lettering as a presentation background 

A neat way to keep your slide deck organized is to number your slides or points using semi-opaque lettering in the background.

Then, place your slide content on top of the opaque lettering. This helps your audience know that you are on the same point or idea, plus it just looks really good when done right.

61. Use simple or minimalist borders

An easy way to class up your slides is to put a border around your text. Take this presentation from Venngage that uses a couple of different types of borders to make their slides look professional.

Plus it helps keep all of your content contained on the slide!

62. Feature one idea per slide

Nothing is worse than a confusing, cluttered slide. Instead of trying to pack a bunch of ideas into one slide, focus on one core idea on each slide. If you need to flesh the idea out, just make another slide. 

Having trouble condensing your slides? Our presentation design guide can help you summarize your presentations and convey a singular idea with a clear focus.

63. Keep your style consistent with your brand 

You might be tempted to switch up the style of your creative presentations each time, but think again. If your brand is known for fun and lighthearted content, like Officevibe, let that be your style throughout all of the presentations you publish under that brand. This will make your slide decks recognizable and will enforce your brand’s message .

64. Use accent fonts to emphasize important numbers

Some people hate pie charts with a passion, but I think they are perfect for presentations. Especially if you want to bring attention to a figure or percentage point .

In this simple example, the pie charts are used to visualize each figure in an interesting way. Plus the pie charts fit the circular and fun theme of the rest of the presentation very well.

65. Use patterned and textured presentation backgrounds

Source  

Adding some subtle textures, icons or shapes to the presentation background can help make your slides more interesting. This is especially effective when you are only showing one point per slide, because it makes the slide design less sparse.

You can even switch up the colors on your shapes or textures to match the theme of the slide like DesignMantic did in this presentation.

66. Illustrate complex or confusing concepts with icons 

Ideally, you don’t want every slide in your deck to just be text. Instead, switch things up every few slides by using just pictures.

This slide deck by Gluwa uses icons to create little diagrams to illustrate their presentation ideas. Their slides still communicate concepts to the audience, but in a new way.

67. Overlay stock photos with color 

One problem many people encounter when creating a presentation or slide decks are finding photos with a consistent style. An easy way to edit photos to make them consistent is to add a transparent color overlay. In this example, Change Sciences uses a blue overlay on all of their photos. Plus, the color you choose can also help convey a particular mood.

68. Use black and white blocks 

An easy way to make your text pop, particularly on a photo background, is to use white font on a black blog background (and vise-versa). Check out this slide deck by Abhishek Shah, which uses this trick in an effective way.  

Now if you want to become a better leader this year, check out some of our favorite leadership infographics .

69. Use photos with similar filters 

Using a bunch of photos with wildly different filters can be jarring in a business presentation. To maintain a consistent flow, use photos with a similar filter and color saturation.

Take a look at this example from HubSpot across slide numbers 1-6 and you can see what I mean.

70. Visualize your points with diagrams 

Sometimes the best way to get your point across is to throw some diagrams into the presentation mix. But be sure to make is something that the audience can pick up on in three to five seconds tops.

For example, Jan Rezab uses a diagram to illustrate what takes up time in our lives on slide numbers 4, 5, 7 and 9!

71. Get experts to share tips

If you want to provide even more value to your audience than you can offer yourself, why not call in some expert reinforcement? See what experts in your field have to say on the topic of your presentation and include their tips and insights. Plus you can hijack their influence and expand your audience fairly quickly. 

72. Mimic a popular presentation style 

Uber’s pitch deck helped them raise millions of dollars in venture capital eventually leading to the glorious moment when they IPOed this year.

Aside from our sleek design upgrade (hey, we love good design!), this pitch deck template is the exact same one that Uber used to go from Idea to IPO.

And who knows? Maybe you might start the next Uber. But to raise money, you will need to create flawless business pitch decks to impress investors and raise those dollars.

73. Plan your presentation idea ahead of time

I know that minimalist designs are all the rage this year, but there is a big difference between a well-thought-out minimalist design and a lazy design without the finish touches. The same goes for a cluttered design with too many things going on at once.

That’s why it’s worth it to take the time to really plan out your presentation ideas and design concepts. Take this slide deck about storytelling by HighSpark. A quick glance will tell you that they put a lot of thought into designing their slides.

74.  Use tables to compare your brand to the competition in sales presentations/pitch decks

There are a lot of ways to visually compare similar things in this day and age. You could use a comparison infographic , or even a venn diagram!

However, when it comes to presentations I think that the simple table is best. Especially if you are comparing more than two things, like in this presentation example.

With a table, you can clearly lay out all the pros and cons of each idea, brand or topic without it being overwhelming to the audience. Plus, virtually everyone knows how to follow a table, so your information will be easy to consume.  

See more examples of the best pitch decks .

75. Blend icons & content effortlessly

Usually, icons are used as eye-catching objects detectors or anchors for text in a slideshow. But they can be used for so much more than that!

Like in this marketing presentation from Constant Contact they are very large but do not distract from the content.

76. Make your audience want more 

This tactic has been used by everyone since the idea of marketing was invented (or close to that). In this presentation example called “100 Growth Hacks, 100 Days” the creator only shows the audience the first 10 days of it and then uses a call to action at the end of the presentation to encourage them to seek out the rest.

The only risk with these kinds of presentation ideas is if your initial content is not great, you can’t expect your audience to seek out more information.

77. Use memes (for real, though) 

Usually, memes do not have a place in a serious business setting, so maybe don’t use them for formal presentations. But if you’re covering a lighter topic, or if you’re going for a fun presentation that will connect with your audience, don’t be afraid to throw a meme or two into the mix.

The audience immediately knows what you are trying to say when you use a popular meme in your presentation. For example, on slide number 7, the creator uses a meme to show that it will be hard to create great content

78.  Include a slide that introduces your team in pitch decks

In this presentation example, the creators decided to include their team on a slide. I think it’s a great gesture.

Showing your team can help the audience put a face to your brand and make the whole company feel more genuine. So if there is a team that has helped you get where you are today, give them some recognition!

79. Feature a complementary color palette

Even though I am not a formally trained designer, I still understand that proper color usage is the base of any good design. Although not all of the tenets of color theory work great for presentations, complementary colors are always a great pick.

Take a look at the color usage in this business presentation from Gary Vaynerchuk below . The purple and Snapchat yellow, which are complementary colors, look fantastic and the content jumps off the screen.

80. Use a heavy or bold font 

The very back of the room should be able to read your content if you are giving a group presentation. To ensure that your entire audience can read the slides I would not only use a large font, but also use a heavy font.  If you are confused by what I mean by a heavy font take a look at this unique presentation example by Slides That Rock.

81. Do the math for your audience

If you are going to use a graph in your presentation to compare data you should do the match for your audience. Do not make them do the calculations in their head because you will quickly lose their attention. For example, on slide number 5 the people at Sickweather lay out exactly what figures they want the audience to take from the slide.  

82. Use unique colors for different sections

The example below has 145 slides but it does not feel overwhelming or confusing.

That’s because each section has a different corresponding color, which makes it easier to flip through the slide deck and find a particular part.

83.  Give your presentation a catchy title that anyone can remember

What I really love about the presentation example above is that it features a catchy tagline on the second slide–“The 3S Framework.” It’s simple but it works!

This motto helps outline the structure of the presentation, and each slide referring back to it. Plus, the tagline will give the audience something to latch onto and remember from the presentation.

84. White backgrounds are not always bad 

A lot of people think that plain white background is a boring presentation faux pas. So the first thing they do is add color or image, which is not a bad thing at all.

But I also think that when used correctly, like in this example, plain white backgrounds can lead to beautiful presentations.

85. Split the header text from the body text

This idea is very similar to the one-two punch tactic that I talked about above, but it spreads the content over two slides as opposed to a single slide.

Use this design choice when you have fairly easy to follow presentations, like the one below from Steve Young. I know that this is effective because it allows the audience to focus on the main point before he drives it home with the supporting details.

86. Feature circle image frames 

I am a big fan of the design choices that Frank Delmelle uses in this slide deck about content strategy. He uses circles as his main design motif and frames his images in circles as well.

87. Talk directly to your audience 

This slideshow tops out at 70 slides but it’s a breeze to flip through. That’s because the creator, Ian Lurie, decided to present it in the form of a conversation instead of a classic slide deck.

While each slide only has one or two sentences, it flows just like a friendly chat. He also includes the necessary pauses, breaks and other conversational tics that helps make it even more convincing.

88. Illustrated icons are key this year 

Icons add a fun and functional element to your designs. In this presentation by Iryna Nezhynska, they use illustrated icons to make a potentially intimidating topic seem manageable.

89. Highlight key numbers and percentages 

Surprising percentages have the ability to excite and shock an audience. To make the percentages on your slides even more impactful, present them in a different color or font than the rest of the text.

In the presentation example above, Contently uses that exact tactic to bring more attention to key numbers.

90. Use a gradient as your presentation background 

Just like bold color schemes, gradients are a current social media graphic design trend . They may feel retro to some, but I believe they will be around well into the future.  

Gradients are perfect for presentation backgrounds because they are so versatile and eye-catching. I mean, you can literally create a gradient with any colors you can think of! And they look a lot more interesting than a simple flat background.

So embrace the future and use a gradient in your next presentation!

91. Track the steps in a process 

In this example, the creators from O.C. Tanner add a very interesting feature to their slides, starting on slide number 6. If you take a look at this business presentation template, you will see that they number the steps in a process and track which step they’re on at the bottom of the slides.

92. Use mind blowing font pairings 

The creator of this slide deck uses at least 10 different types of fonts. And it looks fantastic because they know that one font choice is boring. But this does not mean that you should use a bunch of random fonts–pick font pairs that play well together and keep your font choices for different types of information consistent throughout the presentation.

93. Make your ideas as obvious as possible 

Your audience shouldn’t be guessing at what you mean. That is why I think that this presentation example from In a Rocket is so powerful because they make the information easy to digest.

Learning to code can be challenging, but they break the information down with simple diagrams and clear examples. Heck, I have not touched CSS in a few years and I could still follow what they were instructing.

94. Use images that will actually scale 

A large mistake that you can make in your slide deck is using low-quality images. They may look great on your computer, but as soon as the slides are put up on a screen, the low quality will show. In this example by ThoughtWorks, all of their presentation background images look great and will scale well to a bigger screen. And that is even after the image compression that LinkedIn most likely does!

95. Take risks with your presentation layout

I honestly was blown away the first time I saw this presentation because it capitalized on such a risky design idea. The creators from Weekdone literally turned their presentation into an 8-Bit video game. A nd if you are looking for something that will stick with your audience, I would take a few creative cues from them!

