Check presentation
I often mention checking the details, expression and grammar of your business communications. It is also very important to check the presentation as well as that is one of the first things people notice before they even read a word.
Checking means in the final form as well as in drafts, too.
I know I have prepared something carefully on my computer, checked everything carefully and then uploaded it the internet to find it does not present properly live. Sometimes it was something simple like a bad image reference, but other times I couldn’t find a fault, only a solution!
This is why good printers and designers will provide you with proofs before printing starts, just to be sure nothing has moved or changed colour during the preparation process. When checking proofs, you have to be very focused and detail orientated.
I followed a link to a website recently. The entire site was a blog (and we’ll leave having a blog as your business website for another discussion) and I read through a few pages of it. One page was an article listing 10 points that literally looked like:
- 1. this is our first point
- 2. and our second point…
- 3. and so on…
11. closing paragraph one
12. closing paragraph two
To give her the benefit of the doubt, I assume she had the article written elsewhere with one set of numbers, added it to her blog and selected numbered list again. Human error, probably; carelessness to not check the final result, definitely.
What is possibly worse are the sites you visit to find little red crosses instead of images, even when you visit again months later. It certainly gives the impression that they never look at their own site or pay attention to details - which is probably not a good impression to give prospective clients.
In my next post, I will cover some of the details I always check for in a final presentation draft.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:08 am
So often we rush to finish things as we see time disappearing before us. Little things are missed, but it is the little things that become really obvious to the reader who has no way of knowing whether you are careless, rushed or poorly educated. Sadly, it is so much easier to pick up other peoples mistakes than your own. Unfair, really…..
March 6th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
[...] pm Tags: check, checklist, consistent, design, format, headings, presentation A few days ago, I posted about the importance of checking presentation as well as details of your content. Today, I am going to list the details I check for when reviewing a draft for a document’s [...]
March 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
[...] Hughes presents Check presentation posted at Word [...]