MAKING POWERPOINT SLIDES

Making PowerPoint Slides

Avoiding the Pitfalls

of Bad Slides

 

Tips to be Covered

 

 Outlines

 Slide Structure

 Fonts

 Color

 Background

 Graphs

 Spelling and Grammar

 Conclusions

 Questions

 

Outline

 

 Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation

– Ex: previous slide

 Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation

 Only place main points on the outline slide

– Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points

 

 

Slide Structure – Good

 

 Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation

 Write in point form, not complete sentences

 Include 4-5 points per slide

 Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only

 

 

Slide Structure - Bad

 

This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point.

Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to

read this paragraph instead of listening to you.

Slide Structure – Good

 

Show one point at a time:

– Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying

– Will prevent audience from reading ahead

– Will help you keep your presentation focused

 

Slide Structure - Bad

 

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 Do not use distracting animation

 Do not go overboard with the animation

 Be consistent with the animation that you use

 

 

Fonts - Good

 Use at least an 18-point font

 Use different size fonts for main points and secondary points

– this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point, and the title font is 36-point

 Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial

 

 

Fonts - Bad

 If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written

 CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT

IS DIFFICULT TO READ

 Don’t use a complicated font

 

Colour - Good

 

 Use a color of font that contrasts sharply with the background

– Ex: blue font on white background

 Use color to reinforce the logic of your structure

– Ex: light blue title and dark blue text

 Use color to emphasize a point

– But only use this occasionally

 

Colour - Bad

 v>

 Using a font colour that does not contrast with

the background colour is hard to read

 Using colour for decoration is distracting and

annoying.

 Using a different colour for each point is

unnecessary

–

Using a different colour for secondary points is also

unnecessary

 Trying to be creative can also be bad

 

 

Background - Good

 Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple

 Use backgrounds which are light

 Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

 

 

Background – Bad

 Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from

 Always be consistent with the background that you use

 

 

Graphs - Good

 v>

 Use graphs rather than just charts and words

– Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain than is raw data

– Trends are easier to visualize in graph form

 Always title your graphs

Graphs - Bad

 

                        January     February         March         April

Blue Balls         20.4             27.4             90              20.4

Red Balls         30.6             38.6             34.6             31.6

 

 

Graphs - Good

Use bar diagram or activity diagrams

 

 

Graphs - Bad

v>

 Minor gridlines are unnecessary

 Font is too small

 Colors are illogical

 Title is missing

 Shading is distracting

Spelling and Grammar

 Proof your slides for:

– spelling mistakes

– the use of of repeated words

– grammatical errors you might have make

 

Conclusion

 Use an effective and strong closing

– Your audience is likely to remember your last words

 Use a conclusion slide to:

– Summarize the main points of your  presentation

– Suggest future avenues of research

 

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Questions??

 End your presentation with a simple question

slide to:

– Invite your audience to ask questions

– Provide a visual aid during question period

– Avoid ending a presentation abruptly