96. Seriously, you better use memes 

In this day and age memes are mainstream, so why wouldn’t you use them in a creative presentation? These do not have to be the coolest meme that all the hip kids are sharing, they can be some of the classics. Like the one that Dana DiTomaso uses on slide 16 to emphasize that it’s a trap!

97. Follow a clear design rhythm

I really like how this presentation introduced each new point in three or four steps, using the same design. It gave the presentation a rhythm that flowed almost like a song!

I would recommend using this approach if you have to introduce multiple points per slide.

98. Use LOTS of icons

If you have made it this far in the list you have already probably seen how effective icons are in presentations. They are the perfect way to support your ideas and make your presentation more pleasing to the eyes.

For example, take a look at all the icons SlideShop uses in this presentation. Almost every slide has at least one icon and a few have more than ten!

99. Give each slide its own spark

I know this goes against earlier points I had about creating a cohesive theme in your presentation layout, but everyone knows that rules are made to be broken (if you can do it better)!

In this slide deck, the team at Officevibe literally created different designs for all 27 of their slides. And to top it off, each of the designs fit the quotes they used extremely well.

100. Use LARGE header cards 

An easy way to stick to that “one piece of content on each slide rule” is to use header cards. They are basically the header that you would normally use in a blog post or article, but it gets is own slide before the content. Here is an example of that idea in the real world in this presentation from Brian Downard.

101. Ask your audience questions 

I think one of the most common elements I saw in all the slide decks was that they asked the audience questions. You can use questions to engage with your audience and get them thinking a bit harder about the topic. The Site By Norex team did an exceptional job of this when they explored what the topic of what makes up a brand.

Need some more info about creating a memorable brand? Check out some of the best branding stats for 2020 and beyond!

102. Introduce yourself and your brand 

I would say that a majority of presentations that I looked at in this list just jumped right into the content without an introduction to the author or brand in the actual slide deck.

This introduction is very important because it establishes your credentials from the beginning, especially if someone is just reading the slide deck. In this example from Losant, they do just that by spending the first few slides telling the audience who they are.

103. Mix up your mediums 

Finally, this slide deck effectively marries two very distinct content forms together: digital images and hand-drawn illustrations. In this example, Freshdesk uses the timeless classic of a comic strip, Calvin & Hobbes, in something so modern to inform the audience in a fun way.

104. Show off your credentials 

Just like with any piece of content, people are more likely to believe what you are saying if they know what your company does. That is why I really like when people insert their qualifications right into the presentation slides. Just like Andreas von der Heydt, from Amazon, did at the beginning of this presentation about thinking big.  

105. Highlight key data points 

If you are presenting a chart or graph on a dry topic, I would recommend using a single color to highlight the most important data point. For example, the investment firm a16z uses orange to highlight the data points they want their audience to focus on in each of their charts.

Check out some examples of how to highlight your key information in bar charts .

106. Show your audience where to find more information 

A lot of people end their presentations by literally just running out of slides, and that is the wrong way to do it. Instead, CBInsights consistently pushes their readers towards another piece of content at the end. This is also where you can insert a call to action!

107. Tell your origin story

  Source

This idea is kinda similar to showing off your company qualifications at the beginning of your presentation. But with this approach, you are trying to make an emotional connection with your audience instead of just showing off accolades.

And Rand from Moz does this extremely well in the presentation example above.

108. Use one focused visual 

This presentation uses a central visual of a structure, with each slide moving down the levels of the structure. This is incredibly powerful because the entire presentation is about sinking your company, and the visual they designed mirrors that idea perfectly. Using one focus visual also makes your slide deck design cohesive.

109. Don’t take presentation design too seriously

Sometimes we get caught up trying to make the perfect presentation and it ends up making us crazy!

But in this presentation example, Jesse Desjardins uses a mix of wit and hilarious retro images to create a memorable and light-hearted presentation.

110. Use size to your advantage 

I am a big fan of using bubble charts and other charts that use size to compare two pieces of data. That is why I like this pitch deck from the ShearShare team that utilizes a size-based chart on slide number 9. The chart is used to illustrate the massive growth potential in their industry.

111. Split section headers from the main content with different background colors 

In this presentation, Seth Familian uses alternating colors in a very interesting way. For each of the title slides, he uses a black color background, but for the content slides he uses a white background.

This helped the readers follow along and comprehend what was on the page even faster. And when you are presenting to hundreds of different types of people, this can make or break your presentation.  

112.  Have a conversation with your audience 

Take a conversational tone in your presentation is a great way to encourage your audience to participate.

In this slide deck example, we presented a simple storyline and use questions to engage with the audience throughout. And it helped create a flow throughout the  presentation template  that is easy to follow.

113.  Include your branding throughout your presentation ideas

Another thing that people seem to forget when they are working on a presentation is to include their business’s branding. You honestly never know where your work is going to be shared, so it is important to make sure people know it’s yours. HubSpot does an outstanding job of this on all their presentations, as you can see in the bottom left corner of each slide.

Plus you have spent a ton of time creating your  brand guidelines , might as well use them.

114.  Include multiple slides to build to your main point

Try using multiple slides to build to your main point. This helps you walk through the components of one overarching point while also building suspense. In this slide deck, the creator uses 6 slides to build up to one main point, adding a new illustration to the diagram on each slide.

115.  Split the difference 

Use either the left or right side of the slide to hold your text and the opposite to display an image. If you are using a photo or graphic as the main background in your slides, this is a great way to keep things organized. 

116. There are millions of fonts out there…use them

Hey, I love simple fonts just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you need to step up your font game to stand out. For example, WebVisions uses a very gritty, probably custom font in their unique presentation that fits the topic extremely well. Take a look!

117.  Build your presentation content around icons 

Try using icons as the focal points of your presentation layout. This example from Omer Hameed  uses icons to draw the audience’s eyes  right to the middle of the presentation, where the main points and headers are located.  

118.  Mix up font style to emphasize important points

If you would like to draw some extra attention to a certain word or idea,  switch up the font  to one that is bolder. For example, in this oldie but goodie presentation from HubSpot they use a heavy sans-serif font to highlight ideas, as opposed to the serif font for the other text.

119.  Add personal touches to your presentation

If you want to create a truly unique presentation, add personal touches. In the slide numbers 6-13 from this presentation, the creator adds something to their design that no one else could ever have: they use original drawings they did themselves.

120.  Harness the power of your own brand colors

Sometimes people forget that they already have a battle-tested color palette that they can use in their  brand colors . I try to incorporate one of our brand colors in most of my designs and it makes so much easier to choose colors.

In this simple presentation example, Spitfire Creative used a palette that had both of their brand colors throughout the slideshow.

121.  Used dark-colored blocks to highlight words

I have seen this trick used in a lot of presentations and it works well. Highlight certain words or phrases by laying them overtop a colored rectangle. Take slide number 7 in this presentation example as a great guide. Use it to bring attention to a saying or idea you really want your audience to remember.

122.  Show the audience your mug 

This presentation example comes from the same presentation as a previous one, but it was too good not to share. Throughout the slides, you will see Rand from Moz pop up to add a human element to the design. Using an image of your team or yourself can put the audience at ease and make it easier to connect with the presenter.

123.  Include a helpful table of contents 

I only saw this presentation idea used a few times throughout my research, but I believe it should be used a lot more. A table of contents will help the audience know what to expect and keep their focus throughout. Especially if you are creating a presentation that is a bit longer than normal.

124.  Do not post just screenshots, do more

Screenshots of a program or app are very common in any blog post, but I think you can do a little better when it comes to presentations.

So instead of just posting a boring screenshot, add a little more to the slide by using illustrations and product shots. If you are not sure what I am talking about, just check out how great the screenshots look at slide numbers 7 and 8 in this presentation.

125. Highlight keywords using BOLD color 

Here’s another slide deck that uses different colors and blocks to highlight keywords. If you are going to use text-heavy slides, then make sure the key points are easy to pick out. Take this slide deck: starting in slide number 4, they highlight exactly what they want you to take away from the text on each slide!

Enough presentation ideas for you?

You made it! I applaud you for making it through all those presentations. Hopefully, now you have a few nifty presentation ideas ready for when you need them.

The next step is to create a presentation that will captivate a meeting room, an amphitheater, and even the world (hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream big).

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How to Design a PowerPoint: A Visual Guide to Making Slides with Impact

Home > Speaking > How to Design a PowerPoint

A quick Google Images search for “worst PowerPoint slides” proves two very clear realities: 1) anybody can create a PowerPoint; and 2) many don’t know how to do them well.

That’s understandable, though. Unless you’ve recently taken courses or training in design, data visualization, and public speaking, you likely haven’t had any more education on how to create an effective slide deck than a ten-year-old.

And you’re not alone.

Bad PowerPoints are everywhere: professor lectures, science conferences, human resources trainings, team meetings, sales review gatherings, thesis and dissertation defenses, product pitches, job interviews, you name it. Some of the brightest people in the world have created some of the most awful PowerPoints. For most, it’s just not a natural skill.

That’s unfortunate, too, because a well-designed slide deck can make a tremendous difference in the reception of the message you’re trying to convey.

To start designing excellent slide decks right away, follow my quick guide to designing better PowerPoints right after this paragraph. To get a whole workshop’s worth of information about how to design better slides, scroll below. 🙂

Click image to enlarge.

The question is, does designing a nice PowerPoint actually matter?

Well, if you’ve made it this far, you already know my opinion. But the short answer is, YES! Effective slide decks can make a HUGE difference in the outcome of your presentation. Why? Because slides—which should be used to supplement and enhance your well-prepared script (not be the presentation, as we often see in slides that are nothing more than bulleted lists)—significantly improve engagement during the presentation and recall after the presentation.

Basically, if you want people to both pay attention AND remember what you said, good slides can make all the difference. Plus, research has shown that people trust information more when it’s well-designed. In sum, good slides will cause your audience to:

• Pay attention more and stay more engaged;
• Remember the key messages from your presentation better;
• Trust you and your information more; and
• Believe you are super smart and awesome. (I mean, you already are, but good slides will seal the deal.)

Bad slides, on the other hand, are not only distracting, but they can actually damage a person’s ability to understand and follow your message.

At best, poorly designed slides will make you look less professional. At worst, they’ll encourage people to not listen to anything you have to say. Bad slides (which are caused by a whole range of things, including being too text-heavy, too busy, too inconsistent, or too color crazy, etc. [see my article on 40 Ways to Screw Up a PowerPoint Slide ]), overwhelmingly distract from your presentation.

If a slide has too much text, people try to read it and listen to you at the same time—which damages their ability to do either well. If your slides are too busy, your audience won’t be able to understand the information quick enough. If it’s ugly, well…people just tune out and ignore (and judge you, to boot).

Okay, so enough of the why . Let’s get to making better slides!

The 9 Steps to Designing a Better PowerPoint Slide

Step 1: empathize with your audience.

