Thinking Presentation Design

1) Connect with your audience:
Make a connection with your audience and their goals and their interests. This goal is supported by the principle of Relevance and the principle of Appropriate Knowledge.

2) Direct and hold their attention:
You must get and keep their attention and interest and let them know what is important and what is not. This goal is supported by the principles of Salience, Discriminability, and Perceptual Organization. Attention is drawn to areas that are perceptibly different, so leverage design principles such as contrast and make differences big and obvious.

3) Promote understanding & memory:
You must make it easy for them to follow, digest, and remember your material. This goal is supported by the principle of Compatibility, the principle of Informative Changes, and the principle of Capacity Limitations.

For more go here.
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2007/08/i-spent-the-wee.html

Another great lesson is the timeless, "Less is More." Strip down and cut away. Clear the rubbish so that only the critical point shines through in simple elegant design. Great lessons are learned by design and transference of meaning in comic books. Amplification through Simplification!
"By stripping down an image to essential 'meaning,' an artist can amplify that meaning..." — Scott McCloud

For more go here.
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2006/09/learning_from_t.html