Storyboard: plan the story
Before a film is made, the makers draw a storyboard: a row of boxes that shows each scene in order. You can do the same for a presentation. A storyboard is a chart of the content in the order it will appear. Make a very rough version first, with a short description of each slide. Each box has three parts: the scene (what the slide is about), the picture, and the words. When the slides are ready, a slide-sorter view shows them all together, so you can check the order. A storyboard helps you organise your ideas, see the result before you start, and tell the story in a simple way. A presentation without a plan often jumps from one idea to another.
| Slide | Scene | Picture | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title | a lamp | Save electricity at home |
| 2 | The problem | lights on in an empty room | Lights waste power |
| 3 | The numbers | a bar graph | Rooms used 8, empty rooms 5 |
| 4 | What to do | a hand on a switch | Switch off when you leave |
Draw a storyboard. Choose an issue, for example ‘keeping our school yard clean’. On a sheet draw six boxes in two rows of three. In each box write the slide number, the scene in two words, a quick sketch for the picture, and the words you would put. Make sure the story has a beginning (title), a middle (problem and facts) and an end (what to do). Cut the boxes into cards and shuffle them. Ask a partner to put them in the best order and explain why.