The term “empathy” in this context comes from a relatively new theory called “design thinking,” in which you can apply the mindset of a designer to a variety of contexts. So, whether you’re creating a toothbrush, a video game, an automobile, or…a PowerPoint, you need to be thinking a like a designer—which starts with empathy.

Empathizing with an audience is like applying the Golden Rule: present unto them as you would like to be presented to. Of course, the content of presentation itself comes first and foremost, but the design of your slides should support and enhance your content, so you’ll be thinking of your script and your slides at the same time. To begin, it’s best to start with a few concrete questions about your audience:

• Why are they there? Are they at your presentation because they want to be, or because they have to be? Is your presentation the only one of the day, or is it one of many (like at a conference)? Are they expecting to learn, be entertained, be inspired, be trained? In essence, you want to know their state of mind before coming so you can plan to accommodate that as best you can.
• Why would they care? Dig deep here. Does your audience actually care about the topic as much as you do? And…if you don’t care, why don’t you? If the topic isn’t meaningful and you can’t make it feel that way, then why even present? But…if they do care, know why they do. What will they hope for and expect out of it? What can you do to meet and exceed their expectations?
• What do they need to know? And what DON’T they? How much about your subject do they already know? Are they novices, experts, or a blend of both? Does it make more sense to break your topic into separate presentations on separate days, rather than giving it all at once? Is it focused and narrow enough to make an impact? Can you leave anything that is irrelevant out?
• What will keep them engaged? Consider your content and your big takeaways. Consider the personalities and knowledge base of the audience? What can you do to keep them engaged? Now…remember that “engaged” doesn’t mean “entertained” (though it can). If you’re a scientist presenting on bacterial infections in the liver, entertainment is obviously not appropriate. But…if you don’t engage them, they may not appreciate your research, no matter how valuable it is. What will they want to see, hear, and know and how can you display that to them in a way that will keep them interested?

Once you have clear idea about your audience’s needs and desires, you can begin to develop slides (along with the content of your script) that will give them exactly what they’re looking for rather than wasting their time (and yours).

Step 2: Define the Story

Think of your presentation as a story and you, the presenter, as an author in real time. As you deliver a presentation, you are creating the tone, setting, and plot for what happens. Your execution of the presentation will, if done right, create a climax/conflict and an important resolution. Consider how your slide development functions like the five components of a story, then write down how you plan to control (define) that story:

• The Setting. You create a mood and presence by the way you enter the room, interact with the audience, and display your title. While you may not have full control over who comes and what the room looks like, you do have relative control over the tone and ambiance and how they will react to your message. Consider the title of your presentation. Does it capture your message while also creating a buzz about your topic? Can you add a photo on the title slide that will intrigue your audience? What colors will you use? How do you plan to interact with the slides and how will you keep the audience involved?
• The Characters. You may not know all the people in the room, but you should know as much about them as possible (start with Step 1). Still, you have a way to shape their interest and engagement in this topic. Characters in this story are stakeholders. Your ultimate goal for giving should be one of three things: help them think about something in a new, meaningful way; learn something valuable they didn’t know before; and/or act as a result of what they learned. If you can’t get them to one of those three points, you’ve never really developed the characters.
• The Plot . A plot in storytelling is a series of events that build towards a conclusion. A plot needs to have direction, with clear and meaningful series of events. As you develop your script, you should be thinking about your rhetorical progression of ideas—your building towards a final outcome or conclusion. The development of slides can help you with this and they can help your audience stay on track. The key is, you need to make sure your audience is following the plot. If the plot starts to feel loose, disconnected, fragmented, or…all over the place, you’ll lose them faster than a 0-star rated movie.
• The Conflict. There must be some reason why everyone is there to see you presentation. It’s possible they don’t fully understand it themselves, but you, as the presenter, must make their purpose evidently clear. You must make them care. The more and more you pull them into your subject matter, the more you have effectively built a climax, which is the key to any successful story.
• The Resolution . The resolution is the takeaway—it’s what resolves the conflict. If you’ve built a strong climax, you now need to make sure your audience leaves with something valuable. If they leave thinking in a new, meaningful way; if they have learned something valuable that they can apply today; or if they are ready and knowledgeable about how to act, then the resolution is there and you, the author, have done your job.

Step 3: Brand Your Message

Jeff Bezos is famous for having said, “Brand is what others say about you when you’re not in the room.” You might think similarly about your presentation. How will your audience feel about your presentation afterwards, when you’re not around?

That can be an intimidating question to ask. And, it may seem a little odd to think about your message as a “brand.” But…applying brand theory to messaging makes a lot of sense. You want people to get on board with what you have to say. To do that, you have to establish what they value, what motivates them, and what you’ll have to do meet or exceed their expectations.

Brand experts use a lot of terms to describe and define brands. Let’s address a few, and apply them to slide design:

• Differentiation. How yours is different from the rest. What can you do to make your message stand out from a world of clutter and information? What makes yours unique? Is it your approach, the stories you tell, your language, your humor, your ideas, something else?
• Authenticity . How much you genuinely care. Audiences can tell if you’re passionate or not. They know if you care about both your topic and them learning it. If you fake it, the message gets diluted. Use your slides to help showcase how much you care.
• History . What people already know about you, your topic, or your experience. Do you need to establish credibility, or do you already have it? Do you have experience you can lean into? Does your audience already like/agree with this topic? Is it totally new and unfamiliar to them? How can you bring the history of your topic and yourself into the presentation? Will you audience need a primer on the history or does it matter?
• Simplicity. Making the most important things stick. Good brands almost always have simple logos, simple taglines, and simple brand positioning statements. Many also focus on limited products—they focus on what they do well. Your message can work the same way. Can you simplify your entire message into 2 – 5 key points? Can you reduce the amount of information that has to be taken in all at once? Can you help organize and chunk information to be clearer and simpler to follow? People generally have a hard time remembering complex information all at once—determine what the real purpose of your presentation is and what your audience can reasonably get out of it, then simplify to make sure that happens.
• Visual Identity . Your message, like a brand, can be enhanced if people resonate with the overall look and feel. Just like with buying a brand of shoes, people will be drawn to the design of your information. If it looks static, cliche, poorly design, or just plain ugly, you’ve created an undesirable visual identity and people will have a harder time buying into it. But if you can take your message and harmonize with strong design and imagery, people will be more likely to be attracted by, latch onto, and “buy in” to what you have to say. What should your visual identity look like, considering your topic?

Step 4: Select Your Fonts

The choice of your font may seem a small thing, but it can make the difference between a sleek, professional presentation and one that is static, boring, or, worse, painfully obnoxious.

If you’re not a professional designer, being font savvy may not come natural. Fortunately, there just a few rules you can follow to help you make your choices:

• Avoid the Defaults . In PowerPoint (as in MS Word), the default font is Calibri. Before 2010, the default was Times New Roman. Other programs use Arial or Myriad Pro as the default. What’s wrong with defaults? The fonts themselves are actually fine fonts—that’s why Microsoft went with them. BUT…because they’re the defaults, they are so widely used that they’ve become dull. If you just leave the defaults, your audience will subconsciously feel that you didn’t design your PowerPoint (because you probably didn’t). Just changing the font can bolster your PowerPoint’s professionalism quickly.
• Stick to Simple, Modern Fonts. Okay, so you don’t want to use the defaults, but what DO you use? Something simple. Don’t go crazy. Find something that is similar to the default, with just a little variation. Find something that is super easy to read and looks clean, simple, and sleek. Nothing distracting. Remember: you want people to focus on your story and message, not the lettering. Look at the graphic above for a list of some good, simple, modern fonts. Avoid, at all costs, the notoriously ugly or cliched fonts: Comic Sans; Chiller; Papyrus; Algerian; Curlz MT; and so forth.
• Make Sure Your Fonts Are on the Computer(s) You’re Presenting On. Remember: fonts are installed on individual computers, not attached to a program. A misunderstanding that many people have is that a font comes with PowerPoint (or any other program you’re working on). That’s NOT accurate. Fonts are installed on your computer. So…if you use a cool font that was on your desktop PC, but you are presenting your slides on a MacBook laptop, you’ll want to check that both computers have the font you’re using. Some fonts are pretty standard and you’ll find them on pretty much all computers: Palatino Linotype, Century Gothic, Segoe UI, Garamond. Others, however, are proprietary and may not be on other computers: Acumin Pro, Raleway, Helvetica. If you know you’ll be presenting on multiple different computers, find a standard font. One I’ve always liked to use is Century Gothic.
• Consider Using Two Fonts . The “two-font rule” suggests that designs will be more attractive if they use two fonts—one for headings and titles, the other for body text. You can get away with just one font if you make your headings stand out in some way—by size, weight, or color—but it’s often a nice aesthetic to use two. Just be sure that the two fonts are obviously different from each other (don’t use both Arial AND Century Gothic—they’re too similar, which will look like an accident) and that they harmonize well together. It’s often good to use a serif font (the type with little “feet” like in Palatino Linotype) paired with a sans serif font (the kind without “feet,” like Century Gothic).

Step 5: Narrow Your Colors

A hallmark of any good design is a simple, consistent color scheme. Keep your slide designs to fewer than four colors. Often, it’s good to use black, white, gray, and then one or two accent colors. Years ago, when I was new to design, I had someone tell me that a brochure I created looked like a clown exploded on the page. You DON’T want your slides to look like a clown exploded! To avoid that, find your color scheme in advance and stick to it.

Color can be tricky. If you work for a company that already has a pre-established style guide and color scheme, definitely use it! Not only is that important for your company’s brand, it makes your life a whole lot easier. If you do have to choose colors yourself, though, consider going to this website first: color.adobe.com . You can type things into the “explore” bar and you’ll be led to color schemes that look nice.

What you want to look for are colors that are a bit muted and won’t overwhelm the eyes of your viewers. Remember that you want to keep a high contrast so it doesn’t strain your audience members’ eyes. So…stick to black or really dark gray for text. Keep a white or very light background. Use the accent color for headings or important pieces of content. And…just make sure the colors match your topic or industry.

Step 6: Divide into Sections

Good presentations are well organized. Your slides should visually reflect your organization by using different slide “types” for different parts of your presentation or content.

All presentations should have at least three slide types: a title slide, a body slide, and a closing slide. Most presentations will have a fourth: a section slide. Section slides are used to transition your presentation from one major topic to the next. Many presentations can also benefit from callout slides, which are used to designate unique types of content that show up periodically—like for direct quotes or polling questions to audience members.

If you’ve ever taken a college course on public speaking, you probably remember your professor telling you to use “signposts.” A signpost is a metaphor for visual or oral cues that let your reader know where they’re at in the journey. Signposts keep your audience oriented. Sectioning your slides provides a visual signifier to your audience that you are shifting gears—plus, it just makes your slides feel cohesive, professional, and organized.

