Powerpoint: Presentation Tips
PowerPoint slideshows should enhance your presentation, not detract from it. Here are a few simple tips to start you on the right track.
See also: PowerPoint: Basic Slideshows & Image Capture
A. Presentation structure:
1. INTRO SLIDE:
- Title of presentation, date, presenter name
2. OUTLINE SLIDE:
- Main points of what you will talk about
- Then follow the structure you’ve laid out
- Start broad, finish specific
- Rank Information (What NEEDS to go on the slide)
- Simplify
3. CONTENT SLIDES:
- Cover detailed information based on your outline
- As many slides as you need, as many as 1-2 per minute
- Remember Powerpoint is more visual than verbal: “a picture is worth a thousand words”
4. FINAL SLIDE:
- Audience will likely take away the last thing you say
- So make a point to have the last slide be meaningful
- provide contact information for followup?
- pose a question for discussion?
- finish with a joke/or light hearted conclusion?
- At the very least put a blank slide at the end
- provides a non-distracting placeholder for discussion
- prevents clicking through back to Powerpoint application
5. Slide types:
TEXT:
- Highlight your presentation, don’t create a substitute for it
- Bullet points, not complete sentences
- 4-6 points per page
- No large blocks of text, audience stops listening, and reads
- Consider showing one point at a time, using animation
- helps the audience focus on what you are saying
6. IMAGES:
- Avoid clip art… everyone has seen it before, lacks emphasis
- Images should be good: not pixilated, out of focus, too dark
- Cropped to remove distractions
7. GRAPHS/DIAGRAMS:
- Make them as simple as possible
- To be grasped in just a few moments, not studied at length
8. Design issues:
TEMPLATES:
- Use a consistent background and layout for all slides
- The template sets the tone of your presentation
- choose it carefully
- Avoid really bright backgrounds, or cluttered layouts
9. FONTS:
- Choose two at most, nothing cursive or ornamental
- Stick to sans-serif fonts, for legibility
- Minimum of 18 point, 20 to 24 is better
- Main points/titles bigger than subpoints/content
10. COLOR:
- High contrast dark on light, or light on dark
- Use color with care, to emphasize your talk
- Avoid extremely bright colors, hot pink, neon orange, acid green
- Do not combine red/green, yellow/purple, or blue/orange
11. ANIMATION:
- Use sparingly, and be consistent
- Avoid distracting or annoying sound effects
12. How to Embed YouTube Videos Directly into PowerPoint
- “This is the easiest approach and recommended if are sure that the presentation venue will have great connectivity. Download the YouTube Wizard plug-in from skp.mvps.org and upon installation, this will add a new “Insert YouTube Video” command to your PowerPoint Toolbar.”
- Extract the contents of the zip to a folder.
- Launch PowerPoint.
- Click on Office Button | PowerPoint Options.
- In the PowerPoint Options dialog, select the Add-ins tab.
- Select ‘PowerPoint Add-ins’ from the Manage drop down and click ‘Go…’
- On the Add-ins dialog, click ‘Add New…’ .
- Navigate to the folder where the contents of the zip file was extracted and select ‘YouTubeVideo2k7.ppa’ and click on OK.
- You might be prompted with the macro virus warning. Enable the macros. When the Add-in is properly loaded, it will display a checkmark against the add-in name.
- Under Insert tab
a new slide, click on the new YouTube add-in button, and follow the wizard prompts.
13. Check your work carefully:
- Check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
- Check for logic and the flow of information
- Try to test your presentation in the room before your talk
- you may need to adjust the colors/templates/font size for the room/equipment
- Be prepared to give your talk without a PowerPoint slideshow
- technical glitches do happen
B. Presentation hints :
- Practice your presentation
- Make eye contact with your audience
- Do not read the slides to your audience
- Leave time for Q&A at the end
- Don’t forget to summarize your main points
- Use Powerpoint to enhance your talk
- (NEVER the reverse)