Take the time to design your slide types first. Then, fill in the content from your presentation script.

A quick note about body slides, though. These are going to be the most frequently used slides, the ones that you put the majority of your content on. Note that body slides don’t all have to look identical. They need to be consistent in design—repeating the same fonts, colors, photography style, highlights, etc.—but the layouts can change. Providing some visual variation is good for your audience.

Step 7: Visualize Every Slide

One of the biggest errors inexperienced presenters make is believing that audience members need to be able to read a lot of text to understand the message.

The reality is, when you put a lot of text on the screen—even if it’s in a bulleted list—you end up creating more difficulty for your audience. They’ll try to read while also trying to listen to you, creating a conflict of noise that will eventually cause them to only catch about half of what you wanted them to. Plus, a lot of text is boring and not efficient for the human brain.

Research has actually shown (and there is significant evidence to prove this) that making information visual is good for humans for four reasons: engagement, cognition, trust, and recall.

• Visual information is more engaging . Most all people will tell you that they are “visual learners.” The reality is that pretty much all humans are. We pay attention to visual information because our brains are designed to process visual information faster. When you provide visuals—photographs, charts, diagrams, icons, etc.—people will pay far more attention than if you just have text. In fact, if you just have text on a screen, people will likely zone out.
• Visual information is easier to understand. If designed well and related to the topic, people will understand visual information faster than they will from reading. Even as you read this article (assuming you’re still here!), the information that is really going to help you are the visual examples and explanations I’ve added for each section. That’s the stuff where you’ll say, “aha! now I know what Curtis is telling me to do.” All this text—it’s just ancillary stuff to provide more detail. But the photos/graphics are what you’ll really learn from.
• Visualized information builds trust. For better or for worse, humans are wired to trust information more when it has been visualized, especially when it looks professional. If you take a table of data and turn it into a data visualization that is professionally design, people will tend to trust it more. Something about taking the time to visualize information makes people assume you know what you’re talking about. Now, that said, you have to make sure your data visualizations are accurate. The real pitfall here is that people will tend to trust it more, even if it’s misleading. If they discover any flaws, your entire argument (and credibility) will go out the window.
• Visual information is easier to remember . Research studies have shown that visual information will be retained more than six times better if visuals are attached to it. If you actually want people to remember your presentation you must do two things: tell stories and use pictures. If you simply regurgitate information and make it very text-heavy, your audience will forget almost everything you said within three days. If you add pictures, though, they’ll have mental images to trigger memory, helping them retain your message much longer.

Find ways to visualize every chance you can, making sure that your visuals emphasize, clarify, or enhance the content you are talking about. Look at the examples above. Find ways to reduce text and enlarge graphics; turn bullets into images or icons; and use simple, easy to understand graphics that draw attention to the most important point.

Step 8: Play with Photos and Layouts

This is the one that takes the most practice, but it can be the most fun and rewarding. Recognize that your body slides can take multiple forms and that there are endless ways to organize, crop, and adjust visualizations, photos, headings, and designs. As long as you keep your color scheme, fonts, and highlighting techniques consistent, the slides will still feel uniform and professional, while giving variety to your slides.

Some things to think about as you play with the design of your slides:

• CONTRAST: Make sure you use high contrast in colors, especially for areas where you have text (black text on white backgrounds almost always work best). In addition, make sure that things that are different actually look significantly different. If two fonts are different sizes, make them obviously different sizes. If you’re using two colors, make them completely different colors. When two things look similar, there isn’t much contrast, which looks accidental and/or visually dull.
• REPETITION: Repetition is all about consistency in design. Repeat design elements throughout: fonts, colors, highlights, logos, shapes, styles, etc. Repeat the same visual feel for photos. Use the same types of icons and graphics. The more unified the design, the strong the appeal and the more professional you look.
• ALIGNMENT: Make sure everything on your slide is aligned with something else. Nothing should be “floating,” or placed arbitrarily. Align photos to titles, words to other words, rules/lines to other elements. Keep it all tightly aligned and crisp.
• PROXIMITY: Put things that are related close together and things that aren’t apart from each other. The brain will automatically assume that, if two things are next to each other (like a photo and a caption) that they are connected. Avoid confusing your audience by separating things that are different and connecting things that go together.
• Move Photos to the Bleeds . The term “bleed” is a graphic design principle that describes moving photos to the edge of page (where the ink “bleeds” off) in order to reduce visual noise. An old design principles developed by Josef Albers, 1+1=3, suggests that when you insert two objects, you automatically create a third—the space between. When you insert a photo, you end up creating a margin of white space around the edges. If that white space isn’t necessary, just make the image larger and push clear to the edge of the screen. This will remove the margin and the noise. Plus, it just makes slides look simpler and more professional and it really draws the eyes to the photo.

Step 9: Orient Your Audience

In addition to creating section slides (see Step 6 above), you can help your audience—and yourself—stay organized by giving visual cues and textual information in footers, slide counts, and headers or sidebars.

These orienting features of a slide deck can be especially valuable if you’re giving a long presentation, workshop, or training.

Start by creating a footer. These aren’t required and you don’t need them on every slide, but in most costs, presentations will benefit from some information in the footer. Some of the most common things to include in a footer:

• Company logo
• Company name
• Name of presenter
• Name of event or conference
• Title of presentation
• Copyright information

Beyond the footer, you can also include a slide count (in example above, look at the bottom right of the slide). While some argue that this can be distracting, most would say that a slide count will help audience members know how much more to expect, putting their “I’m being held hostage by this presenter!” fears away.

If your presentation is particularly long (like, say, 45 minutes or more) or you’re giving a workshop, you can really help your audience by giving them a sort of contents or guide, so that they know where they’re at in relation to everything else. You might, for example, create a small sidebar on the left that includes the section they’re in with the subsection. Or, as in the example at the top (see top left of example), you might just include which section you’re on and a summary title of that section.

There is no one or perfect way to orient your audience members. Just make sure it’s on the forefront of your mind as you work to build empathy into your slide design. The presentation is for them, after all, not you. Give them as much as you can to help them appreciate the message you’re delivering.

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How to Cite Sources in Presentations: A Detailed Guide

Learn how to cite sources in presentations accurately to enhance credibility and engage your audience effectively.

Understanding the Importance of Citing Sources

Choosing the right citation style.

• APA (American Psychological Association) : Often used in the social sciences.
• MLA (Modern Language Association) : Common in humanities.
• Chicago/Turabian Style : Frequently used in business, history, and fine arts.
• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) : Preferred in technical fields.

How to Cite Sources in the Slide Content

• "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs (Apple Inc.)
• According to research by Harvard Business Review, innovative companies outperform the market average by 45%.
• 75% of marketers saw an increase in engagement through targeted emails. (Source: Mailchimp, 2023)

Incorporating Citations Visually

Tools and software for managing citations.

• EndNote: Great for managing references and bibliography.
• Zotero: Useful for collecting, organizing, managing, and citing research sources.
• Mendeley: Helps in organizing research, creating bibliographies, and even networking with other researchers.

Best Practices for Citing Sources in Presentations

• Be Consistent: Use the same citation style throughout your presentation.
• Keep it Readable: Make sure that citations do not clutter your slides. Keep them brief and to the point.
• Verify Sources: Always double-check the credibility of your sources before including them in your presentation.
• Practice Ethical Citing: Always give credit where it's due, even for images, videos, and music.

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Conference Presentation References

This page contains reference examples for works presented at conferences and meetings, including the following:

• Conference presentation
• Abstract of a conference presentation

1. Conference presentation

Evans, A. C., Jr., Garbarino, J., Bocanegra, E., Kinscherff, R. T., & Márquez-Greene, N. (2019, August 8–11). Gun violence: An event on the power of community [Conference presentation]. APA 2019 Convention, Chicago, IL, United States. https://convention.apa.org/2019-video

• Parenthetical citation : (Evans et al., 2019)
• Narrative citation : Evans et al. (2019)
• Provide the names of the presenters in the author element of the reference.
• Provide the full dates of the conference in the date element of the reference.
• Describe the presentation in square brackets after the title. The description is flexible (e.g., “[Conference session],” “[Paper presentation],” “[Poster session],” “[Keynote address]”).
• Provide the name of the conference or meeting and its location in the source element of the reference.
• If video of the conference presentation is available, include a link at the end of the reference.

2. Abstract of a conference presentation

Cacioppo, S. (2019, April 25–28). Evolutionary theory of social connections: Past, present, and future [Conference presentation abstract]. Ninety-ninth annual convention of the Western Psychological Association, Pasadena, CA, United States. https://westernpsych.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/WPA-Program-2019-Final-2.pdf

• Parenthetical citation : (Cacioppo, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Cacioppo (2019)
• To cite only the abstract of a conference presentation, include the word “abstract” as part of the bracketed description (e.g., “[Conference presentation abstract]”).

Conference presentation references are covered in the seventh edition Publication Manual Section 10.5

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If I Could Only Invest In 1 "Magnificent Seven" Stock Over the Next Decade, This Would Be It

• Amazon's cloud business is starting to accelerate thanks to some savvy investments around artificial intelligence (AI).
• Amazon has a strong balance sheet to continue funding its new AI-driven ambitions.
• Despite this robust financial profile, Amazon stock looks dirt cheap compared to historical valuation levels.
• Motley Fool Issues Rare “All In” Buy Alert

NASDAQ: AMZN

Amazon looks like a misunderstood opportunity in the red-hot artificial intelligence (AI) landscape.

Over the last year, investors have turned to the " Magnificent Seven " stocks in search of outsized gains, and for good reason.

Mega-cap tech companies such as Nvidia , Microsoft , Alphabet , and Meta Platforms have all outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite over the last 12 months. Much of these gains can be attributed to a rising interest in artificial intelligence (AI), a market dominated by the Magnificent Seven.

Yet despite the impressive performances of the companies above, I see another member of the Magnificent Seven as a superior choice for long-term investors.

E-commerce and cloud computing giant Amazon ( AMZN 0.66% ) has underperformed the Nasdaq over the last year and has basically generated returns in line with those of the S&P 500.

With shares down roughly 14% over the last month, I think now is a prime opportunity to buy the dip in Amazon.

Let's dig into how Amazon is quietly disrupting the AI landscape and assess why now looks like a lucrative opportunity to scoop up shares at a dirt-cheap valuation.

Don't call it a comeback

One of the biggest opportunities surrounding AI is cloud computing . Amazon faces fierce competition in the cloud infrastructure market from Microsoft Azure and Alphabet's Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Over the last 18 months or so, Microsoft has swiftly augmented the Azure platform thanks to the company's $10 billion investment in OpenAI -- the developer of ChatGPT. Moreover, Alphabet has done a respectable job of breaking into the cloud realm thanks to a series of acquisitions , including MobiledgeX, Forseeti, Siemplify, and Mandiant .

These moves by Microsoft and Alphabet initially appeared to be taking a toll on Amazon's cloud revenue growth and its profitability. However, the table below illustrates some newfound encouraging trends from Amazon's cloud segment, Amazon Web Services ( AWS ).

Data source: Investor Relations

The figures above showcase a really positive narrative for Amazon. Over the last year, AWS has transitioned from a business experiencing consistent deceleration to one that has now grown in three consecutive quarters, all while significantly increasing operating income.

Image source: Getty Images.

Amazon is a money-printing machine

Seeing a return to revenue and profit growth is nice to see, but it's only one part of the greater story for Amazon.

Image source: Investor Relations.

The majority of Amazon's operating profits stem from AWS. For this reason, the reacceleration of the cloud business has directly impacted Amazon's overall cash flow profile. For the quarter ended June 30, Amazon generated $53 billion of free cash flow on a trailing-12-month basis. Furthermore, with a balance sheet boasting $86 billion of cash and equivalents, Amazon has virtually no shortage to invest aggressively and give its rivals a run for their money.

One of the catalysts sparking renewed growth in AWS is Amazon's $4 billion investment in generative AI start-up Anthropic .

This relationship is particularly important because Anthropic is training its AI models on Amazon's in-house semiconductor chips -- Trainium and Inferentia. This provides  Amazon with a direct line to compete against Nvidia as demand for semiconductor chips continues to boom.

Moreover, the company is also investing $11 billion into a data center project in Indiana . To me, these investments solidify Amazon's ambitions to compete all across the AI landscape as AWS enters a new phase of its evolution.

For those reasons, I think the revenue growth and renewed profits from AWS, as shown above, are only the beginning.

A prime valuation for investors

Amazon currently trades at a price-to-free-cash-flow (P/FCF) multiple of 37.1, which is less than half its 10-year average. I find this peculiar, considering that Amazon is a much larger and far more sophisticated business today than it was a decade ago.

AMZN Price to Free Cash Flow data by YCharts

To me, investors are either overlooking or unappreciative of Amazon's dive into the AI realm. I think AI's future potential may be baked into some of Amazon's Magnificent Seven compatriots, given that many of them have handily outperformed the markets over the last year.

By contrast, Amazon is already reaping the rewards from these AI-driven initiatives, and the company has a boatload of cash to keep funding the growth for quite some time. For these reasons, I think Amazon is the most lucrative opportunity among mega-cap tech stocks right now. In my eyes, this is an excellent opportunity to buy Amazon stock hand over fist.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

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Satellite internet has disrupted the market in Alaska — and transformed everyday life for many

Since launching in the state in late 2022, starlink has given alaskans another option for web access in places that are harder to reach with physical infrastructure..

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the company's latest batch of Starlink internet satellites from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center as seen from Cocoa Beach, Fla., Saturday, March 23, 2024. (Malcolm Denenmark/Florida Today via AP)

A college degree, a grandson’s expression over FaceTime, immediate world news, the ease of e-filing taxes, and a how-to video for four-wheeler hub removal: That’s what Starlink, a satellite internet service that delivers cheaper and faster internet to places harder to reach with physical infrastructure, has brought to some of the last connected people in Alaska.

Starlink, a company owned by SpaceX, began sending thousands of low-orbit satellites into space in 2019, shifting the market for internet users and providers globally. Since late 2022, when it launched in Alaska, Starlink has given people another option in a previously untouchable market and with it, changed the lives of Alaskans whose internet was expensive, glitchy and limited — when it was available at all.

Early adopters of the technology say they used to drive around their villages looking for other homes with Starlink’s tell-tale flat white antennas, or terminals, positioned on roofs or lawns. These days, in some communities, it’s become more challenging to find homes without it.

“It’s not even the talk of the town anymore,” said Chevak resident Earl Atchak, who was one of the first in his roughly thousand-person Western Alaska village to switch to Starlink from the state’s largest internet provider, GCI, in November 2022. “There’s just a few people that don’t have them.”

Atchak said that Starlink, which charges users $90 a month after initial equipment fees, more than halved his internet bill for a service that’s far quicker and more reliable. He uses the internet to keep up with the news, watch movies, map fishing routes, order mechanical parts on eBay, and video call with his 36 grandchildren.

“Talking on the phone is not enough nowadays,” Atchak said of his daily FaceTime calls with his kids and grandkids, who live in other parts of the state. “We have to see how they’re doing, and the dirt on their faces from playing out. Those are special moments.”

Starlink satellite internet equipment is mounted to a home in Eek, a village in Southwest Alaska, on August 2, 2023. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Additionally, he said that quicker internet speeds have assisted in local search and rescue operations on his village crew. The majority of local Starlink users are mostly getting speeds over 100 megabits per second, the company says, about four times faster than what rural telecom providers are offering in the same locations.

Last winter, two girls from Scammon Bay went missing during a blizzard while traveling by snowmachine to a basketball tournament in Chevak, Atchak said. Using fast internet and millennial knowledge, Atchak’s search and rescue team downloaded Snapchat, a photo-sharing application where the girls were sharing their live locations with friends. Using the app and real-time download speeds, the search and rescue crew was able to locate the girls. Without fast download speeds, that never would have been possible, Atchak said.

‘Restoring competition’ to rural Alaska

Starlink is doing what no other provider has been able to do since the internet first arrived in Alaska — disrupt the market from what one expert called a “David and Goliath scenario: everyday people against the billion-dollar telecoms.”

When it comes to serving residents, Alaska’s telecommunication companies have dominated rural communities for too long, Pacific Dataport economist and rural broadband expert Shawn Williams said. Currently, the state’s 32 telecommunication companies receive annual federal subsidies — last year to the tune of $525 million — to provide internet service to schools, clinics, hospitals, and residents in rural Alaska. Other internet service providers, including tribal broadband consortiums, Microcom and Starlink, are cut out of accessing about a third of that funding because the Federal Communications Commission’s definition of an “eligible telecommunications carrier” excludes companies that don’t provide voice services.

The enormous payouts effectively shut out competitors in rural Alaska for all but one. The richest man in the world, Starlink founder Elon Musk, built up his company out-of-pocket, without a need for government-backed funding. Starlink only became profitable last year, according to analysis report estimates . The company’s financial reports, including usership data, are not publicly available, and Starlink did not respond to Anchorage Daily News’ request for comment.

“Restoring competition to rural Alaska is essential,” Williams said. “This is space-based broadband coming in and filling the gaps broken fiber promises (have left behind).”

Pacific Dataport, along with stakeholder groups such as the Alaska Broadband Advocates — a coalition of 13 tribal advocates — are asking for broader access to government subsidies.

In May, Williams, who serves as the vice president of government affairs and strategy for Pacific Dataport, traveled with other stakeholders to Washington, D.C., to advocate to the FCC for a competitive process for access to all government broadband subsidies.

“Then you’d have real competition,” Williams said. “That’s the only way to get prices to go down.”

Under the Biden administration, Alaska and certain in-state providers have received close to $2 billion in federal dollars to support rural broadband development.

But while the Alaska Broadband Office works to distribute the most recent $1 billion, a process the office estimates will take another five years to see the results of, Starlink is growing its customer base.

Online, a community of more than 15,000 Alaskans has formed the Alaska Starlink Users Facebook group. There, they ask questions and share tips. Teachers ask if they are able to travel to the village with their terminals, fishermen wonder how to mount terminals onto their boat’s hull, and regional folks ask others about connection lapses. Users also rely on their fellow Alaskans to fill the role of a customer support tech, a role Starlink lacks in real time. Through their troubleshooting questions and comparison of product speeds and prices, Starlink users are also delivering a clear message to flagship telecoms like GCI: Do better.

And GCI says they’re listening.

GCI’s senior vice president of corporate development, Billy Wailand, said that his company saw the competition from a distance with the creation of low-orbit satellites, and launched an initiative to better serve rural residents in response.

As part of that initiative, GCI is in the midst of two long-term projects it says will deliver underground fiber optic cables to 27 underserved communities: one that will lay more than 800 miles of subsea fiber from Kodiak to Unalaska, and another that will connect 13 communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. In both instances, the company is promising urban internet speeds for urban prices, said Wailand.

“All of those projects take time,” Wailand said. “So, in the meantime, Starlink has come in and offered a really good option as folks wait for terrestrial connectivity. Once we deliver fiber service, we think we will be able to deliver a very compelling internet service in those communities.”

Streetlights lend a warm glow to the sky on Nov. 3, 2021 in Utqiagvik. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

On the North Slope, some residents switched over to Starlink from GCI last year when a subsea fiber line was cut by an iceberg, leaving thousands of Alaskans disconnected for three months.

“I think that was a turning point,” Utqiagvik resident Jake Calderwood said of the fiber outage last year. “It was when I started noticing a huge shift in the number of houses with dishes on them.” He estimates that several hundred homes, and even local businesses, switched to space-based broadband.

Life disruptor: ‘It’s put us in modern times’

It’s not only the market that Starlink is disrupting, but the thousands of lives that rely upon fast and affordable internet to carry out everyday tasks, from applying for Permanent Fund dividends to operating a business.

Eben Hopson in Utqiagvik. Photographed on June 26, 2022. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Photographer and digital content creator Eben Hopson of Utqiagvik — who switched to Starlink during the fiber outage last year— said that with Starlink, he’s able to produce and sell more content because he doesn’t have to wait for slow upload and download speeds.

“It helped me reach out to clients in the Lower 48 who were looking to buy Arctic content,” he said. “Instead of waiting a whole eight-hour day for a few 45-second clips to upload to Google Drive, it took under 15 minutes.”

In the village of Kasaan on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast, tribal president Mike Jones said that Starlink is connecting folks with language classes, and also virtual trainings aimed at economic development.

They’re not alone. Since late 2021, Nome’s Alaska Native corporation, Kawerak, has been using federal grant money to support students of all ages in the Bering Strait region. The project pays for laptops, internet and other necessary equipment for middle school, high school, college and adult learners age 50 and above to pursue educational goals without leaving their communities. In the nearly three years since launching, the program has supported more than 600 Alaska Native and Native American participants in the region, program director Pamela Cushman confirmed.

Carla Rose Ivanoff from Elim was one of them. At 55 years old, she connected to the internet for the first time from her home, via Starlink.

Five years ago, her 350-person village on the Norton Sound coast had one computer where residents could wait in line, sign up, and log on for a regulated 20 minutes at the tribal office. Now, for the first time, Ivanoff has unrestricted access to the whole world at her fingertips.

“I’m learning a lot from this thing right here,” Ivanoff said, gesturing to her cellphone. “This is the most exciting thing that I’ve ever done for myself.”

She’s taken online classes to learn Microsoft Excel and mathematics in the hopes of opening a bed and breakfast in town.

In addition to pursuing economic goals, Ivanoff said she’s having fun using a search engine to learn whatever she wants to know.

Among her Google searches: how to take off her four-wheeler hub, taper a stitch on her new sewing machine, identify edible mushrooms, and build a smokehouse from refuse pallets.

“Our generation, we were playing out. We didn’t have computers, phones and all that,” Ivanoff said. “I feel like I missed out. Now, I’m ready.”

It’s not just life-saving techniques and the pursuit of higher education that Alaskans have cited as results of better connectivity, but also modern conveniences that many might take for granted — like paying taxes online, and talking on the phone.

Bonni Burnell has a homestead in the Alaska Range 90 miles from the nearest road. Prior to using Starlink, she and her family had to travel more than 100 miles to Fairbanks to file taxes and apply for their Permanent Fund dividends in person.

The ability to e-file taxes has had an immensely positive impact, Burnell said.

“It’s saved us money, time, worry — everything.”

Additionally, she uses Wi-Fi calling to speak with family — a previously impossible task — and to stay connected with national news.

Compared to Sept. 11, 2001, when news of that day’s terrorist attack came to her after the fact, Burnell has been able to stay informed in real time on national headlines.

She learned of the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, and of President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race, the same day as the rest of Americans.

“It’s put us into modern times,” Burnell said of Starlink’s connectivity. “It’s just life changing.”

Starlink dishes are installed outside a row of duplexes on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 in Utqiagvik. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Modern times, modern responsibilities

Although user feedback on Starlink seems to be overwhelmingly positive, some worry that fast and immediate connection to the internet is distracting youth from cultural traditions.

Out at his family’s fish camp, Atchak said his teenage sons get homesick during hunting and fishing trips for their internet back home.

“Twelve months out of the year, we have fast internet, and they’re on it all the time,” he said. “It becomes addictive. They’d rather be doing that than going out fishing.”

Chevak School Principal Lillian Olson said that Starlink’s rise reminds her of the time when the television was the new hot thing. Similarly to how TV catapulted her village into the 21st century, she said that Starlink is the best decision she ever made for her household.

“But that doesn’t excuse us from watching what young kids are getting into,” she said. “It used to be the TV, but now it’s the internet.”

As the night sky lights up with an increasing number of Starlink satellites, currently numbering just over 6,000 globally, Alaskans living in previously unconnected or underserved parts of the state are grateful to be in the loop, despite the modern costs.

“Even adults, we’re not excluded,” Atchak said. “We can’t live without it now.”

Jenna Kunze

Jenna Kunze is a staff reporter at Native News Online, where she covers Indigenous communities across the country. She was previously reported for The Arctic Sounder and at the Chilkat Valley News in Haines.

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Highlights: Harris to hold rally in North Carolina, highlights from Trump’s NJ news conference

With consumer goods placed on tables near him, Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

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Today’s live coverage has ended. See what you missed below and find the latest on the 2024 presidential election at apnews.com.

Donald Trump held a press conference Thursday in Bedminster , New Jersey in which he said he thinks he’s “ entitled to personal attacks ” on his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris, saying he’s “very angry” at her because of the criminal charges he faces.

Earlier, Harris joined President Joe Biden to announce a deal to lower drug prices , their first joint speaking appearance since she replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket, as they both struggle to convince voters that costs will trend down after years of above-normal inflation.

What to know:

• Harris is set to unveil her economic agenda. Her upcoming speech in North Carolina will preview policies around price gouging on groceries and cutting other costs, as her campaign zeroes in on food and housing prices.
• Trump addressed inflation and the economy Thursday. The Republican presidential nominee blamed inflation directly on government spending, sidestepping some of the more complex realities of global supply chain interruptions during the pandemic and global oil price spikes after Russia invaded Ukraine.
• Vance and Walz plan to debate later this year. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on Oct. 1, setting up a matchup of potential vice presidents as early voting in some states gets underway for the general election .

Trump warns that anti-Israel protestors will descend on next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Trump said that “hundreds of thousands of people that are opposed to Israel” are planning to protest around the events. “There will be no jihad coming to America under Trump,” he said, to applause from the crowd.

Trump called Democrats “a radical group of people,” again criticizing Harris for not attending Netanyahu’s recent speech before a joint session of Congress, traveling to Indiana instead .

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, also did not attend the speech, stumping in Ohio and Virginia.

Harris, however, met with the prime minister privately.

Of Trump, Adelson said there’s just one president in her lifetime that fully shares the values she’s been talking about. “That president is Donald Trump,” she said, to cheers from the gathered crowd, adding that it was a “promised kept” when Trump moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as well as recognizing the Golan Heights and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump is being introduced by GOP mega-donor Miriam Adelson, an Israeli-born, naturalized U.S. citizen who earned a medical degree from Tel Aviv University and founded drug abuse treatment and research centers in Las Vegas and Tel Aviv.

In her remarks, Adelson talked about the impact of the Israel-Hamas war, saying that “Israel is being demonized,” adding that, “in too many parts of the world, it is open season against the Jews, and antisemitism becomes acceptable.” Miriam is the wife of the late Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate considered one of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors, who died in 2021 .

The Adelsons donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 race, and Miriam Adelson is behind some major spending aimed at boosting Trump’s current campaign. Preserve America super PAC, a pro-Trump group backed by her, has reserved $45 million worth of advertising through the end of August.

As president, Trump awarded Miriam Adelson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest honor the nation reserves for a civilian — in 2018.

Trump repeats false claims that Minnesota law requires tampons in boys’ bathrooms

CLAIM: Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “signed a bill that all boys bathrooms in Minnesota will have tampons.”

FACTS: Walz signed a bill in 2023 that requires Minnesota public schools to make tampons available to “all menstruating students.” The law does not mention gender. The relevant section of the law reads: “A school district or charter school must provide students with access to menstrual products at no charge.

The products must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district. For purposes of this section, ‘menstrual products’ means pads, tampons, or other similar products used in connection with the menstrual cycle.”

That means a school system could theoretically opt to place dispensers in all bathrooms. But there is no legal requirement that tampons be distributed in boys’ bathrooms — because a system could satisfy the law with dispensers in girls’ restrooms.

Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed he won Pennsylvania in the 2020 election. He did not.

CLAIM: “I won Pennsylvania and I did much better the second time. I won it in 2016, did much better the second time. I know Pennsylvania very well.”

THE FACTS: Trump did win the state in 2016, when he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton to win the presidency. But he lost the state in 2020 to President Joe Biden, a Pennsylvania native. According to the official certified results Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris received 3.46 million votes, compared to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence with 3.38 million votes.

Trump is arguing that his presidency brought more national unity than he gets credit for and that he is not actually as brash or bombastic as he often seems on the campaign trail.

“I think I’m doing a very calm campaign,” he said after being asked about some criticism from Republicans who want him to focus less on personal attacks. “Some of you will say, ‘he ranted and raved,’” Trump said, referring to journalists.

“I’m a very calm person, believe it or not,” he said.

He pointed to a criminal justice overhaul enacted when he was president. He did it with Democratic support."When you do that, that’s a big step,” he said, describing a negotiation process involving unusual allies. “Our country was coming together. Success will bring our country together again.”

Trump says he’d welcome Nikki Haley on the campaign trail if she wanted to stump for him.

Asked if he would want Haley to rally support for him, Trump said, “I’d love to have her go around and campaign.”

“I fought Nikki very hard,” Trump said. “I beat her in her own state by legendary numbers. I get along with her fine.” The former South Carolina governor, who was the last remaining GOP opponent against Trump in the primary campaign and served two years as his administration’s ambassador to the United Nations, shuttered her campaign after Trump’s big wins on Super Tuesday.

She didn’t endorse Trump immediately but has since and spoke at last month’s RNC in Milwaukee in support of his candidacy. Otherwise, she has not campaigned for him.

Trump says he feels that he’s earned the right to take on his political opponents in a personal way, citing what he termed the way the justice system has been “weaponized” against him.

It’s a theme Trump often hits in his rally speeches, citing the legal cases against him and characterizing them as politically motivated attacks by Democratic prosecutors and the Biden Justice Department.

On Thursday, asked if he felt he needed to run a more disciplined campaign in the closing months ahead of Nov. 5 and pivot away from making personal attacks on Harris, Trump said, “I think I’m entitled to personal attacks, I don’t have a lot of respect for her, I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she’ll be a terrible president.”

Trump went on to say of Harris that “people don’t know who she is,” explaining that he doesn’t typically use his opponent’s last name because, “You can ask the man on the street, what’s the last name of Kamala?’ Nobody knew.”

Trump’s been encouraging supporters to vote for him early, but he again called for “one-day voting” in elections.

“We should have one-day voting, paper ballots,” Trump said, in part of a response to a question about credit card debt.

Saying that large numbers of early voting is “ridiculous,” Trump also called for “voter ID, and we should have proof of citizenship” for voting in U.S. elections.

Trump claimed the U.S. could suffer an economic collapse akin to the 1929 crash that preceded the Great Depression if Harris wins the election.

CLAIM: “We’re going to have a crash like the 1929 crash if she gets in.”

THE FACTS: Countering Trump’s gloomy predictions, the economy has shown recent signs of strength and stability. On Thursday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.6%, its sixth gain in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also increased, as did the Nasdaq composite.

Recent economic reports show that shoppers increased their retail spending last month and fewer workers sought unemployment benefits.

Fears that the economy was slowing emerged last month following a sharp drop in hiring and higher unemployment rates. But those worries were assuaged earlier this month when a better-than-expected jobless numbers led to Wall Street’s best rally since 2022.

Trump was asked if he had reflected on his assassination attempt and why he felt his life had been saved.

Calling it “a miracle” that he wasn’t more seriously harmed, Trump said that “God has something to do with it. ... And maybe it’s, we want to save the world.”

At the Republican National Convention, Trump spoke in depth about the shooting and said that he wouldn’t make a habit of talking about it, although he has done so frequently at campaign events since.

Trump made it more than 45 minutes into his remarks before bringing up his grievances over the 2020 election. He again implied — falsely — that the election was rigged as he bragged about getting “millions more votes” than he got in 2016 plus “other votes that we can talk about at a different day.”

Indeed, turnout in 2020 was considerably higher than in 2016. Trump’s national vote total jumped from just shy of 63 million to 74.2 million. But Joe Biden got almost 81.3 million votes, up from Hillary Clinton’s 65.9 million votes four years earlier.

Much of Trump’s remarks have been aimed to focus on the economy, and — more than 40 minutes into his event — he made reference to the food items and household goods set up in a display behind him.

“I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said, noticing the cereal box. “I’m going to take them back to my cottage.”

At about 45 minutes in, Trump started taking questions.

But there have been some stem-winding moments, reminiscent of his rallies, where remarks can run an hour and a half.

Trump is promising to eliminate all incentives and mandates that push the U.S. auto market toward electric vehicles. But he’s insistent that he does not oppose EVs — just that he wants market forces and consumer choices to guide the economy.

Trump is going after remarks that Harris made in a Senate confirmation hearing in 2018. He said that Harris had compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the Ku Klux Klan.

In 2018, Harris, then a senator, aggressively questioned acting Director Ronald D. Vitiello of ICE about a comment he had made on social media that compared the Democratic Party to the KKK.

After a heated exchange during the hearing, Harris asked Vitiello, “Are you aware that there’s a perception that ICE is administering its power in a way that is causing fear and intimidation — particularly among immigrants and specifically among immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America?”

Donald Trump is 30 minutes into what his campaign billed as a news conference, but he has yet to take questions. He stuck largely to prepared remarks on inflation but has stretched his remarks with various broadsides and anecdotes.

Trump misstated Harris’ role in overseeing border security during his press conference Thursday in Bedminster, N.J.

CLAIM: “She was the border czar but she didn’t do anything. She’s the worst border czar in history ... She was the person responsible for the border and she never went there.”

THE FACTS: Biden tapped Harris in 2021 to work with Central American countries to address the root causes of migration and the challenges it creates. Illegal crossings are one aspect of those challenges, but Harris was never assigned to the border or put in charge of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees law enforcement at the border .

Trump is hammering Harris as a politician who wants to “defund the police.” His characterization of her previous statements is not accurate.

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Harris expressed praise for the “defund the police” movement and questioned whether money was being effectively spent on public safety. But she has not advocated abolishing police forces, the insinuation behind Trump’s line of attack.

Harris did an interview in June 2020 with the “Ebro in the Morning” radio show in New York noting, “This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities.” Her comments were part of a wider critique that police departments have to confront more social problems because other public programs — education, social services, mental health care — are often not funded well enough.

The Biden administration tried to overhaul policing, but the legislation stalled on Capitol Hill, and Biden ultimately settled for issuing an executive order . The administration also pumped more money into local departments.

The pivot to criticizing the Biden-Harris administration on immigration has been a theme of many of Trump’s speeches and events during this campaign cycle, and it’s one the GOP nominee is again renewing during his Bedminster remarks.

After listing off programs he said Harris would threaten as president — saying “she will destroy Medicare, she will destroy Social Security” — Trump then turned back to immigration concerns, overstating the number of people who have come across the U.S.-Mexico border during Biden’s time in office.

It’s a regular feature of modern U.S. elections for Republican nominees to cast Democratic nominees for various offices as “too liberal” or even “socialist.”

Trump has elevated that line of attack on Harris. “She wants to change a free-enterprise-type country into a communist-type country,” he insisted.

Trump’s argument depends heavily on certain positions Harris took as a U.S. senator from California and candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Harris once co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” Senate proposal, but she has backed away from that since the 2020 campaign.

The Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 advocated for a “public option” plan to be added to existing private health insurance exchanges set up under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. That policy would not, as Trump claims, end private health insurance or private health care.

Trump is warning that his Democratic opponent would upend not only the U.S. economy but also American relationships abroad.

“If Kamala wins the election, the worst is yet to come,” Trump said, claiming that Harris is “far more radical” than Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and “wants to change a free enterprise type country into a communist type country.”

On foreign relations, Trump warned that “you’ll have a real problem in the future because people don’t respect her in the world.”

Turning to the grocery items that are surrounding him, Trump quoted various inflation statistics for various staples of U.S. household diets.

But he blasted Harris’ talk of taking on price gouging, including on food, calling it “communist price controls” and “the Maduro plan,” a nod to the authoritarian socialist leader of Venezuela. “She wants price controls,” he said. “They don’t work. ... They lead to food shortages.” He’s adding references to higher car insurance premiums and fuel costs.

So far, Trump has not introduced any of his proposals to confront the situation. He’s opting instead for blaming Harris, because she is Biden’s top lieutenant, and recycling his sweeping predictions that a President Harris would tank the economy.

Trump is opening his latest news conference with renewed attacks that Harris “broke the border and broke the world.”

He is highlighting her role as vice president casting the tie-breaking Senate vote on major spending initiatives for the Biden administration.

As the economy takes center stage in the presidential contest, Trump is blaming inflation directly on government spending — sidestepping some of the more complex realities of global supply chain interruptions during the pandemic and global oil price spikes after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Harris, in turn, has focused the blame on corporate greed, glossing over the effects of considerable stimulus spending by the U.S. and other governments around the world.

Trump has started a news conference outside at his Bedminster resort in New Jersey, where he is speaking surrounded by groceries set on tables.

The former president and Republican nominee is trying to step up his attacks on Vice President Harris, shifting blame for rising prices from Biden to her as she becomes her party standard-bearer.

Trump delivered what was billed as a major address on the economy a day earlier in North Carolina but he spent most of the 75-minute speech on his usual grievances. The news conference marks another opportunity for him to focus his argument on what many political observers believe can be a weak spot for Harris.

For her part, Harris is planning an address on the economy Friday in North Carolina.

At a rally yesterday in North Carolina that his campaign billed as a big economic address, Trump made little effort to stay on message. He mixed pledges to slash energy prices and “unleash economic abundance” with familiar off-script tangents.

He aired his frustration over the Democrats swapping the vice president in place of Biden at the top of their presidential ticket. He repeatedly denigrated San Francisco, where Harris was once the district attorney, as “unlivable” and went after his rival in deeply personal terms, questioning her intelligence, saying she has “the laugh of a crazy person” and musing that Democrats were being “politically correct” in trying to elevate the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.

The former president will meet members of the press at his New Jersey golf club at 4:30 p.m. ET for his second news conference in as many weeks as he adjusts to a newly energized Democratic ticket.

He’ll be flanked by popular grocery store items as he seeks to highlight the rising cost of food.

The event comes one day after the Labor Department announced year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July — the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading. But consumers are still feeling the impact of higher prices and the Trump campaign is hoping to capitalize on those frustrations.

▶ Watch Trump’s New Jersey news conference live

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has released a video of her chatting with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the pair discuss their upbringings and tastes.

Running just under 10 minutes and filmed last week when the pair made a joint campaign appearance in Detroit, the video recalls a similar one then-candidate Joe Biden had with former President Barack Obama during the 2020 campaign.

Walz likens the election to a football game, saying it’s “halftime in America” and he feels like the campaign is trailing by a touchdown, adding, “I kind of like the idea of being a little bit behind.”

Harris, who’s played up her running mate’s former career coaching high school football responds, “I’m looking at Coach Walz right now.”

The vice president asks her running mate about liking what he describes as “white guy tacos,” which he says are ground beef and cheese but no sauce — prompting Harris to note that she’s grown chili peppers at the vice president’s residence.

He tells her about his love of Bruce Springsteen and Harris talks about growing up with the music of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and John Coltrane and her love of Prince. She says she’s “more of a hip hop girl” while her husband, Doug Emhoff, is more partial to Depeche Mode.

Harris talks about supporting policies that don’t “let people fall through the cracks” and trying to unify rather than divide the country.

In the weeks since launching her presidential campaign, Harris hasn’t sat for a major media interview — making her chat with Walz one of the closest approximations.

Former President Donald Trump will speak at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday flanked by popular grocery store items as he seeks to highlight the rising cost of food.

Staff were seen laying out a selection of items, including tubs of instant coffee, sugary breakfast cereals, pastries and fruit, on tables behind the lectern where he’ll speak at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

The event comes one day after the Labor Department announced year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July — the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading.

But consumers are still feeling the effect of higher prices — something Trump’s campaign is banking on to motivate voters this fall.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have appeared together for the first time since she replaced him as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden and Harris spoke at an event at a Maryland community college to talk about the administration’s work to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

They also praised each other.

Harris, who spoke first, said it’s her “eternal and great honor” to serve with Biden, whom she called an “extraordinary human being and American and leader.”

Biden said of Harris, “She’s going to make one hell of a president.”

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive to speak about their administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs during an event at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md., Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling is touting extensive officer training as a critical part of the city’s preparations for the Democratic National Convention next week.

Roughly 50,000 people are expected in Chicago for the convention, including thousands of anti-war activists who plan to demonstrate near the United Center where Vice President Kamala Harris will officially accept the party’s nomination.

Snelling maintained that the Chicago Police Department — working alongside federal law enforcement agencies — is prepared to deal with large crowds and any security concerns.

“There’s a possibility that things could take a turn. Something could happen that we don’t expect,” Snelling told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We know that our officers can respond in a professional manner with training behind them. They’ll be more effective in decision making. And then the response becomes greater and better.”

FILE - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed paperwork Thursday, June 20, 2024 to get on the ballot for the November election in swing-state Pennsylvania, the state’s election office said. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign suffered a blow this week when a judge in New York invalidated his petition to put his name on the state ballot, a ruling that could potentially create problems for the candidate as he faces challenges elsewhere.

Kennedy’s attorneys filed an appeal Wednesday to a ruling this week from Justice Christina Ryba, who said the residence listed on his nominating petitions was a “sham” address he used to maintain his voter registration and to further his political aspirations. The judge ruled in favor of the challengers, who argued Kennedy’s actual residence was the home in Los Angeles he shares with his wife, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines.

New York is just one of more than a half-dozen states where challenges have been made to Kennedy’s petitions from Democrats and their allies. Some of the challenges allege he falsely listed the same New York address that was the subject of litigation in that state, or that there were problems with petition signatures.

Donald Trump is asking the judge in his New York hush money criminal case to delay his sentencing until after the November presidential election.

In a letter made public Thursday, a lawyer for the former president and current Republican nominee suggested that sentencing Trump as scheduled on Sept. 18 — about seven weeks before Election Day — would amount to election interference.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche wrote that a delay would also allow Trump time to weigh next steps after the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule Sept. 16 on the defense’s request to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling .

“There is no basis for continuing to rush,” Blanche wrote.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio speaks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Byron Center, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

To attendees gathered at a VFW post in New Kensington on Thursday in western Pennsylvania, Vance lauded Trump for putting “in place real policies that really benefit the veterans who served in our military.”

As he opened his remarks, Vance asked attendees to hold a brief moment of silence to commemorate the deaths of 13 service members killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan three years ago, a move by Biden he said occurred “in the most disgraceful way,” also laying blame on Harris.

Vance was introduced by several veterans now serving in Congress, including Florida Reps. Brian Mast and Mike Waltz. Pat Harrigan, a Republican running for the U.S. House in North Carolina, levied harsh criticism on Tim Walz’s record, calling the Minnesota governor “a coward who betrayed his men at their greatest time of need.”

Since Harris named Walz - a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard - as her running mate, Vance has repeatedly questioned his rival’s military credentials, accusing him of retiring to avoid deploying with his unit and saying Walz misled voters about serving in a combat zone, when he was deployed to Italy in 2003 in a supportive, not combat, role.

As he ramped up for a congressional bid in 2005, Walz’s campaign in March issued a statement saying he still planned to run despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers to Iraq. According to the Guard, Walz retired from service in May of that year. In August 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for Walz’s unit. The unit mobilized in October of that year before it deployed to Iraq in March 2006 .

“Kamala Harris, showing terrible judgment, has decided that her way out of this political problem is to claim that she and Tim Walz are the victims,” Vance said, referencing comments by the campaign pushing back on Republicans’ criticism. “I think the victims are the veterans who are having their service disparaged because the guy who wants to be their vice president is lying instead of telling the truth.”

Vance said he became a member of the VFW Post at which he spoke, saying he’d be back in the future to “have some pancakes, maybe a cigarette, whatever.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration.

Nearly half of Americans say that “committed to democracy” and “disciplined” are attributes that better describe Harris. About 3 in 10 say these qualities better describe Trump.

About 4 in 10 say Harris is someone who “cares about people like you” while about 3 in 10 say that about Trump. About 4 in 10 say “honest” better describes Harris and 24% say that quality better describes Trump.

▶ Read more about the AP-NORC poll

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to hold a rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday in the same venue where Republicans gathered for their national convention last month.

Harris will hold the event at the Fiserv Forum while the Democratic National Convention is underway about 100 miles to the south in Chicago, the Harris campaign said Thursday.

The stop will mark the third time since Harris become the Democratic presidential nominee that she’s come to swing state Wisconsin, a nod to the importance of the state. She held her first rally of the presidential campaign outside Milwaukee and last week stopped in Eau Claire, in western Wisconsin, with her newly selected running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The campaign didn’t say if Walz would be with Harris on Tuesday. The rally is scheduled during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, running mate to Republican Donald Trump, planned to be in Milwaukee on Friday to speak at the Milwaukee Police Association. That would be his second visit to Wisconsin as the vice presidential nominee. He was in Eau Claire last week at the same time as Harris and Walz.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on Oct. 1, setting up a matchup of potential vice presidents as early voting in some states gets underway for the general election.

CBS News on Wednesday posted on its X feed that the network had invited both Vance and Walz to debate in New York City, presenting four possible dates — Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 — as options.

Walz reposted that message from his own campaign account, “See you on October 1, JD.” The Harris-Walz campaign followed up with a message of its own, saying Walz “looks forward to debating JD Vance — if he shows up.”

Vance posted on X that he would accept the Oct. 1 invitation. He also challenged Walz to meet on Sept. 18.

And she’s zeroing in on corporate price gouging.

Her campaign says Harris plans to push for a federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries. She’s putting particular emphasis on rising meat prices, which she says account for a large part of rising grocery bills.

Year-over-year inflation has reached its lowest level in more than three years. But many Americans are still struggling with food prices, which remain 21% above where they were three years ago. Republican Donald Trump has been pointing to inflation as a key failing of the Biden-Trump administration and its energy policies.

Former President Donald Trump invited reporters to his New Jersey golf club Thursday for his second news conference in as many weeks as he adjusts to a newly energized Democratic ticket ahead of next week’s Democratic National Convention.

Trump will meet the press as he steps up his criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris for not holding a news conference or sitting down for interviews since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed her to replace him.

▶ Read more about Trump’s scheduled news conference

The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare’s most popular and costliest drugs, but shared few immediate details about the new price older Americans will pay when they fill those prescriptions.

White House officials said Wednesday night they expect U.S. taxpayers to save $6 billion on the new prices, while older Americans could save roughly $1.5 billion on their medications. Those projections, however, were based on dated estimates and the administration shared no details as to how they arrived at the figures.

Nonetheless, the newly negotiated prices — still elusive to the public as of early Thursday morning — will affect the price of drugs used by millions of older Americans to help manage diabetes, blood cancers and prevent heart failure or blood clots.

The drugs include the blood thinners Xarelto and Eliquis and diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia. Medicare spent $50 billion covering the drugs last year.

In his first solo appearance as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz warned cheering union members Tuesday that Donald Trump would wage war on working people and threaten Medicare and Social Security as he kicked off a five-state fundraising swing.

He spoke of a grim future for unions if Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are elected, describing a nation where bargaining rights, overtime pay and other protections would be scuttled. He said Trump and Vance have “waged war on working people.”

However, Trump also has courted union support. When he accepted the Republican nomination, he said that he would rescue the auto industry from what he called “complete obliteration.”

Read more about Walz’s 5-state fundraising blitz

Whatever possessed Vice President Kamala Harris to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, it probably wasn’t a desire to inflame arguments about apostrophes. But it doesn’t take much to get grammar nerds fired up .

“The lower the stakes, the bigger the fight,” said Ron Woloshun, a creative director and digital marketer in California who jumped into the fray on social media less than an hour after Harris selected Walz last week to offer his take on possessive proper nouns.

The Associated Press Stylebook says “use only an apostrophe” for singular proper names ending in S: Dickens’ novels, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ life. But not everyone agrees.

While there is widespread agreement that Walz’s is correct, confusion persists about Harris’ vs. Harris’s. Dreyer’s verdict? Add the ’s.

▶ Read more about the political world’s latest grammar debate

Vice President Kamala Harris talks to the media, Friday, June 25, 2021, after her tour of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. Harris visited the U.S. southern border as part of her role leading the Biden administration’s response to a steep increase in migration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Vice President Kamala Harris was never the “border czar,” as her critics claim.

Biden administration officials say she was assigned to tackle the “root causes” of migration from the Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that were responsible for a large chunk of border crossers.

A review of Harris’ work on immigration reveals a record that is more nuanced than the one presented by her critics or allies. It also provides insights into how Harris — who took over as the Democratic standard-bearer when Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month — might tackle one of the nation’s most vexing concerns.

▶ Read more about Harris’ work on immigration

The Democratic National Committee will offer a schedule of trainings, panels and other programming it’s calling “DemPalooza” during the party’s convention in Chicago next week. The name is a play on the Lollapalooza music festival Chicago plays hosts to every year.

“DemPalooza” events will range from trainings on how to use organizing tools to polling briefings and skills workshops. The DNC says these programs are part of its and the Harris campaign’s efforts to organize and reach voters in an evolving media environment and provide opportunities for Democrats to take what they’ve learned back to the communities that will decide the November presidential election.

President Joe Biden leaves after speaking about prescription drug costs at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., Dec. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare’s most popular and costliest drugs, but shared few immediate details about the new price older Americans will pay when they fill those prescriptions.

▶ Read the full story here .

Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. Trump is expected in court for an important hearing in his New York hush-money criminal case. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.

In a decision posted Wednesday , Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s demand was a rehash “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims” about his ability to remain impartial.

It’s the third time Merchan has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee. They contend the judge has a conflict of interest because his daughter works as a political consultant for prominent Democrats, including Kamala Harris when she sought the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nomination. Harris is now the party’s nominee against Trump.

The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, met Harris occasionally in 2019 but never “developed an individual relationship” with her, consulting firm founder Mike Nellis told the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in a letter Tuesday. The firm, Authentic Campaigns Inc., has not worked for Harris’ campaign, President Joe Biden’s now-ended reelection bid or the Democratic National Committee in the 2024 election cycle, Nellis said.

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The Slow-Burn Nightmare of the National Public Data Breach

Data breaches are a seemingly endless scourge with no simple answer, but the breach in recent months of the background-check service National Public Data illustrates just how dangerous and intractable they have become. And after four months of ambiguity, the situation is only now beginning to come into focus with National Public Data finally acknowledging the breach on Monday just as a trove of the stolen data leaked publicly online.

In April, a hacker known for selling stolen information, known as USDoD, began hawking a trove of data on cybercriminal forums for $3.5 million that they said included 2.9 billion records and impacted “the entire population of USA, CA and UK.” As the weeks went on, samples of the data started cropping up as other actors and legitimate researchers worked to understand its source and validate the information. By early June, it was clear that at least some of the data was legitimate and contained information like names, emails, and physical addresses in various combinations.

The data isn't always accurate, but it seems to involve two troves of information. One that includes more than 100 million legitimate email addresses along with other information and a second that includes Social Security numbers but no email addresses.

“There appears to have been a data security incident that may have involved some of your personal information,” National Public Data wrote on Monday. “The incident is believed to have involved a third-party bad actor that was trying to hack into data in late December 2023, with potential leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024 … The information that was suspected of being breached contained name, email address, phone number, Social Security number, and mailing address(es).”

The company says it has been cooperating with “law enforcement and governmental investigators.” NPD is facing potential class action lawsuits over the breach.

“We have become desensitized to the never-ending leaks of personal data, but I would say there is a serious risk,” says security researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who has been following the situation with National Public Data. “It may not be immediate, and it could take years for one of the many criminal actors to successfully figure out how to use this information, but the bottom line is that a storm is coming.”

When information is stolen from a single source, like Target customer data being stolen from Target , it's relatively straightforward to establish that source. But when information is stolen from a data broker and the company doesn't come forward about the incident, it's much more complicated to determine whether the information is legitimate and where it came from. Typically, people whose data is compromised in a breach—the true victims—aren’t even aware that National Public Data held their information in the first place.

In a blog post on Wednesday about the contents and provenance of the National Public Data trove, security researcher Troy Hunt wrote , “The only parties that know the truth are the anonymous threat actors passing the data around and the data aggregator … We're left with 134M email addresses in public circulation and no clear origin or accountability.”

Even in a situation where a data broker has admitted to being breached—as is now the case with National Public Data—the stolen data may not be reliable and may have been combined with other datasets or processed in other ways. Hunt found, for example, that many email addresses in the dataset seemed to be paired with inaccurate personal information, and there were many duplicates and redundancies.

“There were no email addresses in the Social Security number files,” noted Hunt, who runs the website Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), which allows people to search their email addresses to see which, if any, data breaches they appear in. “If you find yourself in this data breach via HIBP, there's no evidence your SSN was leaked, and if you're in the same boat as me, the data next to your record may not even be correct.”

For people whose information was in the Social Security number dump, though, the risk of identity theft looms , forcing victims to freeze their credit, scour their credit reports, and set up financial monitoring services. Indeed, over the past few days, many people included in the data have begun receiving notifications about the breach from credit monitoring and threat intelligence services. And while the stolen data is imperfect, researchers warn that every trove of information that attackers can get their hands on ultimately fuels scamming, cybercrime, and espionage when combined and reconciled with the larger corpus of personal data that has been compiled by bad actors over the years.

“Each data breach is a puzzle piece, and we know that the bad guys and specific nations are also collecting this data," Fowler says. “When numerous breaches are combined in a systematic, organized, and searchable way they can provide a complete picture and data profile of individual citizens.”

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